DOUBLE-PANED WOOD WINDOWS

Michael Holigan: This magnificent lake house gives the owners a great view. But the residents may have been throwing their money out the window on energy bills. We're going to change that by replacing their single-paned wood windows with something better - double-paned wood windows with an aluminum exterior and we're going to show you how you can save even more money by doing the job yourself. We though that since we were at a house that looked like terror we had a guy named Rhett help us out with some of the questions here. First question Rhett, on this window, it's a really nice big picture window, how much money would we have invested in the window itself?

Rhett Williams: This window actually runs probably around $650.

MH: With a professional, what do you expect to spend on a big window like this?

RW: The window installation on this particular window, the picture, the casement, the two side windows, we charge between $250 and $300, give or take. A lot of that's to do with any extra trim needed or not needed; in this case not needed on the inside.

MH: And that is one way you can save a lot of money is by saving the interior trim when you're cutting out the old window?

RW: Most definitely. On this particular window we were able to leave intact a lot of the interior casing and reuse, or reapply it, in which in turn saves the homeowner anywhere from $80 to $100 a window, a hole I should say.

MH: Inside, Scott Miller has been removing the trim and molding on the right window. Now I'll try it on the left side. A pry bar and a hammer are all you need to loosen the stops which hold the window sashes. Discard the old aluminum balancers after you remove them. Now I'm ready to tackle the lower window. It's a two-person job.

Scott Miller: Grab the bottom too, 'cause it's breaking, just go easy on it. Watch it. That glass is going to get you there.

MH: Whoa!

SM: Gets your attention.

MH: Scott brings up a good point. Anytime you're working with glass be extra careful. We go through the same procedure for the top window.

SM: Let me score this here. Sometimes this paint...take a utility knife...this paint will most definitely hold you up. That one there is going to take a little bit of brute force. There you go.

MH: The center piece is next.

SM: This is a double hung wall directly together. Some homes, they use a support in between here and you've got to be very careful and watch for that on a two-story house, that you're not tearing out any type of structural support.

MH: Before we attack the center, let's clean up the frame with a putty knife. If the wood has started to decay we can patch it now.

SM: Most commonly you might have a little down here on your sills. If you have just a couple areas that have just very little rot we fill them with silicone and smooth it out to where it seals it.

MH: Gaps can be filled with fiberglass insulation. We placed a half-inch shim across the top of our window.

SM: Best to have your opening built in as snug as possible. We built in the sides 'cause we need to gain three inches, so I've put an inch and a half on either side.

MH: Okay.

SM: That leaves me about a quarter of an inch to play with in width, which you need at that point.

MH: We've removed the sashes from this big window, but it's still heavy. Once we lift it to the empty frame the window needs to be coaxed in.

SM: Still hitting?

MH: Yeah. Fits pretty good.

SM: Okay, you should be able to start. Just push and hold onto it. There we go.

MH: Ten three and a quarter-inch screws anchor our window. We load our sashes into the window and it's ready for the owner to repaint and reapply the trim we've saved. When they're done, it'll look like this. One of the great things about this wood window is it has an aluminum exterior, which will outlast the lifetime of the house and the people who live in it. The homeowners will no longer pay a huge price in utilities for their fantastic view and these energy-efficient windows should pay for themselves in just a few years. It's a win-win situation.

Contacts:
Windoor World - 800-299-4636
www.windoor.com

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Episode 68 1997 - 98 Season

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