Indirapuram was built in a concentrated period, so its buildings are ageing together. The practical result is that repairs arrive in waves: a block hits fifteen years and the sliding windows start binding across every flat in it within a couple of seasons. We usually know what has failed before we see it.
The order things fail in a flat of this age
It is consistent enough to be worth listing, because it tells you what to expect next.
First the window rollers, at roughly ten to fifteen years. The small wheels under a sliding panel wear flat, the panel drops slightly, and it starts binding on the track.
Then the seals and beading - the rubber holding glass into an aluminium frame goes hard and shrinks, which lets in water and rattle.
Then door closers and hinges, and handles and locks, which are simply used until they wear.
In every one of those the frame and the glass are sound. That is why we look at the moving part before quoting a replacement.
Doing the whole flat in one visit
A repair is a short job and the visit is most of the cost, which changes what a sensible call-out looks like in a society.
Walk the flat before you ring. Every window that has become stiff, the balcony door lock, the bathroom door that catches, the mesh that has torn, the kitchen window that rattles.
All of that in one afternoon is a very different number from five separate mornings, and it is one entry in the society register rather than five. Because the flats here repeat, we can also often tell you on the phone roughly what the list will involve before we arrive.
When it really is not worth repairing
We should be as clear about this as about the other direction, because always recommending the repair is its own kind of dishonesty.
Where a track is worn through rather than the roller worn flat, new rollers will bind again within months. Where an aluminium section has corroded at the joints, tightening it does not restore it. Where a lock has been forced, the whole leaf usually needs to change.
In those cases we say replace, and we say why. The test we apply is simple: if the repair will not still be working in two years, it is not a repair, it is a delay you are paying for.
How the job works
- Tell us about the jobSend a few photos, rough sizes and what you need. Use WhatsApp or the form. For a repair, a short video of the door moving helps a lot.
- We call you back in about 2 minutesWe confirm what you need and a time to visit. Where we can, we give you a rough price on the call.
- We come and measureWe measure the opening and check the walls, floor and ceiling around it. Anything made to size is made to these measurements, so they must be right.
- You get a written priceIt lists each item, with GST as its own line. If anything about the job changes, we tell you before we go ahead.
- We fit itYou approve the price and pay the advance. Our own team fits the work, checks that every door and window opens and closes properly, and clears up. Most jobs are done in 3 to 4 days.
