How to Open a uPVC Door With a Broken Mechanism
Few things are more frustrating than when a fundamental part of your home stops working. This is especially true if it’s a door. If you’re having problems with your uPVC doors, it’s more than likely that having it fixed won’t mean the end of them. A faulty door can be dangerous as it means your home is more prone to a break-in! You may be able to create a temporary fix if you’re experiencing the following problems on uPVC doors:
Tightening a loose door handle
Before speaking about the mechanism itself, it’s worth seeing if this simple solution is all you need to fix your door. If the handle on your uPVC doors are loose, stopping you from opening it, the most likely culprit is the ‘barrel’ part of your lock. This is usually located where the indent for your key is, if this part of your door is loose, in effect, your handle also is. To remedy this, you should find the screw that keeps the barrel part of the lock in place and tighten it, effectively tightening up the door handle.
Looking for a replacement gearbox
An essential part of a uPVC doors lock mechanism is the gearbox. You can find out if this is what’s causing you trouble by putting your key in the door’s lock and attempting to turn it as you normally would. If you hear the familiar clicking sound like it unlocked, then it means your barrel lock itself is fine and the problem most likely resides with the gearbox.
To get your uPVC doors to open again, you’ll more than likely need to replace the gearbox. Unfortunately, this isn’t as simple as it sounds as all uPVC doors require a unique gearbox dependant on the brand and model of the door. To check which kind of gearbox you’ll need, look for the logo of the manufacturer, which is commonly located by looking down the lock or the metal strip that runs down the frame of the door.
The gearbox of uPVC doors is just a smaller part of the multipoint mechanism. If you look at the multipoint lock, you can attempt to work out how many locking points it has, which will come in handy when you try to find a compatible gearbox. These locking points themselves will be either rollers or hooks, it’s useful to know which of the two you’re dealing with as this will also come into play when you’re looking for a replacement gearbox.
Replacing the uPVC Door’s gearbox
If you get to the stage where you’ve found a store or tradesman that stocks the gearbox you need, the next thing you’ll need to do is take out your old one and fit your new one. This isn’t the simplest task and if it’s done incorrectly, it can cause more harm than good. This is why you might want to consider having a professional come and do it for you or, even better, replace the door entirely. Click here to view our range of uPVC doors.
If you’re having problems with your door, it’s more than likely that having it fixed won’t mean the end of them. Your best bet is to buy a new door.
uPVC Doors Prices
If you’d like to get new uPVC doors after reading this article, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. You can call Smile Windows on 07758 941050 or fill out our online contact form and a member of the team will be back in touch.
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