There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes with a window that won’t stay up on its own. You lift it, it slides right back down. You prop it open with a book, a piece of wood, whatever’s nearby — and you move on. My 10-year-old actually started wedging a baseball in the frame last summer, which worked fine until the day it rolled out and nearly took out a potted plant on the porch below. That was the moment I decided to stop ignoring the problem and fix it properly.
If you own a double-hung window in Connecticut — and most of us do — you almost certainly have window balances working behind the scenes to hold your sashes in place. When those balances wear out, you end up with windows that crash down unexpectedly, won’t open all the way, or require a baseball to stay put. It’s annoying. It can be a safety hazard, especially with younger kids around. And the good news is, it’s a genuinely fixable DIY repair that most homeowners can knock out in an afternoon without calling anyone.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What Is a Window Balance and Why Does It Fail?
A window balance is the internal mechanism inside your window frame that counteracts the weight of the sash — the movable glass panel — so it stays at whatever height you set it. Without a working balance, gravity wins every time.
There are several types of window balances in use today, but the most common in Connecticut homes are spiral balances (also called tube balances) and block and tackle balances. Older homes may have the original cord-and-weight pulley systems hidden inside the wall cavity, but most windows built or replaced in the last 30–40 years use one of the modern spring-based systems.
Spiral balances look like a metal rod inside a plastic tube. A coiled spring inside provides tension. Block and tackle balances use a small pulley system with a spring to do the same job. Both are reliable — until they’re not. Over time, springs lose tension, clips break, or the mechanism just wears out from thousands of open-and-close cycles. Connecticut winters are hard on windows. The constant expansion and contraction from temperature swings, the humidity of our summers, the ice and cold of January and February — all of it adds up.
How to Know Your Window Balance Is the Problem
Before you order parts, make sure a failed balance is actually what you’re dealing with. Here’s what to look for:
- The window sash falls down on its own when you let go
- The window won’t stay open at all — or only stays open if you push it all the way up
- The window feels very heavy or very stiff when you try to open or close it
- You hear a snapping or twanging sound inside the frame when you move the sash
- The sash tilts or binds in the frame when you try to operate it
If your window is also drafty, check out our guide on replacing a worn or broken window sill — sometimes it’s the whole window assembly that needs attention, not just the balance. And if you’re dealing with damaged exterior framing around the glass, our post on replacing exterior window casing walks you through that repair step by step.
What You’ll Need
Gather your tools and supplies before you start. Here’s the list:
- Flathead screwdriver
- Phillips head screwdriver
- Utility knife
- Needle-nose pliers
- Tape measure
- Replacement window balances (matched to your window type and sash weight)
- Painter’s tape and a marker (for labeling)
- A helper for the heavier sashes — my 15-year-old gets recruited for this one
The most important step before ordering parts is identifying your balance type and getting the right replacement. Most window manufacturers print the brand, model, and size information on a label inside the frame — you’ll find it when you tilt the sash in or remove it. Write down that information before you order anything. Many hardware stores carry common sizes, but for older or less common windows, you may need to order from a specialty supplier online. The Efficient Windows Collaborative is a great resource if you’re also weighing whether it’s time to replace the whole unit versus repairing it.
Step 1: Remove the Sash
Most modern double-hung windows are designed for easy sash removal — a feature that makes balance replacement much more manageable. Here’s how to do it:
Start by opening the lower sash about 6 inches. On each side of the sash, you’ll see tilt latches — small plastic tabs near the top corners of the lower sash. Press both tabs in simultaneously while tilting the bottom of the sash toward you. The sash will pivot inward. Once it’s tilted at roughly a 90-degree angle, lift it up and out of the pivot pins at the top and set it aside carefully.
Before you remove the balance, use a piece of painter’s tape to label which side is left and which is right. Small details like this save a lot of headache on reassembly — a lesson I learned the hard way on a Saturday afternoon with two boys asking me questions every three minutes.
Step 2: Remove the Old Balance
With the sash out of the way, you can now see the balance mechanism running along the inside of the window channel. How it comes out depends on the type:
For spiral balances: At the bottom of the balance tube, there’s typically a small plastic or metal clip attached to the shoe (the piece that slides along the channel and connects to the sash). Use needle-nose pliers to unhook the coiled rod from the shoe. Then unscrew the top of the balance tube from the window frame — usually just one or two screws. Slide the whole assembly out.
For block and tackle balances: These typically have a top mounting bracket screwed into the frame and a bottom clip or hook that connects to the sash pivot bar. Remove the mounting screws at the top, then unhook the bottom clip. The whole unit slides out as one piece.
Once the old balance is out, bring it with you to the hardware store or take clear photos of it — both the overall unit and any part numbers stamped on the tube or housing. Matching the replacement to the original is the most critical step in this whole repair.
Step 3: Install the New Balance
For spiral balances: Insert the new tube into the channel and secure it at the top with the provided screws. Then, using the tip of a flathead screwdriver inserted into the bottom of the tube, wind the spring to create tension. Most manufacturers specify the number of turns — typically 2 to 4 full rotations — and will include instructions. Once wound, hook the coiled rod tip into the balance shoe at the bottom of the channel. The shoe should slide smoothly and hold its position under spring tension.
For block and tackle balances: Slide the new unit into the channel and secure the top bracket with screws. The bottom of the balance will have a hook or clip that connects to the pivot pin or tilt latch bar on your sash. You won’t need to wind anything — the tension is already set at the factory.
Do both sides. Even if only one balance is visibly broken, the other side has the same age and wear on it. Replacing both at once saves you from doing this again in six months when the second one fails.
Step 4: Reinstall the Sash and Test
With new balances installed on both sides, it’s time to put the sash back in. Tilt it back into the frame by aligning the pivot pins at the top first, then rotating the sash upright until it clicks into place. You should feel (and hear) both tilt latches snap back into their locked positions.
Now test it. Open the window halfway and let go. It should stay exactly where you left it — no drifting, no crashing down, no struggle. If it’s still falling, the balance tension may need adjusting. For spiral balances, removing the sash again and adding one more full clockwise rotation to the spring usually does the trick. For block and tackle balances, check that the hook is fully seated and the balance shoe is properly engaged.
A window that holds its position at any height — that’s the goal. When my 10-year-old tested the window and it stayed up all on its own, his eyes went wide like I’d performed some kind of magic. Moments like that are worth more than any YouTube video on the topic.
When You Should Call a Professional Instead
This is a very doable DIY repair for most homeowners, but there are a few situations where it makes sense to call in a pro or at least get a second opinion:
- The window frame itself is rotted or structurally compromised
- The glass is cracked or the seal is broken (fogging between panes)
- You have very large, heavy commercial-grade windows where sash removal requires special tools
- The window is original to an older Connecticut home and uses a rope-and-counterweight system inside the wall cavity — this is a more involved restoration job
- Multiple windows throughout the home are failing at once — this might point to a systemic issue worth discussing with a window contractor
For energy guidance specific to Connecticut, the Energize CT program offers rebates and free assessments that can help you decide whether repair or full replacement makes more financial sense for your home. If your heating bills are climbing and your windows are older, it’s worth a free call before you invest too heavily in repairs alone.
What This Repair Actually Costs
This is one of the more affordable window repairs you can tackle. A pair of replacement spiral balances typically runs $8 to $20 for both sides, depending on size and type. Block and tackle balances are slightly more — usually $15 to $35 per pair. Compare that to a window service call that starts at $75 before the technician even opens his toolbox, and the math is pretty clear.
I’ve kept our home maintenance budget manageable over the years by handling exactly these kinds of repairs myself. Fixing the toilet fill valve, replacing a worn toilet flapper, fixing a dripping faucet — none of these jobs are glamorous, but each one keeps money in the account instead of handing it to a repair service for something I can do myself in an afternoon.
Teaching the Kids Along the Way
I had my 12-year-old with me for this repair last summer. He helped hold the sash while I worked on the balances, and I walked him through what each part does and why. He asked good questions — how does the spring store energy, why does winding it create tension. We ended up having a twenty-minute conversation that touched on physics, engineering, and how things that seem complicated usually aren’t once you understand the basic principle at work.
That’s really what this blog is about at its core. Not just fixing things. But showing our kids — through action, through presence, through a Saturday morning spent doing something useful — that problems have solutions, that tools aren’t scary, and that a little patience and the right information go a very long way.
Proverbs 14:23 says, “All hard work brings a profit.” I think about that a lot when I’m elbow-deep in a repair that didn’t go exactly as planned. The work matters. The doing matters. And your window staying open on a cool Connecticut evening without a baseball propping it up — that matters too.
You’ve got this. Go fix that window.
