Connected Craftsman LLC
Door, Window and Lock Repair in West Chester, PA
In a borough house, the door is almost never the problem. The opening it sits in has moved, and the fix costs a fraction of what a new door does.
Prefer to text? Feel free to include a few photos — it helps us give a faster, more accurate estimate.
Why nothing in an old West Chester house is square
West Chester's 2003 historic resource inventory counted 4,278 historic resources across the borough, about 90% of them still contributing to one of its three National Register historic districts — and roughly half the borough's buildings date from the 1830–1930 building boom that gave the town its Victorian character. These are Victorian brick rowhouses and twins, with stock going back to the 1830s.
A house that old has settled — not dangerously, just over a very long time. Openings rack a fraction of an inch out of square. Every single thing that follows from that is the same short list: the door that drags on the top corner, the one that only latches if you lift it, the one that has had a hole chiselled progressively larger in the strike plate by successive owners trying to make it work.
The mistake is buying a new door. A new door in a racked opening is a new door that does not close.
What the job includes
- doors that will not latch, stick, or have dropped in the frame
- hinge, strike and threshold adjustment — usually the actual fix, and not a new door
- lock and deadbolt replacement, and rekeying to one key
- storm doors and screen doors
- sash windows painted shut, sash cord, and weatherstripping
Sash windows
Original double-hung sash windows in these houses are held up by a weight on a cord inside the frame. When the cord breaks, the sash drops and will not stay open, and people put a book under it and live like that for a decade.
The cord is replaceable. So is the parting bead, and paint that has sealed the sash shut can be cut free without wrecking the window. Original wood windows in a borough house are frequently better made than the replacement being sold to you, and they are repairable — which is not true of a failed double-glazed unit.
Note that in the historic district, exterior alterations can carry review requirements. That is between you and the borough, and worth checking before committing to replacement windows. Repair does not generally raise the question, which is one more argument for it.
Locks, for a house with a lot of doors
Borough twins often have a front door, a vestibule door, a back door and a basement door, on four different keys, at least one of which nobody has any more. Rekeying them to a single key is quick, cheap, and one of the more satisfying small jobs there is.
Often paired with: Rental Turnover and Punch Lists
Frequently asked questions
How much of a door problem is actually the frame?
In pre-1930 borough housing, most of it. Hinge shims, a relocated strike and a threshold adjustment fix the large majority of binding doors.
Can you free a window that is painted shut?
Usually, without damaging it. If the sash cord has also gone, that is a repair at the same time.
Should I replace my original windows?
That is your decision and it depends on your goals. Our position is that original wood sash is often repairable and often better built than what replaces it. In the historic district there may also be review requirements for exterior changes — check with the borough before committing.
Can you get all my doors on one key?
Yes, and it is one of the cheaper improvements available.
Serving Chester County
This page covers West Chester. See all of our door, window and lock repair work, or what we do across West Chester and the rest of Chester County.