Fabricators do not lose money on the hardware. They lose it on the second visit. These are the five failures behind most of the callbacks we hear about, in the order they cost the most.
1. Corrosion on coastal and humid sites
Mild steel friction stays near the coast, or in a bathroom, will show rust inside two seasons. Stainless steel — SS 202 for general use, SS 304 where salt air reaches the window — costs a little more per piece and removes the problem entirely. In West Bengal this matters more than most specifiers assume.
2. Handles working loose
Usually a screw length problem rather than a handle problem. A screw that only catches the outer wall of the profile will loosen with use. Use the length supplied with the set, into reinforcement where the profile provides it.
3. Sashes dropping out of square
Heavy sashes on hinges that were never rated for the weight. 3D hinges exist so the sash can be brought back into alignment on site, but they cannot compensate for being under-specified from the start. Check the sash weight against the hinge rating before ordering, not after.
4. Draughts and water ingress at the meeting stile
Single-point locking on a tall sash pulls the centre tight and leaves the top and bottom corners free to flex. A multi-point espagnolette closes the sash along its full height, which is what actually delivers the seal the gasket was designed to give.
5. Glass rattle and stress cracks
Missing or wrongly sized glass packers. The packer sets the glass in the correct position within the rebate and transfers the load to the frame at the right points. Skipping them, or using one thickness throughout, is what produces a rattling unit and, eventually, a stress crack from a corner.
None of these fixes are expensive. All of them are cheaper than sending someone back to site.
