Balance replacement

Hello! I agree, it looks like you need new balances. We carry an absolute ton of different designs, so there's a good chance that we have what you need, but I cannot identify a match from these photos. Your balance you're showing me here is just too damaged.

In order to assist you, I will need you to remove an undamaged version from the window and show me a few more photos. I need a clear pic of the top end, bottom end, stamp, and whatever clip or shoe is at the end of the cord.

I'm confident that we have these for you, but those photos will allow me to confirm. Thank you!

Well, that's a bit of a Catch 22. The method of removal differs from balance to balance and right now I don't know what style you have, so I'm not sure of what removal method will work for you.

Can we at least get a photo of the undamaged balance while it's still installed? That might be enough. As long as we can see how it installs at the top, the stamp, and the clip/shoe at the bottom of the cord. Some important details will probably be obscured but I'll see what I can do regardless.

Thanks! This is very helpful. Looks like a tilt window channel balance, specifically with a ribbed channel. That narrows down the list of potential replacements by a lot. However, these are a little older than a lot of balances you see used these days. There are some older models that aren't made anymore. We'll need just a bit more information to confirm.

The good news is that these look like they might be pretty simple to remove. Your first step is going to be to remove the sash: raise it up a few inches, tilt it in towards you as if you were cleaning it, then lift the two bottom corners out. It's important to raise the sash up a few inches before you do this, otherwise you might break the shoe.

Once the sash is out, examine the shoe in question. This is usually a plastic block that the two bottom corners of the sash connect to. I think it's going to look something like our 15-014, which is what we call a "knife lock shoe," named for the knife-shaped locking mechanism.

If that's the type you have, then you need to retract it back into the main body of the balance before it can be removed. Take a screwdriver and use it to depress the knife. You want to press down on it and keep a firm grip; understand that this shoe is going to be under a lot of pressure from the balance spring. The second you depress the knife, there won't be anything holding it in place except you. Hold onto that screwdriver or else the shoe will shoot right up the track and probably break when it hits the balance.

While keeping that grip, allow the shoe to slowly retract back up to the balance. Once it's all the way retracted, it's a simple matter of just unhooking or unscrewing the channel at the top of the track to remove it.

If you shoe is anything other than the knife-lock style, show me a photo of it before you do anything and I'll advise accordingly.

The video below may be of some help. A lot of this procedure won't be relevant to your window but we show you how to properly release the shoe and guide it back into the balance.

That is not the shoe, no. That is part of the pulley system, which is meant to be permanently affixed inside the metal channel. What I'm talking about is at the end of the cord and extends from and retracts into the metal channel as you open and close your window.