Picking the correct frame style when installing new windows

Last week, I told you how to measure for your vinyl replacement windows when replacing aluminum windows. Now that you happen to be ready to order your new vinyl replacement windows, we need to have to talk about the various frame style choices available. In most of the country your alternatives are limited to either new construction or replacement frames. New construction frames come with a nailing fin to attach the frame to the studs during the construction of the new residence. The replacement frame is generally the new construction frame minus the nailing fin.

But in the west, where stucco houses are widespread, producers came up with a third kind of frame known as a retrofit frame. The retrofit frame has a fin about 2 inches wide, positioned flush with the outside face of the window. This is the best choice when replacing old windows, but not all jobs will accomodate a retrofit frame application. So let's discuss how to establish which frame is going to function for you.

If you have a stucco exterior, retrofit is the way to go. You install the new window from the outside, and the flush fin covers the old aluminum frame that you are going to leave in spot. Then you screw the new window in using deck screws via the side channels as well as the top header. We will get into a lot more detail on the actual installation in a future article. If you have a stucco exterior, but there is a wood trim about the opening of the window where the flush fin would usually go, you can nevertheless use the retrofit style frame. You would need to get rid of the wood surrounding the opening, install the retrofit window, then purchase and install new wood trim. The old trim will no longer fit given that the retrofit window frame dimensions will be larger in width and height than the old window frame. Another solution is to install the retrofit fin on top of the wood trim. You can do this as lengthy as the depth from the face of the wood trim to the point in the home of the innermost portion of the old aluminum frame is much less than three inches deep. The purpose is due to the fact a excellent high quality retrofit window will have a three inch frame depth from the back of the flush fin to the innermost part of the frame. That innermost part requirements to be further into the house than the innermost element of the aluminum frame so that the aluminum frame will be hidden following we apply the inside trim. What if you have brick around the window openings? Or siding? holy water urn Then what? Properly, if you can install the window against the face of the brick or siding first communion symbols and still have the innermost element of the vinyl frame be further into the residence than the old frame, then you can use the retrofit style frame. If not, then you have to use the replacement style frame,then use trim to finish the outside. If you are able to get a retrofit frame with a relatively thin fin, you can also trim down the fins so the window fits among the brick or wood. That would eradicate the need to trim out the outside. Some manufacturers of retrofit frames will have grooves in the back of the retrofit fins. You simply run a utility knife in the groove until you are able to break off that piece of the fin.

The principal point to keep in mind when figuring out whether or not to use a retrofit frame or a standard replacement frame is that in order to use the retrofit frame there demands to be less than 3 inches from the outside point exactly where the flush fin will rest to the inside point in the area exactly where the old frame ends. If it's much less than three inches, go with the retro, far more than three inches, use the replacement frame and add trim to the outside in lieu of the flush fin.

Subsequent week I am going to explain the procedure of removing the old aluminum arraignment hearing window.