Tips and tricks

Hi, my name is Garrett. I’m a qualified glazier with 16 years experience, serving the northside of Brisbane from the City to Strathpine.

Call 0426 213 581, e-mail garrett@winandglass.com, or fill out the form below to make an inquiry.

Please note all repairs described on this page should only be carried out by an experienced glazier.

Sliding doors and windows not sliding well

If a sliding window or door is grinding or sticking avoid using it. If the rollers are damaged that is easy to fix, however if the tracks become worn that can be a more costly repair.
Do not lubricate the track or rollers. If the rollers start to slide on the track (instead of rolling) they will develop flat spots and eventually start grinding and damaging the track.

If your sliding shower screen doors are not working properly it is important to check the guides before trying to remove the doors. These are small plastic clips (usually found at the bottom) that stop the door from lifting off the track. Guides can easily be broken if the door is forced off the track and may no longer be available as spare parts.

Here is a list of common problems that cause aluminium windows to leak.

Drainage - A lot of leaking aluminium windows I've looked at have either had no drainage installed, or the drainage holes have been blocked or covered up.
Incorrect rubber - Wedge rubber needs to be thick enough to compress when pushed in to the frame so that it forms a good seal. If the rubber is too thin it won’t do its job. This is sometimes noticeable when rubber falls out or shrinks.
Sealant - All faces of the frame and all sub frame fixings need to be sealed properly (except drainage holes).
Flashing - Flashing, sub head and sub sill must be installed correctly.

Silicone is quick and easy when you work with it every day, but if you haven’t used it before it can get messy. Here’s a few ideas that might help.

Try using masking tape. It will take longer, but if you are new to silicone it will save you more time in cleaning up. Just make sure the tape isn’t too close to the gap you are filling, 1-2mm back is ideal. Another benefit of masking is that you can use anything (a blunt knife, for example) to tool off the silicone. Don’t use soap/spray while the tape is still on.
Make sure the surface is dry before applying sealant. I’ve seen people spray the surface with window cleaner first, then wonder why the silicone was falling out. If tape won’t stick, give the surface a wipe down with methylated spirits (not soapy water).
Keep some degreaser handy, especially if you are working with black/coloured silicone. I find kerosene works best for silicone, and methylated spirits work best for urethane. No amount of scraping will get black silicone off a rough surface, so this might get you out of trouble.
When tooling off the silicone try to only remove 100-200mm at a time, and drag it up (not down) if possible. This might be obvious but we're all guilty of dropping a handful of silicone on the floor.
If you smear silicone on glass and don’t have any degreaser to remove it, use a dry rag. A rag that is wet or full of soapy water won’t absorb silicone. You might have to go through 2 or 3 rags but it will clear up.

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