Rotherham patio door repairs

The repair of uPVC doors and windows

Think of a locksmith and what image comes to mind? A hunky chap, obviously, perhaps carrying around a huge metal ring of keys jangling away, and often being called in by the police to work “unofficially” at solving the cases that they just can’t crack. Well, that was the show I pitched to ITV, but were they interested? I could have been the Dangerfield (ask your parents) of the COVID generation.

Back in the world away from fictional crime-fighting locksmiths, a lot of my day to day work may seem quite mundane in comparison. But I thought it might be interesting just to talk a little about one aspect of my working week that takes up a large proportion of my time. This is the repair of uPVC doors and windows. The door in question may be the front door to a customer’s house, but more often than not, they are patio or French doors leading out to the garden at the rear of the property. Needless to say, the windows will be placed throughout the whole property.

I can’t speak highly enough of uPVC doors – in fact I’m speaking in a falsetto voice right now – as they were a great advance in home security and are generally very reliable. However, they can still come a cropper and malfunction from time to time. One issue that may arise would be when the locking mechanism of a uPVC door fails. When this happens, the key may still be able to turn in the lock, but it has no effect – the door can simply not be opened.

As you have probably gathered, this is not ideal. The least we ask from a door is for it to have the ability to open and shut. Without this, can we even call it a door? One for the philosophers amongst you there.

Do not replace your door

What is crucial to remember is that the above fault does not automatically mean that the whole door needs to be replaced – and be warned, some unscrupulous tradesmen may insist that it does, leading to an extortionate and needless bill. Rather, the fault most likely indicates that the door’s multi-lock mechanism needs fixing or replacing, and even replacing it can be done at a much lower cost and without the need to replace the whole door.

Whereas some locksmiths may need at least a couple of visits to fix the problem, with a lengthy wait in between whilst they order the correct part, I carry a large selection of spare parts on my van and can often fix or replace the mechanism there and then. This is of huge benefit to my customers as they aren’t left without a working door for days on end, and also, in these times of Covid, one visit is safer than two, whilst also being less costly. My work and materials are generally guaranteed for 2 years, so there are no worries on that score either.

Another reasonably common issue I deal with during my working week is when a key has snapped in the lock of a uPVC door. This is not the disaster it might first appear. In some cases I am able to extricate the key with no further damage. In circumstances where this is not viable, I will simply replace the lock so that the door can swiftly be back achieving its life’s purpose – to be a working door, opening and shutting to its heart’s content. Having an unusable door can be a right inconvenience, and, to repeat a joke I think I’ve told before, if it’s on a toilet door it can also lead to a faulty convenience. Yes, this last year has got to us all.

Door lock improvements or upgrades

When I visit customer’s homes, I’m also able to answer any queries or worries about other security issues, suggesting improvements or upgrades, where I think these would be needed. This would only be at the customer’s request though, and there is no pressure to have any other work done – I just take pride in my customers having secure houses or businesses.

The only time you’ll see me get a little bit persuasive is if you have old snappable locks on any doors as I know how easily these can be breached. In this case I would recommend newer, more secure anti snap locks, fully guaranteed and competitively priced, but again I never put pressure on – I’ve learned that’s not the way to have customers call you back in the event of any future problem!

Faults that might arise with uPVC doors or windows

Unlike a Scottish lake enthusiast, it’s not all about the locks for me. I have gained a lot of experience over the years in dealing with other faults that might arise with uPVC doors or windows. Handles can sometimes fail from regular use, and although customers are sometimes tempted to try and replace these themselves, it’s difficult to identify the correct part from the hundreds available on the market. It ends up a false economy to buy incorrect parts, so it’s far quicker and economical to get me to look at the problem and quickly provide and fit the replacement part.

Hinges on uPVC doors and windows are also under pretty much constant use and these will occasionally seize up. Again, I have tonnes of experience in repairing or replacing these, so you can be assured of a reliable and guaranteed job.

So I may not have the ITV series dashing about putting criminals behind bars, but there is still a lot of satisfaction in my work, getting people out of pickles and putting my expertise to use. Whatever the problem with your uPVC windows or doors, or indeed, any other security or lock issue please do call today for a free quote or advice.