Window installation


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Old 11-17-13, 12:11 PM
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Window installation

Xsleeper?

I'm in the same boat and would like to install my vinyl windows in my block RO. Can the window stay put without tap cons and just caulk? Or are you suggesting I screw the windows directly into the wall?
 
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Old 11-17-13, 12:59 PM
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You always want to use fasteners. Is there some reason you can't?
 
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Old 11-17-13, 01:11 PM
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No I can use them, but without looking at the new window I'm about to purchase, I want to make sure there's room for me to screw through. I've never done it this way. I assume I strip off the fin and drill through the side of the window? But wouldn't that prevent the window from opening or closing? Th head of the screw sticking out?

Or do you somehow counter sink it with vinyl windows?
 
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Old 11-17-13, 01:40 PM
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Daugela, I moved your post from the existing 6 year old thread to give it a home of its own.
 
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Old 11-17-13, 03:20 PM
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It depends on the style of the window, but yes, there is always a way to do it so that the window still opens, and often, you can hide the screws so they aren't visible.
 
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Old 11-17-13, 04:08 PM
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Why not just use a replacement window?
No nailing fin and there held in place with screws from the sides.
 
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Old 11-17-13, 05:27 PM
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I could do a replacement window, but figured I'd just buy the vinyl window from a home improvement store and cut the fin? is a replacement window design to be screwed from the side without a fin?

I don't see any of them on the major home improvement box store websites.

Can you forward me some info?
 
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Old 11-17-13, 05:38 PM
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Vinyl windows come in 2 styles. New construction and retrofit replacement. Its common to cut off the nailing fin on a new construction window for use in certain applications, like masonry openings. So I believe that either type of window would be fitting for your needs.

In either case, unless you are fortunate, I would doubt that anything "off the shelf" would fit your exact needs. One of the beauties of vinyl replacements is that they can be ordered in any size to fit any opening closely, so that almost no additional "fillers" need to be added. In your case, with a masonry installation, I would suggest that the masonry opening be carefully measured to ascertain the exact size, and a new custom sized window should be ordered that is 1/4" to 1/2" smaller than that opening. In this way the window will need minimal shimming, and a healthy bead of polyurethane sealant can be used to seal the perimeters of the window.
 
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Old 11-17-13, 06:12 PM
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Thanks for the info, very useful, I'm really lucky. The opening is exactly 2'x4'. They have those sizes off the shelf, I think they are technically 23.5" x 47.5". So it would be a good fit. Half inch shims all around.

Again though, I'm concerned about drilling through the frame. The vinyl frame is built like a hollow rectangular pipe. I'm assuming if I screw into the frame and into the block, I wouldn't drill through both sides of the frame with the screw, but rather drill a large hole in the inner side of the frame, exposing the outer vinyl side and then drilling the tapcon through that side. If I put the screw through the inner side of the frame, the screw head would be exposed causing the window to not open.

Plus it would compress the inner part of the vinyl frame when I tighten it up.

Does that make sense?
 
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Old 11-17-13, 06:22 PM
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Most vinyl frames have installation holes, so unless you know for a fact that the windows you are looking at don't have installation holes, you may be worried for nothing. Some have a frame with a jamb cover that is intentionally left loose, so that it can be snapped in after the installation is complete, and this covers screw holes. Other times, you field drill a 3/8" hole through one layer of the frame, install the screw into the next layer, and plug the hole with a 3/8" vinyl plug. You don't tighten screws too much, they are only there to snug the window and to help hold the window in place within the wall so that it can't move in or out... left or right.

All this discussion is hypothetical until you actually have the window anyway. Oh, and it would be 1/4" shims on all 4 sides. You rarely want to drill or screw through the bottom of the window frame, as it's a leak potential. (the bottom of the frame is usually the place water collects and weeps out the weep holes provided in the front bottom edge of the frame.) If a screw MUST be placed in the sill, the threads have to be chased with sealant. Screws are placed in line with the shims so as not to distort the frame.
 
 

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