Casement Adjusters and the Crank-Out Window

The casement window doesn't slide; it swings, hinged at the side and opening outward like a small door. That different motion needs different hardware, and the casement adjuster, the mechanism that pushes the window open and holds it there, is a specific part that's easy to lose and particular to replace.

A window that comes and goes

The casement has a long and interrupted history. It was the common window in early colonial building, then largely gave way to the double-hung sash, then came back in the Tudor and storybook styles of the early twentieth century, and again in some mid-century designs. Wherever it appears, it needs a way to open and hold against wind. In its simplest form the adjuster is a stay, a bar or arm that props the window open at set positions. The more refined version is the crank operator, a geared mechanism you turn to push the window out and draw it back, letting you open a window over a sink or a counter without reaching across. When one seizes or strips, the window won't open properly, and because casements come and go across styles, their hardware is less standardized and more specific to match than sash hardware.