Velux window problem.

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I was asked to look at some stuck Velux windows today - "They've stuck shut, as I haven't opened them since October" - it soon became obvious that they had been recently painted and, under interrogation, a confession that "It had been cold with them open all day to paint them, so I shut them" was extracted.

I did get the smaller windows open by the careful application of some violence, and without any real damage.

The larger window, however, is stuck to the extent that I can hang my whole weight from it without it budging. It's only stuck at the top, I can get some movement by pushing the bottom, but I can't even begin to get the slightest movement at the top. There's no easy way to lever it from the inside and it's almost impossible to access from outside, being situated above a conservatory.

Any ideas? I can see me ending up having to screw some substantial structure to the frame, so that I can lever it open.
 

bpelectric

Well-Known Forumite
Last stuck windows i came across same problem Paint I ended up with a Stanley Knife just kept cutting into the gap in the frame
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Last stuck windows i came across same problem Paint I ended up with a Stanley Knife just kept cutting into the gap in the frame
There's just no access to do that - it would mean getting on the roof, which is a big job with the conservatory underneath. It can't be done from inside the building.
 

bpelectric

Well-Known Forumite
Is there any way you could cut the rebate back then just glue pin another piece in after

A multi saw with a plunge cut blade would do it no problem
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
It's recessed into the ceiling, like this, there's just no way to get at anything without a large amount of destruction.

velux2.jpg
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Yeah, and there's just no way to get at the face that's stuck. The sides of the frame are clear, it's the outside face that's stuck and it's down a two-inch slot and "round the corner", so there's no way to get it to cut it. There's only the ventilator/handle to pull on and that must be close to failing with me hanging from it.

I thought I might start one corner and be able to 'peel' it open, but it's absolutely solid.

33659.jpg
 

Laurie61

Well-Known Forumite
Perhaps you could push/move the frame bottom, enough to wedge something in there, and leave it for a few days. See if a continuous pull would eventually break the seal ?
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
It's mounted at 45 degrees to the floor, making it awkward to push it with a jack-type thing. The bottoms not stuck at all, I think. I can move that enough to start worrying about breaking the glass as the frame bends - but nowhere near enough to wedge it - there's just nothing that you can get at.

I will (eventually) take some rope with me, so that I can hang from the top and push the bottom simultaneously.

It's all recessed in a plasterboard 'cave' and there's just nothing accessible or strong enough to apply any leverage to.

An unnecessary disaster......
 

bpelectric

Well-Known Forumite
Well I've asked around mate i always thought the glass was fitted from the inside but its not
I also thought you could remove the inner frame which you can but only from the roof side
short of breaking the glass i don't know what to suggest at the moment
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Well I've asked around mate i always thought the glass was fitted from the inside but its not
I also thought you could remove the inner frame which you can but only from the roof side
short of breaking the glass i don't know what to suggest at the moment
She can live with it for now.

You can fit the glass from inside the building, but only if you can open the window. It's fitted from outside of the opening frame, like a normal, old-style wooden window.

She's security-mad and would be convinced that a bus-load of Romanian burglars would be in like a shot if she'd left it slightly open to dry - well, they won't get in now!
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Right, I have defeated the window.

It was stuck by the paint - but, that wasn't the real problem, it had also been fitted, at the same time, apparently, with a roller blind. The brackets of this roller blind were obstructing the last bit of movement of the catch. So the window wasn't actually fully unlatched. When I took the blind off and unlatched the window properly, I could get enough load on the paint to peel it open successfully - I then re-fitted the blind in the right place.

The blind was fitted by someone who claimed to have done loads of them, but there was no way that the window would have opened with the blind in that position. At several points, I was hanging off the window, it was becoming possible that I could pull the whole lot down.

It only became obvious when I measured the catch position on an (un-blinded) window that I had managed to open last time I made an attempt on them. The windows are all in different rooms, so the difference in the catch positions wasn't obvious to start with.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Good glad you got it sorted mate ......blind fitters fitting blinds
Not sure if he was actually blind, but he'll have to be walking very carefully if I ever get the chance to give him his blind back.

The catch is in two stages, the first just opens the vent - if I hadn't had another window to compare it to, I might not ever have spotted what he'd done..
 

Laurie61

Well-Known Forumite
Not sure if he was actually blind, but he'll have to be walking very carefully if I ever get the chance to give him his blind back.

The catch is in two stages, the first just opens the vent - if I hadn't had another window to compare it to, I might not ever have spotted what he'd done..

Nice bit of detective work. :)
 
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