WIndow Sash Will NOt Stay Up

Question

Hello Swisco. I have a small, vinyl, bathroom window. The rough opening is approximately 36 x 36. Something snapped yesterday and the sash will now NOT stay up. There are no tags or engravings on the window, so I do not know the brand. But I remember purchasing it at Lowe's or Home Depot about 14 years ago. There appears to be a small coil spring balance on each side that is screwed directly into the window channel. The shoe portion on each side can now be seen at the very bottom of the sash. The show appears to have broken off on both sides. I'm not seeing more of a "mechanism" other than the small balance on each side that you can see in the attached photos (the left side and the ride side). Is fixing this as simple as replacing the balance on each side and reinstalling the tilt sash? I'm looking forward to your feedback on this and which replacement parts I need to order.

Thanks,
Rob

Tom · Accepted Answer

Hello there! Sounds like the coil springs snapped. 10-15 years is typically how long you can expect balances like this to last, so after 14 years I'm not surprised.

Based on what I see in your photos, I think you might want our Series 190 coil spring. A good way to confirm is to check the design of the pivot shoe; as long as yours looks like our 15-180 then that is the spring you want.

As for other parts you may need, it's entirely likely that you only need the springs. However you should give everything in the assembly a good once-over just to make sure there is no significant damage elsewhere.