Doors & Windows in Suffolk

Door problems and how I fix them

Most internal door problems are caused by movement: in the door itself (timber expanding and contracting with humidity), in the frame (settlement of the building over decades), or in the floor (sagging joists, new carpet creating a tight clearance). The fix depends on the cause.

A door that catches at the top and bottom but not in the middle is usually a frame problem — the frame has racked slightly out of square and needs the door planed to follow it. A door that catches only after a new carpet has been fitted needs the bottom planed by the right amount — usually 8-12mm. A door that suddenly stopped closing properly after a winter is usually swelling at the latch edge and needs a careful 1mm shave with a sharp plane. Doors that have been hung off-square from new (very common in 1970s/80s estates) often need rehanging entirely with the hinges shifted by a few millimetres.

External doors are similar but with more at stake: the seal around the door, the weatherstripping at the threshold, the deadlock alignment all matter for security and energy efficiency. A draughty external door costs you real money in heating bills.

Window repairs — sash, casement and uPVC

Sash windows are a Suffolk staple, particularly in the older market towns. The most common sash problems: sash cords that have failed and the sash now slams down whenever you open it; sashes that won't slide because the runners are sticky with old paint and grime; rattling in the wind because the staff beads have shrunk; broken parting beads at the meeting rail; and the gradual rotting of cill corners where rainwater has pooled.

I rope new sash cords properly with the right balance for the sash weights, ease and lubricate stuck sashes, replace beads and parting strips, and undertake structural repairs to cills with timber splices and epoxy resin where the rot is contained. Where a sash window is genuinely beyond repair I'll be honest about it and refer to a specialist sash window restorer rather than bodging.

uPVC casement windows have a different problem set: failed gas struts holding the open casement, worn hinges that no longer keep the window aligned in the frame, perished seals around the casement, dropped handles that don't engage the locking points, and the inevitable misted double glazing units where the seal has failed. All of these are repairable individually rather than requiring full window replacement.

Locks, security and door furniture

Door lock work is a regular call-out. Common jobs: replacing a euro cylinder for security (anti-snap cylinders are now standard recommended specification), fitting a new mortice deadlock, fitting or replacing a multi-point locking mechanism on a uPVC or composite door, adjusting strike plates to cure misalignment, fitting bathroom locks, and replacing key barrels after a lost-key situation.

For the latter, I do straightforward like-for-like cylinder replacement on a single property. For larger key-management situations (HMOs, holiday lets, key suiting across multiple properties), a proper locksmith with the appropriate registers is the right person to bring in.

Draught-proofing for Suffolk winters

Suffolk winters aren't extreme by UK standards but a draughty older house will burn through heating money pointlessly. The economics of draught-proofing are excellent: a few hours of work, a few tens of pounds in materials, and a comfortable house that costs noticeably less to heat each year.

Common draught-proofing jobs: fitting brush strips around external doors, fitting compression seals into the door frames, threshold seals at the bottom of doors, sealing the gaps around skirting boards in cold rooms, draught-stripping suspended timber floors with foam-backed beading, fitting draught-proof letterbox covers, and fitting chimney balloons in unused fireplaces (which alone can save hundreds of pounds a year on a draughty house).

Glazing repairs and Velux windows

For broken glazing — single panes, sealed double glazing units, replacement glass in old wooden sash windows — I work alongside a Suffolk-based glazier. They cut and supply the glass to size, I handle the timber/uPVC framework, and we co-ordinate the visit. For misted double glazing, the cheaper repair is usually replacement of just the sealed unit (keeping the frame), which is a significant saving over full window replacement.

Velux and roof window installations are a specific skill set — flashing kits, weatherproofing, internal lining — and I take these on as a complete project, typically two days for a single window installation in a tile or slate roof.

Other services I offer across Suffolk

Towns I cover for doors & windows

I work across the whole of Suffolk. A handful of the towns I regularly visit: