I currently have a window in the bathroom that is 40"x36" I want to replace it with a window and that is the same width 40" but is just 12" tall. I have had some water damage as this window is in the shower, and water gets into the track and drips into the wall.

I am planning on opening the outside wall to see what I'm up against tomorrow. The question is how do I go about walling up the opening to leave myself a 12" gap to install the new window?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

 

Does your new window have a nailing fin, or are you installing a replacement window into the old jamb, and just need to make it shorter? Uploading a pic to picasa or photobucket might help.

 

I want to take it out too the rough opening, and make a smaller rough opening to install a new window into. I have not yet purchased a window so I can get whatever size. I am looking around and seems like the standard is 32 X 15, so I may go to that size.

 

take the old window out and re-frame the opening the size you want/need it to be. Be sure to purchase a New window as opposed to a replacement window.

You will also need to purchase something to re-sheath and re-side the outside of the house since you will be creating more of a space with the added framing.

Then of course you will need to re dry wall the inside as well (or whatever covering is in there now.

Re-framing may require adding or replacing or even lowering a header of some sort if one currently exists. 40" (or 3ft 4 inches) is a good distance to cover and will probably need some support other than just a 2x4 going across

Are you eliminating the height of the window from the bottom or the top, or do you plan to take a little from both?

 

I was hoping to use the existing header and just frame up to whatever it is 12 or 15 inches below that header. I was assuming it is easiest to go up rather then move a header, and I think the height that is at will work just fine.

I can just frame out the sides, and bottom plate with 2 x 4? I'm guessing this is the most critical part of the job making sure I can frame it square level and to the proper size. I'm most worried about that. Any tips on framing this opening?

Thank you for all your help

 

You've got the right idea. You obviously need to know the final rough opening size for whatever window you will be getting. A rough opening is larger than the window itself by about 1", so that gives you roughly 3/8 or 1/2" on each side. So as long as the RO isn't out of level by more than that, you will be able to install the WINDOW level, which is what is really the most important. If a RO is out of level, it's really not a big deal.

Use the bottom of your header as the top of the opening. Put a 2x4 horizontally along the bottom of the old rough opening first. Then put one on each side on top of that. Put one horizontally on top of that, and then fill in the middle with a couple studs underneath, trying to follow the layout (usually 16" OC) that is on the rest of the wall. It doesn't hurt to run a bead of construction adhesive around the existing RO before putting these new framing members in, it helps to air seal the framing.

Insulate, install water resistant drywall or cement board and tile or what have you, to match existing wall. On the exterior your studs should be the same thickness as the old ones, if not the main thing is matching the existing level of sheathing. So just use whatever thickness of sheathing you need to get out to that same level. Add a weather resistive barrier (WRB) and then you should be ready to install the window. Then its just a matter of trimming the inside and outside of the window and installing some siding to match.