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Window Balance Replacement

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Eric Huber: Hi, I am Eric Huber with Blaine Window Repair. Today, we are doing window repair. Now, we are going to show you balance replacement. Does this look like any familiar problem? Well, today we can fix that for you. We need to change the balances in the window. This is a vinyl double hung tilting window. First we need to tilt the window in and bring it down. The balances are located on the sides of the window. There is a white cover that usually covers them. You take a screwdriver and remove the plastic covers which then exposes your balance. First thing you need to do is determine the length of the balance that you have. You take your screwdriver and remove the screw from the balance. The balances come in many different styles and lengths. To determine that, you measure the length of the silver tube only, not the rod end. This balance measures 24 inches. Now the same style balance could come in many different sizes for different size windows. There are also many different types of balance. We also have the block and tackle channel balance.

Now that we have the new balance, we are ready to reinstall it. You feed the screw through the top of the balance, align it back up in the same hole in the top of the jamb and tighten it up. Now you are ready to put your covers back on. Usually, just snaps into the top of the vinyl. Now, we have to reattach the rod end with the tension. To do that, we would use a balance winding tool. On the end of the rod there are two pins. The lower set of pins is what you would hook the tool to. You would usually want the balance usually about 10-12 revolutions. Then it reattaches to the shoe in the bottom. You have to do the same on both sides after you replace them. After the balance is reinstalled into the shoe, tilt the window back up. Lock it back into the tilt latches. There you have your window that stays up now. That's how you replace the balances in a double hung tilt window. Next, we are going to do single pane glass replacement.