This is another to-do that's been bugging me far too long: How to replace the worn-pile-weatherstripping on old aluminum windows to stop them from leaking air & noise?
I finally found a local place that carries this as well as any other door/window related part you could imagine. I'd stripped the height-adjustment screw on one end of a sliding-glass door, which caused it to sit in the frame crooked, which in turn led to a large air leak. The only way to fix it is to remove both the stationary and sliding parts, pull out the roller assembly and go hunt for one...with a rather large opening in the house!
HD used to carry the roller I needed, but no longer. I finally tracked it down at this door/window place and noticed all the pile weatherstripping.
I've been going around the house, removing each lower slider and replacing the old pile with new. What a difference! No more air leaks and along with it, outside noise is greatly reduced.
Here's the old pile pried up from one end where it's been 'clamped' in place at the factory with a punch. Notice the dent made in the aluminum channel on the far right hand side. This presents a problem both in removing the old pile and installing the new. The solution that worked the best was a tiny, cylindrical engraving bit chucked into a MotoTool.
Once the aluminum 'dent' was ground down flat, I could remove the old strip. To secure the ends of the new pile, I used a small amount of hot glue. The new pile is dark gray, whereas the old is faded (and dirty) light. I also used a flash in the first photo causing it to appear far lighter than reality. Note how the new pile stands up straight. There is also a plastic strip running down the center that blocks air and water.
Each of these windows have five strips that need to be replaced and each end is 'dented', resulting in ten dents to grind down. Early on I used a small file, but the Moto-Tool is faster.
The window/door place also carries the spiral-spring balances (lifters) which also needed to be replaced on a few. With some clean up and silicone spray, these windows are now sliding smoothly and keeping air/noise out like when they were new.
Onward through the list. . . .
I finally found a local place that carries this as well as any other door/window related part you could imagine. I'd stripped the height-adjustment screw on one end of a sliding-glass door, which caused it to sit in the frame crooked, which in turn led to a large air leak. The only way to fix it is to remove both the stationary and sliding parts, pull out the roller assembly and go hunt for one...with a rather large opening in the house!
HD used to carry the roller I needed, but no longer. I finally tracked it down at this door/window place and noticed all the pile weatherstripping.
I've been going around the house, removing each lower slider and replacing the old pile with new. What a difference! No more air leaks and along with it, outside noise is greatly reduced.
Here's the old pile pried up from one end where it's been 'clamped' in place at the factory with a punch. Notice the dent made in the aluminum channel on the far right hand side. This presents a problem both in removing the old pile and installing the new. The solution that worked the best was a tiny, cylindrical engraving bit chucked into a MotoTool.
Once the aluminum 'dent' was ground down flat, I could remove the old strip. To secure the ends of the new pile, I used a small amount of hot glue. The new pile is dark gray, whereas the old is faded (and dirty) light. I also used a flash in the first photo causing it to appear far lighter than reality. Note how the new pile stands up straight. There is also a plastic strip running down the center that blocks air and water.
Each of these windows have five strips that need to be replaced and each end is 'dented', resulting in ten dents to grind down. Early on I used a small file, but the Moto-Tool is faster.
The window/door place also carries the spiral-spring balances (lifters) which also needed to be replaced on a few. With some clean up and silicone spray, these windows are now sliding smoothly and keeping air/noise out like when they were new.
Onward through the list. . . .
