uPVC Bathroom Window won't lock

Shinou

Hello everyone,

Have discovered a problem with my Granddad's bathroom window and I thought I might have a go at fixing it myself if I can.

I'm not sure how long it has been in the state that it is now but at present it can't lock at all. The window opens and closes but as it can't be locked, it doesn't shut tight and lets in a bit of a draft. If the wind is blowing the right way and is strong enough, it can open it further.

The handle can be turned 360 degrees and I'm not sure if it's actually connected to anything on the inside.

There are two points sticking out of the bottom of the window that must slide to lock the window in place but they don't move at all when the handle is turned. I can slide them back and forth just by moving them with my hand so they work, I just don't think they're connected to the handle or the gearbox or neither.

When I removed the handle altogether and put my finger inside the gap, I encountered a metal part that I was able move around; up, down, left to right. I actually think that isn't connected to anything either, hence, the window doesn't lock.

I've never attempted to fix a window before, is it something I could manage do you think? Anyone got a step by step how to replace the locking mechanism?

Thank you.

Shinou

Okay, so I had a go at fixing this but may have made it worse.

But at least after searching for information online I can now name some of the parts so it'll be easier to explain what the problem is!

I took the handle off and found that the spindle (metal rod) which is supposed to slot into hole in the gearbox inside the window frame had been cut to about 2mm length so it couldn't even reach the gearbox, hence the handle did nothing.

So I got a new handle and cut the spindle to the right length.

But I'm still having problems either getting the window to lock shut or open.

It seems that if I attach the handle in the unlocked position, when closed, the window will not lock. The handle may be in the locked position, but if I push on the window it opens. When I have the window open and pull the handle down into the locking position, the locking cams move accordingly and do seem like they move far enough such that the window really should lock. However, when I actually do close the window and try to lock it, it can be pushed right open again without touching the handle.

If I attach the handle in the locked position, when I close the window and pull the handle down to lock it, I then can't get the window to open after that. Doesn't matter what position the handle is in.

With the window open, I took notice of what the two cams (two metal points that stick out of the bottom of the window and are meant to move from side to side either locking or unlocking the window) were doing and they moved just fine with a turn of the handle and by the looks of things are traveling far enough to both completely clear or slot inside the window keeps but when I actually close the window it seems that they don't.

I think in the case where I attach the handle in the unlocked position and attempt to close and lock the window, pushing on the window (without touching the handle) is making the cams leave their keeps.

Whereas when I attach the handle in the locked position and attempt to close and lock the window, the handle and the cams become jammed. The handle will not budge so neither will the cams.


I feel like there should be a simple solution to this problem but I'm stuck. Does anyone have an idea what might be going wrong and how I can fix it?