Double Hung Window Latch Problems

Learn how to fix double hung windows that won't properly latch. Getting the windows to latch will keep out drafts and give the windows their proper seal.

LESLIE: Alright. Suzette in Georgia is calling in with a window issue. Tell us what’s going on at your money pit.

SUZETTE: Hi. We have double-hung windows; I think that’s what they’re called. They open from the top and the bottom.

TOM: Yep.

SUZETTE: And they’re also double-pane, so they’re supposed to be greatly insulated, right? But every time the wind blows a bit, probably every month or so, we have to check on them because they drop or sag at the bottom some – I mean at the top. They’ll like fall down a little bit and I don’t know if we should correct that with maybe the latches.

TOM: Well, don’t you have a sash lock between the two?

LESLIE: Yeah, don’t you keep them locked?

SUZETTE: There are two on either side of the window but they’re not catching tight enough.

TOM: OK. So you need to adjust the window to get it to catch.

SUZETTE: OK.

TOM: Because those windows may not stay up with a good, strong breeze and a lot of rattling. They may fall down a little bit in their track. So you need to figure out what’s wrong with the window to adjust it, to get that to work. So you could have a shifting of the window or maybe it’s not closing squarely but you need to use those latches, otherwise the windows will never completely close.

LESLIE: Nor will they be energy-efficient.

TOM: Right.

SUZETTE: OK. So adjust them, meaning move them closer.

TOM: No, it means, actually, adjust the window so that they will lock. Maybe you need to get a handyman to help you with this but it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. And they should be a little bit tight because when you latch them, they actually press the top of the window into the head jam and the bottom of the window into the sill.

LESLIE: Which creates the energy-efficient seal, which keeps the windows efficient and keeps the breezes out.

TOM: Exactly.

SUZETTE: OK. Well, great. That should help me a lot, because I have to save some money this winter doing those kinds of things around here.

TOM: And that must be why your heating bills are so expensive, because they’re getting a lot of drafts in around those windows. If you get a real tight seal, that will make a big difference.