From: jeff@claw.clearpoint.com (Jeffrey J. Griglack)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Replacing windows(Retrofit or not?)
Date: 20 Aug 92 15:37:30 GMT
Reply-To: jeff@claw.clearpoint.com
Distribution: usa
Organization: /home/jeff/.organization

On 20 Aug 92 03:56:05 GMT, jhp@sactoh0.sac.ca.us (Jim H. Puga) said:

Jim> I was leaning toward these retrofit but I don't like the way
Jim> they'll rest within the window frame(it's an older house so
Jim> the replacement window won't fit flushly against the outside
Jim> wall.  It will have to rest within the window frame).

Jim> I am now leaning toward conventional windows and cutting the
Jim> stucco around the window.  This way I'll fill at ease with
Jim> the window resting "correctly" in its spot as opposed to
Jim> resting in the old frame.

Jim> I'd appreciate any advice or info in choosing one over the other.

I have done both kinds of windows in my house.  I, now, will not put
any new construction windows in my house unless I perform new
construction.  There was a lot more work involved in installing new
construction windows than there was to install the replacement
windows.

Let me start by saying that my house is almost 150 years old and that
construction practices have changed a lot in that time.  When I did my
first two window replacements, I decided to use new construction
windows rather than get replacement windows.  When I removed the old
window, I discovered that the window was an integral part of the
structure of the house.  There was no sub-sill (is that the correct
term?) or header.  I had to add these things.  On top of that, the
interrior and exterior trim needed to be modified.  The two windows
took an entire day to install.

The replacement windows, on the other hand, were ordered to a specific
size, and slipped in with no structural modifications.  If it stood
for 150 years without a sub-sill and a header, it must be okay.  I did
need to modify the interior trim, but I was replacing that anyway
(lead paint).  The other option to modifying the interior trim was to
cut back the exterior trim and hang the window a little out of the
opening.  This was something that a contractor suggested but I
rejected.  I do not think that the new windows look significantly
different from the old windows from the outside of the house.  

Part of what aids this is that the exterior trim was part of the old
windows.  It sticks into the opening a little and acts as a stop to
prevent the sashes from falling out of the opening.  The overhang is
large enough that the trim hides the sides of the replacement window.
If you need to add an "L stop" to your window opening to hold the
replacement window in place, you will be able to see the sides of the
replacement window.  On a stucco house, without exterior trim, you may
have this problem.

Your situation may be much different.  Your old windows may only be 30
years old.  You may have properly built rough openings.  Good luck
with whatever you decide.
--

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|Jeff Griglack             |"Hey, you talking to me or are you just practicing|
|jeff@claw.clearpoint.com  | for one of those performances you do?"           |
|jeff@fang.clearpoint.com  |                          -- Lori Anderson        |
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Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,misc.consumers