When doing a move-out inspection of my rental property, I discovered the lift rail/channel on one of the windows looks to have been chewed up (presumably by the renter's dog).
I have not had any luck finding any repairs for this part of a window online. Can anyone recommend a potential fix?
I expect it requires replacing the whole sash if the window maker does not sell the part separately; if it's typical vinyl sash welded at the corners there probably isn't a separate replaceable part. Start with contacting them to see if they do, you're not going to find that at the hardware store. If you can't get the replacement part or a replacement sash you might need to replace the whole window.
That would be the amount to deduct from the security deposit, as that would be the way to get it back to the way it was before dog damage.
I can envision a practical repair of making a wood piece with a slit to be glued (and perhaps screwed though a couple of holes drilled in the intact parts) in place over the plastic projection, or two strips of wood (one above, one below) glued and screwed to it (the slit approach hides the damaged edge better, though.) That will look odd if it's the only window with that detail, but done well it should not look bad. Might be worth doing all the windows in this apartment so they look the same.
I suppose that could be done using plastic trim "lumber" if you wanted it to be all plastic. I'd consider properly done wood an upgrade, but tastes vary.
I've repaired a vinyl rib like this using aluminum roof edge, which offers a suitably hemmed projection and can be had in white. In my case it was a patio door screen frame with a similar rib on which the rollers fit. I overlaid the aluminum so the rollers would roll smoothly again.
Slice the hem off with a utility knife to the appropriate depth, then cut to length. Bond it to the vinyl with epoxy suitable for plastic. You could drill a series of small holes in the window rib for better hold, and consider bolstering with a few pop rivets.
If you're looking to do it really on the cheap to at least give a smooth edge, maybe consider using one of the edge pieces from a a put-together poster frame to slide over the damaged edge. Wouldn't look perfect, but would at least look better than what's there now. This picture is just an example of the style of edging I'm suggesting, but you probably would want to use something white.
