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How do you open a stuck PVC window handle and also replace it?
In this video, I tackle a common household problem: fixing a stuck handle on a PVC window. If you've been struggling to open your bathroom window even after pressing the button, this step-by-step guide is for you.
I’ll walk you through a simple method to get your uPVC window open and then show you how to replace the broken handle with a new one. Whether you're an experienced DIYer or just trying to keep your family happy, you can follow along as I fix this window in real-time!
There are some unexpected challenges: finding the right handle size and cutting it down to fit perfectly. By the end of this, your window will be functioning like new, and you'll be able to let in some much-needed fresh air!
How I put up IKEA EKET floating cabinet... for girl's bedroom MAKEOVER!
TRANSCRIPT: (CLICK PLAY ON THE VIDEO ABOVE)
THIS IS THE TRANSCRIPT - CLICK PLAY ON THE VIDEO ABOVE!
Hello, welcome back to the vlog, and welcome back to my bathroom. We... we've been in here a few times too many, I think. But is your handle on your PVC window broken?
Is it... does it just not move? Is it not working, even if you press the button in? The handle on the PVC window doesn't open? I think I've got a solution for this. I'm going to do this for the first time in real time so you can follow along with me. We try new things every day to make your family happy, and the thing I'm trying today to make my family happy is to... is to open the crucial bathroom window because Daddy... Daddy might change the smell in here from time to time, and if they can't let it out the window, I... I think we will have breathing difficulties.
Come on, Cohagen! You got what you want!
Give these people AIR!
I... I've tried WD40. It doesn't work. Uh, basically, you push the button in, and for some reason, the catch doesn't... doesn't turn. And I know that it's not locked, because the button does go in and out, and it... you can lock it, and the button doesn't move.
Let me show you how this handle works when it works.
Let's go to my son's bedroom, and this will help you to do this technique that I'm about to show you.
But here we have... obviously, the handle is on a different orientation, but if I press the button and open it, it opens. And can you see inside? There is that catch there.
So when it's working, you push the button in, and the catch releases, and that catch sits inside this kind of square metal block here.
So when you close the window, the catch lifts itself up because it's got that kind of, uh, slide on it, and that's going to be crucial for our technique.
And then when you close it, it should click into place, and the click is the... the plastic button sitting in that metal kind of window.
That's... that metal bed. So if I press the button again, obviously, it opens.
So what we need to do is to get something inside that to lift that plastic catch.
Now, what I'm going to use is my Post Office travel money card, which was really good—it really works!
You can just load it up with money, but we're going to try it for this.
Now, I did try it with cardboard because I thought the gap would be too thin.
But a... a... a credit card or piece of plastic should be able to get in.
What we're going to do—can I get in closer?—so I'll try and get you as close as possible.
I'm going to slide the corner all... all the way in so that hopefully it pushes the catch up.
And obviously, you need to make it all the way through the... the... the handle.
And now you can just turn the handle! Ta-daa!
My family can breathe again!
Give these people AIR!
But now what we've got to do is replace the handle because obviously, if you click it... oh no!
We're going to push this open again like that—open it goes. We're going to...
Sorry, I'm just straddling the... the nice bamboo shelf in the bath.
We are going to pry off this cap with a very sharp flathead screwdriver, and underneath—hopefully that hasn't fallen down the... the plug hole—but underneath you have a... a screw there and a screw there, which obviously you can't get to if the handle is... is locked.
So use the card to open it, and then we're going to unscrew these two screws.
This might be one step beyond your DIY, but bear with me, I think this is going to be straightforward and easy.
We're going to undo... I've got my, uh, my trusty Ikea screwdriver as well, and we're going to take out these two screws, and it should just pull out like this. So there's the spindle in there that turns the lock in there—oh—yeah, obviously, I should... I should probably have opened the window first thing on it.
I didn't want to lose the screws out of the window.
You can open the window.
Now I'm going to look online on Amazon to see if I can find a new PVC window handle.
It is now one day later, and finally, my PVC window handle has arrived from Amazon.
I'll leave a link down in the description for a search to get you to the same kind of handles.
You can also get these in DIY superstores. I'm just being lazy, but you can get these in pairs or in greater numbers, so you might get a better deal. I've gone for two because I'm pretty sure this is going to happen again sometime.
This is the old handle, and this is the new handle, and can you see? The... I have to move my face. Can you see that the... the spindle size is different? So what I'm going to do, I think, is see if I can take this out. Oh, you can't—you can't take it out. Oh no. I am really hoping that this works and that this isn't too long for the hole. By the way, if your handle is broken and you've got the handle off and you still can't unlock the window, you can use this section here to turn the lock that's actually inside the window.
Let's use the old one to close the window, just pull it to.
Fingers crossed. I'll bring the camera closer now, we'll see if this will actually fit and if it'll actually work. So I'm going to put that square peg into the round hole...
But there is a square hole in there, and... oh, only just, only just. You can see that there's a bit of a gap. Don't know what I'm going to do about that.
I have tried with some pliers, and I cannot get this to budge at all. It just won't come out. You are going to have to find a hacksaw to... to bring down that length.
Ah, it's... it's never easy! Do I... do I... do I bother?
Do I bother?
Let's just do it for the video.
I'm going to mark roughly the length of the other one onto the new one. I think it's only a little bit over, so I don't actually have to take that much off. I am just using a junior hacksaw for this.
And I hate sawing metal—partly because it's so hard and takes a long time, but also because these metal shavings that come off, the splinters aren't great to have on the floor while we walk around with no shoes on.
This takes a lot of work.
I... I've sped this up. I started off with bits of wood between the clamp and the handle to protect the white coating on the handle, and then in the end, it was so much faff, I gave up and just put the clamp on directly just to hold it in place so I could get maximum sawing in.
In the end, I have to use some pliers to snap it off. Hey, got it! So now it should be the right size.
Back in the bathroom, and pretty much for the same reason... for the same reason, the new handle comes with new screws, but they're longer, so I don't want to chance it.
I'm going to use the old screws to put the new handle in place, and we'll put the square peg into the square hole inside there—that's the actual lock.
And you can see now that the handle is now flush with the window.
Kind of worth the sawing!
And now I'll put the old screw in, and then I can open it—oh no, no! You're kidding me. You are kidding me. Oh, look...
Okay, I thought I'd broken it, so I've put it on the wrong way. Now I can open it, yes! [Music]
And finally, you can cover up the screws with these caps.
Let's try this again. We'll test it—window opens, window closes, handle locks.
I'm calling this a Dad Delivers success!
That was a really hard one. I don't know why, but thank you for saying hi in the comments or hitting the thumbs up or the subscribe button. It really helps me to keep this channel going. Good luck with your window, and right here is what YouTube knows you want to be watching next!
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