How to Replace Wood Windows
Replacement units ready to install give you high performance and good shape with a minimal stir.
When Maddie Krauss and her husband Paul Friedberg first saw their 1897 shingle home, they saw a century of handcrafted zigzags, wide front porches, and large entry hall stairs. Falling in love with him is also great to learn that many of the original architectural details are still intact, including wood panels, stunning carvings, stained glass windows, and a decorative cast copper fireplace.
Windows are another matter. The originals were replaced a decade ago by low-quality belt kits that were completely inappropriate for the ugly and stunning Victorian drafts of the Fall 2007 Old House TV show in Newton, Massachusetts. is a project. Solution: Call TOH general contractor Tom Silva and his staff for an energy-efficient retrofit.
Since the existing sash is strong and square, Tom can use the Insert replacement unit – in this case, Anderson’s Wood Wright Insert replacement window is a vinyl composite wood unit with energy-efficient, low insulation glass. Will these fully assembled, ready-to-install windows slide through existing holes.
How to install replacement windows
1. Window replacement parts

1. Types of alternative windows

Unlike full-frame windows, which are designed for new construction, replacement windows are designed to fit into existing window openings. They are available in dozens of standard sizes, ranging from 11 inches narrow to 68 inches wide, and are available in wood, vinyl, fiberglass, vinyl-clad wood, and aluminum-clad wood.
There are three main types of replacement windows: sash kits, insert replacements, and full-frame units. Sash replacement kits – which Tom found at Newton House – give new moving parts to an old window frame, including jam liner and sash. The liners are attached to the side gills of the window opening, then the sash slips in the middle.
For them to work, the frame of the existing window must be level and square. An insert change window consists of a fully assembled window in a secondary frame ready for installation. This is sometimes called a pocket window, an entryway slips into an existing opening and is then tied to an old side jamb. Since you are adding new jambs and liners, the glass area will be slightly smaller than before.
The full-frame switches are similar to Windows Inserts, except that they have a full-frame that includes the head jamb, side jamb, and sill. These are the only options when the old window frame, lentils, or jam rot. To install them, you must remove the opening of the window, up to its rough framing, inside and out.
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2. Measuring for change

The maximum crucial step with inside the window substitute procedure is lengthy earlier than the day of installation. This is whilst you degree the size of the present-day window body to ensure you order the proper length substitute unit. Here’s the way to do it.
- Start by measuring the internal width of the antique window body, from jam to jam, in 3 places: pinnacle, center, and bottom. Write the smallest of the 3 measurements.
- Next, degree the peak of the body from the pinnacle of the Delhi to the lowest of the pinnacle jam in 3 places: at the left jam, withinside the center, and the proper. Again, document the smallest measurement.
- Check the squareness of the body by measuring the radius from nook to nook. The dimensions have to be the same. If the body is 1/four inch or greater rectangular, do not worry. The opportunity may be shamed to fit. Something else might also additionally want to be adjusted withinside the body. If the body is so horrific that converting the rectangular does not appear proper, you may want to update the total body.
- Finally, use an attitude measuring tool to decide the slope of Delhi. Some modifications include the selection of stitched angles.
3. Remove the sash.

- The first step is to take away the antique sash from the window body. In maximum cases, you’ll want to pry or unscrew the internal timber forestall to take away the decreased sash. (If you propose to reinstall the stops, try this carefully; they could without problems snap.)
- Next, take away the separation beads to launch the higher sash. If your windows, like these, had been formerly outfitted with a sash alternative kit, there may not be any beads. Just press down at the door body gasket and pull the pinnacle of the sash forward.
- Then rotate one facet of the sash as much as launch it from the jamb lining.
4. Pry Off The Jamb Liners

- If vinyl or aluminum gem liners are installed in the window frame, use a flat bar to free them. In the case of the original window, remove the remaining wooden stops from the window frame.
- Maintain the inner and outer lids.
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5. Prepare the frame.

- Scrape off any loose and blistered paint, and patch any holes or cracks with exterior-grade wood putties, such as Elmer’s or Minwax’s.
- The jambs are then sanded smooth, and the surface is primed and painted.
6. Remove the weight of the old sash.

- If the original sash weights are still there, take this opportunity to remove them from your pockets and insulate them behind the sash.
- Unscrew the access panel on each jamb and pull out the weights.
7. Prepare the insulation

Tom likes polyurethane foam because it blocks air more effectively than fiberglass insulation.
- Make sure to use only low pressure, minimally expanded foam for windows and doors; Something else will bend the frame and stop the sash from working.
- First, remove any fiberglass from the weight bag.
- Then make 3/8 “diameter holes, one at each end and one in the middle, from bottom to top and through the head jam.
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8. Spray-in foam.

- Shoot the expanding foam into the hole until it starts to ooze. (Tom uses a commercial system, but you can do the same job with canned foam, like Dow’s Great Stuff.)
- Also, spray foam into the waistband weight pockets on the side frame. Let the excess harden for at least 6 hours, then snap or cut it before replacing the sash weight pocket panels.
9. Caulk openings

- When preparing to install windows, apply elastic caulk to the exposed interior surfaces of the enclosure or the shutters on the top and sides of the frame. Also, apply two consecutive beads of caulk along the windowsill.
10. Installation window

- Working in the room, place the bottom of the plug-in replacement on the windowsill and tilt it into the opening. Press the window tightly against the housing or blind stop.
11. Tie it loosely.

- Hold the window in place with a 2-inch screw, loosen it through the jam, and frame the top. The screw must be far enough to operate the window.
- Close and lock the sash.
12. Pretend when necessary

- Adjust the unit by putting spacers below the sill and at the back of the jambs till it’s miles focused inside the area and opens, closes, and locks smoothly.
- Measure the window diagonally from one nook to the other; the measurements have to be the same. When the window is square, screw it into the area thru the pre-drilled holes.
- To keep away from bending the frame, slide a spacer at the back of the jamb of every screw and screw inside the spacer.
- Trim the spacer with a software knife.
13. Caulks, Primers, and Paints

- Measure the gap between the window frame and the housing from the outside. Fill gaps less than 1/4″ wide with elastic caulk. Anything wider has to be filled with foam rubber struts first.
- Inside, fill any gaps around the windows with minimal expansion foam.
- Done by reinstalling the stop or adding a new stop.
- The interior of the sash and frame is then primed and painted, or stained.