I'm not a professional window installer, but I have installed lots of windows professionally. I typically replace 2 types of windows in this neck of the woods (I'm in the Philly suburbs): Old wood windows with weights and no jamb liners, and not-as-old-but-still-old wood windows with spiral balances and thin metal jamb-liners. So I don't install windows every day, but I do a window job every so often. I have a pretty good idea of how to measure/order/install/cap replacement windows. Well...here's one situation where I'm not sure how to proceed!
This is for the house of one my very good friends. He wants me to replace all his windows. He has wood windows with vinyl jamb-liners (from the mid-to-late-80's).
Normally when I replace a window, I remove the interior stops, pull out the old sashes and thin metal jamb-liner (if any), cut/remove any weights/balances and parting stops, place the replacement window in the opening, shim/plumb/square/level, insulate, and reinstall the inside stops, caulk/paint/etc. I normally don't even have to remove the casing.
Normally, the face of the drywall is in the same plane as the 3/4" window jamb, so casing bridges the gap between the drywall and the 3/4" window jamb without projecting in or out. However, these windows that I'm replacing aren't any that I've ever worked with.
The drywall is 1/2" proud of the 3/4" jamb.The stop sits on the face of the 3/4" frame, bringing it to the same plane as the drywall. Then the casing bridges the gap between the drywall and the stop. Also, the outside stops (which are attached to the new rough frame) are metal, and I don't see how anyone would cap them (even though estimates my friend has gotten from professional window companies mention capping the exterior; but when I asked him if they even looked outside, he said no, so I think they were just making assumptions that the trim outside was wood).
This awesome picture I drew might clear things up (be sure to zoom in once the photo loads so you can see what's going on):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/76kc28qjqrkaodf/20180520_114910.jpg
Here are some more photos and a couple videos of the actual unit to hopefully give you a better idea of what's going on.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5c28u9xag0vfgyk/AAD9cw6GsThSVegi5l7lQZdta?dl=0
To add to all that, the current pocket depth is 3-1/2" and NOT adjustable (since the interior stops are nailed to the face of the side-jambs), but the new windows are 3-1/4" deep.
So here are my questions:
1) Measuring - Will I have to remove the casing and interior stops on all the windows in order to measure? That seems to be the case, but I just wanted to make sure there's not some other way, because normally I don't have to remove anything from the window unit to measure. I just measure from jamb-to-jamb, or jamb-liner-to-jambliner (point "A" in the top drawing).
2) Capping - Can the metal exterior be clad with aluminum? I wouldn't know how to attach it.
3) Also, should I try to find a window that has a pocket depth of 3-1/2" rather than the 3-1/4" deep ones were looking to install? Normally when re-installing the interior stops, I put the interior stops right up against the new window. However, I can't with this current setup, because the interior stops are nailed to the FACE of the side jambs (see my drawing above). I'm thinking 3-1/2" deep windows might be hard to get anyway, so I think I should just rip down some 1/4"-thick pieces to put between the new window and the old stop (since a 1/4"+ bead of caulk will probably look ugly).
4) Is there a name for this type of window so I can do some more research?
THANKS!
This is for the house of one my very good friends. He wants me to replace all his windows. He has wood windows with vinyl jamb-liners (from the mid-to-late-80's).
Normally when I replace a window, I remove the interior stops, pull out the old sashes and thin metal jamb-liner (if any), cut/remove any weights/balances and parting stops, place the replacement window in the opening, shim/plumb/square/level, insulate, and reinstall the inside stops, caulk/paint/etc. I normally don't even have to remove the casing.
Normally, the face of the drywall is in the same plane as the 3/4" window jamb, so casing bridges the gap between the drywall and the 3/4" window jamb without projecting in or out. However, these windows that I'm replacing aren't any that I've ever worked with.
The drywall is 1/2" proud of the 3/4" jamb.The stop sits on the face of the 3/4" frame, bringing it to the same plane as the drywall. Then the casing bridges the gap between the drywall and the stop. Also, the outside stops (which are attached to the new rough frame) are metal, and I don't see how anyone would cap them (even though estimates my friend has gotten from professional window companies mention capping the exterior; but when I asked him if they even looked outside, he said no, so I think they were just making assumptions that the trim outside was wood).
This awesome picture I drew might clear things up (be sure to zoom in once the photo loads so you can see what's going on):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/76kc28qjqrkaodf/20180520_114910.jpg
Here are some more photos and a couple videos of the actual unit to hopefully give you a better idea of what's going on.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5c28u9xag0vfgyk/AAD9cw6GsThSVegi5l7lQZdta?dl=0
To add to all that, the current pocket depth is 3-1/2" and NOT adjustable (since the interior stops are nailed to the face of the side-jambs), but the new windows are 3-1/4" deep.
So here are my questions:
1) Measuring - Will I have to remove the casing and interior stops on all the windows in order to measure? That seems to be the case, but I just wanted to make sure there's not some other way, because normally I don't have to remove anything from the window unit to measure. I just measure from jamb-to-jamb, or jamb-liner-to-jambliner (point "A" in the top drawing).
2) Capping - Can the metal exterior be clad with aluminum? I wouldn't know how to attach it.
3) Also, should I try to find a window that has a pocket depth of 3-1/2" rather than the 3-1/4" deep ones were looking to install? Normally when re-installing the interior stops, I put the interior stops right up against the new window. However, I can't with this current setup, because the interior stops are nailed to the FACE of the side jambs (see my drawing above). I'm thinking 3-1/2" deep windows might be hard to get anyway, so I think I should just rip down some 1/4"-thick pieces to put between the new window and the old stop (since a 1/4"+ bead of caulk will probably look ugly).
4) Is there a name for this type of window so I can do some more research?
THANKS!
