Window repair in Phoenix
We repair windows rather than sell you new ones. Cracked glass, failed seals, balances that won’t hold the sash, rollers, tracks, cranks and latches, across the Phoenix metro since 2010.
Call (602) 777-3717, Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 5:00pm. The quote is free.
Which way does your window move?
This one question sorts most repair calls, and getting it right saves a wasted visit.
- It slides side to side. That’s a horizontal slider, which is the most common window in the Valley. It runs on rollers in a track. It has no balances, so if it’s stiff the problem is rollers or grit.
- It slides up and down. Single or double hung. The sash is carried by balances, and if it won’t stay up, a balance has failed.
- It cranks open. Casement or awning. The operator, the hinges or the gearbox is what wears.
- It doesn’t move at all. Picture or fixed glass. Nothing mechanical to fail, so a problem here is glass or seal.
Worth knowing before you call: most Phoenix windows are horizontal sliders. Balance failures get searched for far more than they happen here, because most of the country runs double hung and we don’t.
Window balances
A balance is a spring loaded mechanism that carries the weight of the sash so you don’t have to. When it goes, the window stops behaving and starts fighting you.
What the symptom tells us
- The sash won’t stay up. The balance has lost tension or snapped. Most common failure.
- It drops fast when you let go. Same cause, further along. Stop using the window until it’s fixed.
- One side sits lower and the sash tilts in the track. One of the pair has failed while the other still holds.
- It’s hard to lift but it does stay up. Often the wrong balance was fitted at some point, over-specified for the sash weight.
Types, and why it matters to you
Balances aren’t interchangeable, which is the whole reason we look before we order.
- Block and tackle. A spring and pulley assembly in a channel, common in vinyl double hung windows.
- Spiral, sometimes called tube. A twisted rod inside a tube, common in aluminum and older windows. These are the ones that take longest to source.
- Constant force, or coil. A coiled steel ribbon, common in newer vinyl units.
Each comes in different lengths and tension ratings matched to the weight of the sash. Fitting a balance rated for the wrong weight produces a window that either won’t stay up or won’t come down easily, which is why measuring the sash matters as much as measuring the channel.
We stock the common standard sizes. Spiral balances and custom sizes run a 3 to 4 week lead time. That’s the single most useful thing to know when you’re planning a repair, and it’s why we’d rather send a technician to identify the part than guess from a photo.
Rollers and track
Sliding windows and patio doors both run on rollers in a track, and both are meant to move with one finger. When they don’t, it’s worn rollers, grit packed into the track, or a track worn into a groove.
Phoenix dust is the specific culprit. Fine grit blows into the track, the rollers grind it against the metal, and the wheel and the track wear each other down together. Catch it early and it’s rollers. Leave it and it’s rollers plus track.
We carry the most common patio door and sliding window rollers on the trucks. Where the track itself is chewed up rather than dirty, we fit a new steel track cap over it instead of replacing the whole unit. For patio doors specifically, see sliding glass door repair.
Cranks and operators
Casement and awning windows open on a geared operator turned by a crank handle. The usual failures are a stripped gearbox, a worn or bent operator arm, or hinges that have seized from years of heat and dust.
A crank that turns freely without moving the sash is a stripped gearbox. A crank that’s stiff and getting stiffer is usually the hinge track rather than the operator, and forcing it is how the arm ends up bent as well.
Seals and foggy glass
If there’s haze or moisture between the panes, that’s a failed insulated glass seal and it isn’t repairable. Cleaning can’t reach it because the moisture is on the inner surfaces, and the services that drill and vent a unit don’t restore the seal. The insulated unit is replaced and the frame stays in the wall. See dual pane glass replacement.
Weatherstripping and perimeter seals are a different thing and they are replaceable. In Phoenix these fail from UV and heat rather than from wear, and they show up as dust ingress more often than draughts.
Broken and cracked glass
A cracked pane gets replaced, not repaired. Unlike a windshield there’s no filling a crack in flat glass and restoring it.
How fast depends on the glass. Our glaziers carry single strength and double strength annealed glass and clear and bronze laminated on the trucks, so a lot of single pane work is cut and fitted on the same visit. Anything tempered or insulated is fabricated to your measurement first, because tempered glass cannot be cut after heat treatment.
What we don’t do
We’re a glass company. We don’t do frame fabrication, stucco or drywall repair around an opening, and we don’t paint. If a frame is corroded through or rotted at the sill, new glass won’t sit in it properly, and we’ll tell you that at the measure rather than after.
How the quote and the deposit work
A technician measures on site and you get a written quote. Nothing is owed before that. Hardware jobs are often done on the visit. When glass has to be ordered we take a 50% deposit and it goes on order, because it’s cut to your opening and can’t be resold.
Our warranty
Window repair and installation carry a lifetime limited warranty on our workmanship, for as long as you own the property.
Common questions
Why won’t my window stay open?
The balance has failed. It’s the spring mechanism that carries the sash weight, and when it loses tension the sash drops. It’s a repair, not a window replacement.
How long does a window balance take to replace?
Same visit if it’s a standard size we stock. Spiral balances and custom sizes take 3 to 4 weeks to come in, then one short visit to fit them.
My window slides sideways and it’s stiff. Is that a balance?
No. Horizontal sliders don’t have balances. That’s rollers or grit in the track, and it’s usually a same-visit fix.
Can you repair a foggy window without replacing the glass?
No. The seal on the insulated unit has failed and the moisture is sealed inside where nothing can reach it. The unit gets replaced and the frame stays.
Who repairs house windows in Phoenix?
We do, and we’ve been doing it since 2010. Call (602) 777-3717 and tell us which way the window moves and what it’s doing.
Does repairing a window cost less than replacing it?
Repair, in almost every case where the frame is sound. Replacing glass in an existing frame avoids opening the wall, and there’s no stucco or interior work involved.
Do you repair casement window cranks?
Yes. Operators, arms and hinges. Tell us whether the crank turns freely without moving the sash, or whether it’s stiff, because those are different parts.
Book a repair
Call (602) 777-3717 Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 5:00pm. Tell us which way the window moves and what it’s doing, and we can usually narrow the part down before we come out. See residential window and glass repair for everything else.
