Help with custom handmade window repairs & bug and weatherproofing
#1
08-19-11, 03:33 PM
Help with custom handmade window repairs & bug and weatherproofing
Hi I recently bought a 25 year old log home. Having issues with the windows ...
The windows are double pane from the 80's and in reasonable shape. the problem I am having is this. A window was cut out with a chainsaw (hey... how else with a log home) 2-2x4 cedar frames were built that sandwiched the window pane with some kind of tacky weather stripping applied between the frame and window (looks horrible now, dried, messy with gaps). The frame was connected together, put in place and nailed in a few spots. Fibreglass insulation was jammed in the gaps. Window trim was nailed to cover this up.
Now I bet you can imagine what problems I am having .... draft in the fall and winter, moisture in the spring and bugs in the summer and fall. Does anyone have an suggestions or reference links, images, vids as to what I can do to salvage what I have without having to replace all the windows ... I'll go broke if I did that.
I am not a window manufacturer nor installer but I do have building sense and a quick learner
I am not looking for a hack solution (already dealing with one
) so anyone experienced and have a DYI solution, I would live to hear from you!
thanks
b
The windows are double pane from the 80's and in reasonable shape. the problem I am having is this. A window was cut out with a chainsaw (hey... how else with a log home) 2-2x4 cedar frames were built that sandwiched the window pane with some kind of tacky weather stripping applied between the frame and window (looks horrible now, dried, messy with gaps). The frame was connected together, put in place and nailed in a few spots. Fibreglass insulation was jammed in the gaps. Window trim was nailed to cover this up.
Now I bet you can imagine what problems I am having .... draft in the fall and winter, moisture in the spring and bugs in the summer and fall. Does anyone have an suggestions or reference links, images, vids as to what I can do to salvage what I have without having to replace all the windows ... I'll go broke if I did that.
I am not a window manufacturer nor installer but I do have building sense and a quick learner
I am not looking for a hack solution (already dealing with one
) so anyone experienced and have a DYI solution, I would live to hear from you!thanks
b
Last edited by workerb; 08-19-11 at 04:27 PM.
#2
08-19-11, 04:22 PM
Who cut the holes and when was this done? It was wrong. If you cut the hole in the logs, that's fine. You must cut grooves in the middle of the logs on all flat surfaces previously cut. Your window frame material must have a tongue to fit into the dado (groove) you just cut in the logs. It is assembled like a puzzle, bottom, top,sides. No fasteners into the logs. Maybe a little PL Advanced to hold it in place. It has to allow the logs to move around the frame. The tongues will keep the weather on the wet side of the logs. Now, whatever is happening between these framing boards and the windows will need to be taken care of using proper insulation.
