Install New Const Window on vinyl house
#1
10-11-05, 07:13 PM
Install New Const Window on vinyl house
I have decided to take on the job of installing 16 NC windows on my vinyl sided house. 
From what I learned :
I need to do the following,
REMOVE:
1. removing all inside trim
2. remove siding around window
3. remove sashes, 908 brick mold then window.
INSTALL:
1. Flash rough opening w/rubber Grace membrane, 9" wide strips, 1 on each side, plus top & bottom, ext 6-8" past RO
2. Caulk around nail flange that will be against the house
3. Place window frame in RO, one nail to mount, add sashes back to window frame.
4. Ensure, it is centered, level & squared(use shims)
5. Nail in place, cover nailing flange w/rubber Grace membrane as above
6. Put siding back up
7. DAP foam from the inside & re-install trim
I'm going w/ Harvey windows, w/ built in 3/4" J-chnl and the 908 ext casing built on
**Have I missed anything?
Questions I have,
1. How hard to remove & re-install siding?
2. Best caulking to use?
Wish me luck, my wife is going crazy
From what I learned :
I need to do the following,REMOVE:
1. removing all inside trim
2. remove siding around window
3. remove sashes, 908 brick mold then window.
INSTALL:
1. Flash rough opening w/rubber Grace membrane, 9" wide strips, 1 on each side, plus top & bottom, ext 6-8" past RO
2. Caulk around nail flange that will be against the house
3. Place window frame in RO, one nail to mount, add sashes back to window frame.
4. Ensure, it is centered, level & squared(use shims)
5. Nail in place, cover nailing flange w/rubber Grace membrane as above
6. Put siding back up
7. DAP foam from the inside & re-install trim
I'm going w/ Harvey windows, w/ built in 3/4" J-chnl and the 908 ext casing built on
**Have I missed anything?
Questions I have,
1. How hard to remove & re-install siding?
2. Best caulking to use?
Wish me luck, my wife is going crazy
#2
10-12-05, 05:54 PM
Group Moderator
on the install:
I've never used Grace products, I stick with Tyvek's straightflash and similar products. If your home has building paper behind the vinyl siding, ensure that it extends into your rough opening. If it doesn't, add building paper so that it does, and ensure that everything laps so as to shed water.
Install peel and stick along the bottom. cut a flap in the building paper on top of the rough opening to expose the sheathing, and temporarily pin this flap up out of the way. Caulk the opening. Install the window (with sashes in place and the window locked). Center the window in the rough opening with a few shims, and check for level, plumb and square. Once you have it where you want it, put a screw or nail in each corner. Check the measurement across the middle of the window in both directions to ensure the window is not pinched or spread. Once you have it where you want it, install the rest of the screws or nails. On the interior, install shims at the corners and in the middle to prevent the window from spreading. Install screws through the frame of the window as per their directions. Install peel and stick over the nailing fin on the sides (over the nailing fin and onto the building paper). Install peel and stick on top (over the nailing fin and onto the sheathing.) Fold the flap of building paper on top back down over the peel and stick, and tape it with contractor's tape.
As far as what caulking to use, just make sure it says that it is for use with vinyl windows and siding. Silicone will work behind the nailing fin, but other caulkings have been devised which have similar properties, but are better for vinyl windows. OSI VP275 is one, OSI Quad is another, but it can also be used as an exterior vinyl siding caulking. I prefer to use Quad for everything (provided it is never used on foam sheathings). Some siliconized latex caulkings would also work okay... all you are doing is sealing behind the nailing fin, but you want it to stick, and you want it to last.
How hard to remove the siding? Its a piece of cake, provided you have a Malco siding unlock tool. You can either pull all the nails and try to keep the siding lined up when you install it... or a real cheater's way is to unhook the siding from the nails, number it, and then put it right back up where it once was. Except, if you currently have brickmould, and your new windows have a built-in j-channel, you're going to have to replace all that siding around your windows, as it will be a little too short to just fit back in where it once was. It won't be long enough to fit into the built-in j-channel I don't think.
I like the DAP foam, but you need to shake the cans well and keep them in a very warm place until you are ready to use them.
I've never used Grace products, I stick with Tyvek's straightflash and similar products. If your home has building paper behind the vinyl siding, ensure that it extends into your rough opening. If it doesn't, add building paper so that it does, and ensure that everything laps so as to shed water.
Install peel and stick along the bottom. cut a flap in the building paper on top of the rough opening to expose the sheathing, and temporarily pin this flap up out of the way. Caulk the opening. Install the window (with sashes in place and the window locked). Center the window in the rough opening with a few shims, and check for level, plumb and square. Once you have it where you want it, put a screw or nail in each corner. Check the measurement across the middle of the window in both directions to ensure the window is not pinched or spread. Once you have it where you want it, install the rest of the screws or nails. On the interior, install shims at the corners and in the middle to prevent the window from spreading. Install screws through the frame of the window as per their directions. Install peel and stick over the nailing fin on the sides (over the nailing fin and onto the building paper). Install peel and stick on top (over the nailing fin and onto the sheathing.) Fold the flap of building paper on top back down over the peel and stick, and tape it with contractor's tape.
As far as what caulking to use, just make sure it says that it is for use with vinyl windows and siding. Silicone will work behind the nailing fin, but other caulkings have been devised which have similar properties, but are better for vinyl windows. OSI VP275 is one, OSI Quad is another, but it can also be used as an exterior vinyl siding caulking. I prefer to use Quad for everything (provided it is never used on foam sheathings). Some siliconized latex caulkings would also work okay... all you are doing is sealing behind the nailing fin, but you want it to stick, and you want it to last.
How hard to remove the siding? Its a piece of cake, provided you have a Malco siding unlock tool. You can either pull all the nails and try to keep the siding lined up when you install it... or a real cheater's way is to unhook the siding from the nails, number it, and then put it right back up where it once was. Except, if you currently have brickmould, and your new windows have a built-in j-channel, you're going to have to replace all that siding around your windows, as it will be a little too short to just fit back in where it once was. It won't be long enough to fit into the built-in j-channel I don't think.
I like the DAP foam, but you need to shake the cans well and keep them in a very warm place until you are ready to use them.
#3
10-13-05, 06:30 AM
Install New Const Window on vinyl house
XSleeper....1st post on DIY and have found this site very useful since arriving a couple of days ago, thank you for the response.
Couple of things if I may,
Siding:
My current brick mold is 2" and it is 2 1/4 into the existing J chnl, per Harvey, their brick mold is 2 3/8", so it will be close, from what I think. If siding needs to be re-place, was going to look at 2 options, 1. use siding from back on the front and put the new siding on back or 2 use back on front and front on back with new cut pieces, will have extra seems but will need a lot less new siding. House is 15 years old and front faces south with no shade.
Bldg paper:
I should have the bldg paper initial cover the RO then cut into so it wraps the RO? I was going to use the peel & stick around the RO prior to window then again over NF, is this the same?
On the interior, install shims at the corners and in the middle to prevent the window from spreading. Install screws through the frame of the window as per their directions.
Will there be room to shim inside if I have shimmed from the outside or do you just do all 4 coroners & sides from either out or inside?
Not sure how much rm there will be, went with stock windows they were perfect on the width(had some rm) but show 1/8" more on height than the RO measured, thought for the $2,000 difference, an 1/8" could easily be sanded in.....or not?
Couple of things if I may,
Siding:
My current brick mold is 2" and it is 2 1/4 into the existing J chnl, per Harvey, their brick mold is 2 3/8", so it will be close, from what I think. If siding needs to be re-place, was going to look at 2 options, 1. use siding from back on the front and put the new siding on back or 2 use back on front and front on back with new cut pieces, will have extra seems but will need a lot less new siding. House is 15 years old and front faces south with no shade.
Bldg paper:
I should have the bldg paper initial cover the RO then cut into so it wraps the RO? I was going to use the peel & stick around the RO prior to window then again over NF, is this the same?
On the interior, install shims at the corners and in the middle to prevent the window from spreading. Install screws through the frame of the window as per their directions.
Will there be room to shim inside if I have shimmed from the outside or do you just do all 4 coroners & sides from either out or inside?
Not sure how much rm there will be, went with stock windows they were perfect on the width(had some rm) but show 1/8" more on height than the RO measured, thought for the $2,000 difference, an 1/8" could easily be sanded in.....or not?
#4
10-13-05, 10:11 PM
Group Moderator
Regarding the siding and the built in j-channel, you are right, "hopefully" the siding will fit. The problem you will have is centering the window on your siding, when you've removed all the siding! Take a couple measurements before you tear it all off so that you will know where the window needs to go. Make some marks on the building paper or something if it helps. Since you don't want to have to replace siding, you don't want to install the window and then wish you had moved it 1/4" to the right, or 1/4" down.
Regarding the peel and stick, it's fine if you use it twice, but it gets kind of thick when you do that under and over the nailing fin, and it's redundant, but you can do it if you want. Just be sure you lap it correctly. In my opinion, it shouldn't be used on top of the bottom nailing fin of the window, only behind the nailing fin on bottom.
>>Will there be room to shim inside if I have shimmed from the outside or do you just do all 4 coroners & sides from either out or inside?
Not sure how you intend to shim it from the outside. Windows get shimmed to the rough opening from the inside only, using tapered shims. The shims hold the window in place, keep it from moving, and the screws help hold the frame in place, provided your installation instructions call for it. Don't get crazy nailing off the nailing fin on the outside until you've shimmed and checked the window for square on the inside. I tack the 4 corners of the nailing fin with screws, then go inside to check the operation of the window, measure for square, ensure it's not spread, shim it, screw it... then go back out and finish securing the nailing fin. Additionally, it's wise to make sure the middle isn't spread on the outside before nailing off the fin.
>>an 1/8" could easily be sanded in.....or not?
You'll want to cut that with a reciprocating saw. If the window is 1/8" taller, you need to find out where you need to cut it... higher or lower! Once the window is removed, and before the siding is removed, measure between the siding... compare that with the inside dimensions of the built-in j-channel on your new windows. Then measure from the siding to the rough opening and see if the siding is centered on the rough opening or not. That will tell you where you need to do your cutting. And cut it more than 1/8". you will want some room to jack the window around, room to shim and room to insulate.
Regarding the peel and stick, it's fine if you use it twice, but it gets kind of thick when you do that under and over the nailing fin, and it's redundant, but you can do it if you want. Just be sure you lap it correctly. In my opinion, it shouldn't be used on top of the bottom nailing fin of the window, only behind the nailing fin on bottom.
>>Will there be room to shim inside if I have shimmed from the outside or do you just do all 4 coroners & sides from either out or inside?
Not sure how you intend to shim it from the outside. Windows get shimmed to the rough opening from the inside only, using tapered shims. The shims hold the window in place, keep it from moving, and the screws help hold the frame in place, provided your installation instructions call for it. Don't get crazy nailing off the nailing fin on the outside until you've shimmed and checked the window for square on the inside. I tack the 4 corners of the nailing fin with screws, then go inside to check the operation of the window, measure for square, ensure it's not spread, shim it, screw it... then go back out and finish securing the nailing fin. Additionally, it's wise to make sure the middle isn't spread on the outside before nailing off the fin.
>>an 1/8" could easily be sanded in.....or not?
You'll want to cut that with a reciprocating saw. If the window is 1/8" taller, you need to find out where you need to cut it... higher or lower! Once the window is removed, and before the siding is removed, measure between the siding... compare that with the inside dimensions of the built-in j-channel on your new windows. Then measure from the siding to the rough opening and see if the siding is centered on the rough opening or not. That will tell you where you need to do your cutting. And cut it more than 1/8". you will want some room to jack the window around, room to shim and room to insulate.
