We moved into our house a couple of years ago, and in that time some of the window hinges have started to deteriorate.
The problem is with the rivets used to fix the hinges to the window frames, They seem to be corroding and weakening to the point where the head of the rivet shears off the body. Although each hinge is held in place by three of these, on some units all three have failed.
We've managed to refix one of the hinges with a couple of small screws and rawl plugs, but it's extremely fiddly and there seems to be a lot of luck that is holding them in place.
One problem is that there's no room to maneuvere because the space under the rivet is quite tight, due to the box construction of the frame. Another difficulty is that an upstairs window has been affected, so holding it in place while fitting any small fiddly bits is going to be a problem.
Is there a better way of replacing these broken rivets? Like some kind of drywall type fixing where the backing pulls against the wall as you tighten the screw? The diameter of the holes in the frame, once the rivets have gone, are 5mm.
thanks
Ste.
