™Is there a draft in the corner of a room, right where two windows meet? Or has the board under your front door worn into a hollow that holds rain? Both are carpentry, and both can usually be done with the window or the door left where it is.
Based on 101 reviews Window & Door Repair in Whitestone, NY
A basement window that tips inward rides on two small hinges at its base. Once one hinge rusts in a Whitestone basement, the window can sag to that side and miss its catch.
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The glass corner of a room
Some houses turn a corner in glass. Two windows come together at the corner of a room, around one slim wood post. It is a good-looking detail, and it is harder on the wood than a window set in a flat wall.
That post stands out in the weather, with no wall beside it for shelter. Each window’s frame is joined to it at the top and at the bottom, so one post carries four joints. Paint that splits at any of them leaves the end of a board open to the rain.
Whitestone lies on the East River. If your corner looks toward the water, wind may reach it from two directions.
Look at the four joints, the low pair and then the high pair. If the paint is broken over one, or a fingernail slides into it, the number to ring is 516-841-5048. Both windows keep their original style, and a tight, freshly painted post makes the whole corner look better.
Get an EstimateThe board under your front door
The board you cross at the front door is its sill. On many houses it is a thick piece of hardwood, sloped so that rain runs off. Decades of shoes wear a shallow hollow into the middle of it. After that it sheds nothing, and water sits in the hollow.
At the top of an open stoop, with no roof over the door, that sill takes every shower. From the hollow, water can work its way in under the two sides of the door frame.
Lay a ruler across the sill once the rain has stopped. If you can see water standing under the ruler, the slope is gone. A worn sill can usually come out alone and a new one go in, while the door and its frame remain.
Basement windows that tip in from the top
ZIP code 11357 takes in Whitestone and Beechhurst and some blocks beyond them. The Census Bureau’s survey for 2020 to 2024 dates roughly half of that ZIP code’s homes to the 1950s and the 1960s.
A house of those years often has small basement windows of one kind: hinged along the bottom, tipping into the room from the top. A window like that is called a hopper. Two small hinges carry it, a catch at the top holds it shut, and a short arm at each side stops it from dropping flat.
So close to the ground, the hinges tend to rust before anything else. A hopper with one rusted hinge sags to that side and misses its catch. Then somebody wedges it shut, and the basement goes without fresh air.
Next time you are in the basement, look at the bottom edge of each one. Scaly brown metal at a hinge, or a window hanging lower at one end, marks a hopper that wants new hardware. With new hinges, a new catch and new side arms, the same hopper can usually hang level and hold shut.
Sills on one line of the City’s table, whole windows on another
Minor work has a rule of its own at the Department of Buildings, the City agency that issues building permits. Its tables sort that work into what needs a permit and what may not. Among the second kind is this line: “Repair or replacement of window and door sills.” Take the line as it is written: it is about sills. Replacing a whole window is a different line, with conditions attached.
When a job does need a permit, the Department’s website says who begins it. An architect or an engineer must file the construction plans. That person is the one who submits the application, the drawings and the other papers to the Department.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated a house on Powells Cove Boulevard in 1982. Its report places that house in the Beechhurst-Whitestone section. At an address the Commission has designated, its own permit comes into the job as well.
So what you need from the Department is narrow: the line of the table that covers this job. If it means a permit, your next conversation is with an architect or an engineer, because the plans have to come from one of them.
Our Services
Window and Door Services in Whitestone
Window Maintenance
Professional window maintenance keeps windows operating smoothly, prevents costly problems, improves energy efficiency, and extends the lifespan of existing systems.
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Rotten Wood Repair & Replacement
Rotten wood repair restores damaged frames, sashes, sills, and trim while preserving usable components and preventing further serious structural deterioration.
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Interior/Exterior Door Repair & Adjustments
Professional interior and exterior door repair and adjustments to correct sticking, sagging, misalignment, drafts, locking problems, and difficult everyday operation.
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Hardware Maintenance & Replacement
Professional maintenance and replacement for door handles, locks, hinges, closers, and hardware to improve security, performance, reliability, and everyday operation.
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Screen Repair & Replacement
Screen repair and replacement restores airflow, visibility, and protection from insects using durable materials fitted accurately to windows and doors.
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Storm Door Repair & Maintenance
Complete storm door repair and maintenance for hinges, closers, handles, screens, alignment, and seals to restore dependable operation and lasting results.
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Questions from Whitestone homeowners
Each fall we tape clear plastic over the bedroom windows. What would do the job better?
Finding the leak would. Plastic stops a draft for one winter and hides where it comes from. The tape can lift paint off the trim in spring, and a taped window cannot be opened in a hurry. Air gets in around the sash, at the lock or through the frame. Once the spot is found, it can usually be sealed in a way that lasts beyond one season.
Our bedroom door taps in its frame at night if we leave a window open. What stops that?
The latch is holding the door, only loosely. There is a little room between the latch and the edge of its plate, and the door travels that far whenever the air moves. Many plates have a small tab inside that can be bent to take up the slack. Where there is none, the stop along the frame can usually be moved in toward the door.
Nobody ever painted the upper and lower edges of our cellar door. Is that a fault?
It can be one. Bare wood at the top and bottom of a door takes in damp air all summer, and the door grows. Once it has dried out in the fall, sealing those two edges may be enough.
The knob of our hall door has gone through the plaster behind it. Is that a job for you?
The door part is. A stop on the hinge or on the baseboard keeps the knob off the wall. The hole in the plaster is one for a painter.
Does your work take you to Bayside, Saddle Rock and Douglaston?
Yes. Bayside is the nearest of the three, about three miles southeast of Whitestone. Douglaston is farther east in Queens, and Saddle Rock is across the line in Nassau County.
How do I get a price?
Call us or fill out the short form at the top of this page. The estimate is free.
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Our Services
Explore Our Services to Repair, Maintain, and Improve Your Existing Windows and Doors
Historical Window Repair & Maintenance
Specialized historical window repair preserves original character, restores proper operation, improves performance, and maintains the architectural integrity of older properties.
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Low-E Glass Upgrade
Low-E glass upgrades improve insulation, reduce heat transfer, block harmful UV rays, increase comfort, and enhance year-round window energy efficiency.
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Patio Door Repair & Maintenance
Reliable patio door repair and maintenance for rollers, tracks, locks, handles, alignment, and seals to improve smooth operation and overall reliability.
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Commercial Window Service & Repair
Commercial window service keeps business properties secure, functional, and efficient through professional repairs, maintenance, and inspections.
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Window Installation
Professional window installation ensures proper fit, sealing, operation, and energy performance while improving comfort, durability, and overall property value.
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Interior/Exterior Door Installation
Professional interior and exterior door installation with precise fitting, proper alignment, secure hardware, effective sealing, smooth operation, and attractive results.
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Glass Replacement
Restore safety, clarity, comfort, and energy efficiency with professional service for damaged, cracked, foggy, or broken window and door glass.
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More Window & Door Services
Complete repair solutions for residential and commercial windows and doors.
Window Services
- Window Adjustment
- Window Recaulking & Sealing
- Window Reglazing
- Sash Repair & Restoration
- Window Mechanism Repair
- Balance Replacement
- Operator Repair
- Lock & Handle Replacement
- Weatherstripping
- Draft Repair
- Foggy Glass Replacement
- IGU Replacement
- Custom Glass Replacement
- Sidelight Glass Replacement
- Sunroom Window Repair
- Greenhouse Glass Repair
- Bay & Bow Window Repair
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Serving 300+ Communities
We cover Nassau County, Suffolk County, Queens County, and New Jersey, plus Upstate New York and Connecticut, including all the listed areas:
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