Do it yourselfers: Replacing windows (now with PICS!)

[HeroOfPellinor]

I got the windows on the front of our house covered. The trim comes off and underneath is the flange where the window is nailed into the frame. Piece of cake. The front of our house is wood siding. The back and all sides are stucco. To get the windows out do I need to chip away at the stucco until the flange is exposed and then patch the area after I install the new ones?

I've never done this before, but, as a young new house owner I like to do things myself as much as possible.

 

[DougK62]

What is the interior of the house like around those windows? Drywall?

What kind of windows are they? Vinyl? Metal? Wood? Combination?

Need more info. Pics maybe?

 

[LOLyourFace]

easy.

boot off into DOS, format to remove the older windows and replace it with a newer one. If you're going with the XP edition, you can boot straight off the CD. make sure BIOS POST is set to CD first rather than Floppy drive

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Bump. Pics on the way, just gotta fire up the camcorder. This page has the ones from the front. The last pic is the inside of the windows.
Window Pics
Thanks.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Here are pictures I just took of one of the windows.
PICS
Thanks if anybody has any advice.

 

[Choralone]

Bump so someone who might actually know something may see it.

I'd like to know more about replacing windows too. I just replaced my first exterior door on my house this weekend. Replaced a crappy old wooden door that was beginning to rot with a nice strong steel door that will probably outlast the rest of my old house.

 

[przero]

There are a couple of ways we do this. 1st - Do you already have the new windows? If so how did you size them? 2nd - What tools are available to you that you will know how to use? (esp. a "Sawzall"?). Stuuf like this is what I do for a living so I'll be glad to help.

 

[DougK62]

Did you buy the new windows yet? My suggestion is to take off any interior trim around the windows and then sawzall out the old windows from the inside. Then make sure that your opening is plumb, level, and square - add some wood if you need to. Take an exact measurement of this opening that you have. Go to your local Lowes/Home Depot/Menards/etc and order vinyl replacement windows with these sizes - do NOT order new construction windows. The windows will come just a touch smaller than your opening. Slide them in from the inside, shim them up, drill them in through the marked spots on the jamb. Put your interior trim back on and voila! Pretty new windows

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

I haven't bought the windows yet.

I know what a sawzall is, but I wouldn't think I'd need it. The front windows will be cake because there's wood siding and trim covering the flange of the windows that secures it to the frame. The stucco on the rest of the house is what I'm not sure about. I'm ready and willing to chip off the stucco and replace it later if that's what I need to do, but I don't want to do it and find out I didn't have to.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Just a bump.

 

[Electric Amish]

Depending on the type of windows, there are usually screws from the window frame into the window opening. You can usually get to these by removing the windows from the window frame, if it's possible with those windows.

amish

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

You mean not screwed or nailed in from the inside or outside of the window frame, but, rather, screwed in to the inner circumference of the window frame? I did see some black screw-like things pointing out of the tracks of the window into the inner circumference of the frame, but I only saw them on the top. They also weren't normal screws, they protruded about a half an inch and only had half a slot for a screw driver so you could only fit half a flathead screwdriver into the groove.

 

[Choralone]

Thanks for the tip Doug! I hadn't thought of replacing my windows that way. In my house I've got nice relatively new vinyl siding and trim around all of my old ass wooden frame windows.

Would me having windows that have a set of ropes and metal counter-weights in the windows make a big difference? That's the one thing I'd be scared of is dealing with that if those parts aren't contained within the main window frame in some way. Almost EVERY window in my house has that arrangement.

 

[przero]

Most windows in older houses have "nailing flanges", meaning they nail in from the front. If you try to chip out the stucco to reveal the nailing flange you will have 2 problems. #1 - The stucco can be extremely difficult to remove. Sometimes you remove more than you intend to. #2 - Patching the stucco isn't going to be pretty, even if a professional does it. The texture is hard to match and then to amtch the color you will have to repaint the entire wall. DougK62 has the right idea. That is always what we try to do in either stucco or brick.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Well, I'm gonna repaint the entire house afterwards anyway.

The windows are aluminum. With Doug's sawzall approach I'd basically saw through the aluminum by tracing the window frame, right? Can someone clarify that for me, cause it doesn't make sense? Would I need to get a window without a flange that could just fit inside the window opening?

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: DougK62
Did you buy the new windows yet? My suggestion is to take off any interior trim around the windows and then sawzall out the old windows from the inside. Then make sure that your opening is plumb, level, and square - add some wood if you need to. Take an exact measurement of this opening that you have. Go to your local Lowes/Home Depot/Menards/etc and order vinyl replacement windows with these sizes - do NOT order new construction windows. The windows will come just a touch smaller than your opening. Slide them in from the inside, shim them up, drill them in through the marked spots on the jamb. Put your interior trim back on and voila! Pretty new windows

Is it true for windows, as it is for sliding glass doors, that you can't attach it at the top?

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

I GOT IT. The key is getting "replacement" windows as opposed to "construction" windows. Replacements probably don't have the flange and constructions do. Still, I'd be sawzalling through aluminum.

 

[amdskip]

Another window question, when sales people call asking about replacement windows, the windows they install don't include removing the old frame correct? They remove just the window and then install a new frame inside off the old one correct?

here is what our windows look like
Would this be a pretty simple window replacement job? They have wooden frames covered in aluminum but it looks really straigt foward. How would I measure these windows to order replacement ones?

 

[przero]

Yep, you will saw thru the flanges.


amdskip - the sales people all differ in their products. Your replacement job should be simple. remove the trim, remove the existing unit, measure the opening, buy and install the new windows, and reset and caulk the trim. What is wrong with your existing windows? By the way, nice ride. Oh, and I still miss seeing the 3 car on Sundays!