How do I fix a crank window that won't close?

Stop cranking, because forcing it strips the gear. Check the sill for ice or debris, then see whether the operator arm is still attached under the sash. If the arm is off its track or the hinges have sagged, the fix is usually an adjustment or new hinges. If the handle spins freely, the handle or operator needs replacing.

Broken barrure: can a window latch be replaced on its own?

Yes. A latch bolts onto the sash or frame and can be replaced without touching the glass; the trick is matching the screw spacing and the keeper. If it no longer lines up because the sash has sagged, the hinges or balances need attention too, or the new latch won't hold. Bring the old one or a photo.

Do I need a permit to repair an original window in Montreal?

Often not, but it depends on your borough and building. The Plateau, for example, generally doesn't require a permit to repair original windows unless the building has heritage protection, while replacing them does. Check with your borough first; our borough permit guide shows where.

Should a guillotine window that keeps dropping be repaired or replaced?

Repair it in most cases. A dropping sash almost always means a worn balance or broken cord, and both can be replaced. Replacement wins when the frame is rotten, the sash no longer fits the opening, or the glass is failing too. Our repair or replace guide walks through it.

What's 'manivelle' in English?

A manivelle is the window crank, the handle you turn to open a casement or awning window. The gearbox it drives is the operator, a barrure is the latch, coupe-froid is weatherstripping and calfeutrage is caulking. Use whichever words come naturally; the pro will understand both.

Window repair · Montreal

Cranks, balances, locks and seals: fixing the moving parts

When a window won't open, won't close or won't stay put, the glass and frame are usually fine. The worn piece is the manivelle (the crank), the barrure (the latch), a balance in a guillotine window or a flattened weatherstrip, and each can be replaced on its own. We connect you with an independent local window professional who repairs mechanisms, so the window you have can keep working.

Cranks, latches, balances and weatherstripping
Parts matched to older windows
Repairs that keep original windows in place

Get a free quote 514-312-6772

The crank turns, but the operator arm no longer pulls this kitchen casement closed.

Crank windows

A crank that spins freely: operator, gear or handle

Casement and awning windows open with a crank that drives a small gearbox, the operator. The symptom usually points to the part. If it's the glass rather than the mechanism, the windows overview sorts problems by symptom.

The handle turns, nothing moves

The handle's teeth or the operator's gear are stripped. Often only one of the two needs replacing.

It opens partway, then binds

The operator arm has left its track, or a hinge is bent. Forcing the crank strips the gear.

It won't pull the sash closed

Worn hinges let the sash sag until it catches the frame. New hinges and an adjustment usually realign it with the latch.

Stiff on a January morning

Ice on the sill or a weatherstrip frozen to the frame. Let it thaw; the gear gives way before the ice does.

Guillotine windows

Guillotine windows that won't stay open

Guillotine windows, the hung windows found in so many Montreal plexes, hold their sash up with balances: springs in newer frames, cords and weights in older wood ones. When a balance wears out, the sash drops or has to be propped open with a book.

Spring balances are replaced in pairs, usually a straightforward job. In old wood windows, the stops come off, the sash comes out and a new cord reconnects the weight. Neither repair calls for a new window.

Drafts and leaks

Weatherstripping, caulking and drafts

Cold air and water get in around a window long before the window itself fails.

Weatherstripping (coupe-froid)

The strip where sash meets frame flattens and cracks with age. New weatherstripping cuts drafts and helps keep the sash from freezing shut.

Caulking (calfeutrage)

The bead sealing the frame to the brick or siding. Once it cracks or pulls away, rain gets in behind the frame. Worth a look each spring.

Leaks when it rains

Water at the bottom of the frame can come from the caulking, blocked drainage holes or a failed seal in the glass; if it's the glass, see foggy thermos units.

Old wood sash

Wood sash: repair rather than replace

Original wood windows can often be restored: joints reglued, rotten sections of sill patched, putty renewed, hardware refitted. Several boroughs lean the same way. The Plateau generally needs no permit simply to repair original windows, except for protected heritage buildings and sectors. Ville-Marie favours work that keeps the original appearance, and Westmount exempts restoration of original components from its architectural review.

Rules differ by borough, so check with yours before work on the frame; our borough permit guide shows where to look.

What affects the quote

What shapes the price of a hardware repair

Hardware repairs are usually modest jobs. The quote depends on:

Which part: handle, operator, hinge, balance, latch or weatherstrip
Whether the part is standard or has to be matched
How many windows share the problem
Whether the sash comes out, and which floor it's on
The state of the wood around the hardware

A photo of the part is enough to start.

Get a window repair quote

Free quotes from independent local pros.

Hard-to-find parts

Parts that are hard to find on older windows

A crank from one decade won't always fit a frame from another. The quickest route to the right part is the old part itself, or a clear photo showing how it mounts and any markings on it.

Some parts are standard and sold off the shelf at a hardware store, and the pro will say so if yours is. Others have to be matched, adapted or ordered. When nothing fits at all, that's one of the few hardware problems that point toward a new window.

Do it yourself

Small replacements you can do yourself

Swapping a crank handle held by one screw, or a latch that bolts on from inside, is within reach of most people once they have the matching part. So, often, is new weatherstripping.

Operators, balances, hinges and anything that means taking the sash out are better left to a pro, especially upstairs. For that work, hire a contractor and check their RBQ licence, which window and door contractors in Quebec generally need. If your windows are casements, the casement windows page covers the window type itself.

Questions

Window hardware questions

Explore your options

Local pros repair window hardware across Montreal and nearby, including Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Westmount, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Villeray and the West Island.

Tell us what the window is doing

Name the type of window and what has gone wrong, with a photo of the crank or mechanism. We pass it to an independent local pro who repairs window hardware and comes back to you with a soumission.