Hi,

I'm replacing two siamesed double hung windows w/a single picture window on a brick veneer wall. I want to use a new construction window to get the maximum glass area. The sheetrock is off on the interior, so I have access to all the framing.

Questions:

Do I have to eliminate the nailing fins?

How do I get the window watertight w/no access on the outside?

Is it neccessary to remove bricks?

Thanks guys!

 

The best possible solution is to reframe the opening so as to make the window be about 4" smaller than the size of your brick opening. This will allow you to use a window with a nailing fin, incorporate it into your existing wrb, and then trim it with a 2" brickmould trim. And no, it is not necessary to remove bricks.

Occasionally it's possible to order a window with an attached brickmould, and if done in this way you would just need to measure very carefully so as to not get the window too big... and it would get caulked to the brick. Skipping the nail fin (or cutting it off) is dangerous however, because it's a critical part of a leak-proof installation.

 

Thanks XSleeper.

The idea is to not lose so much window. If I'm going to frame it smaller:

Wouldn't a replacement window make more sense?

Wouldn't framing it in mean there's no water protection (has to be tar paper there) from existing to new framing?

 

Sorry, thought the answer was pretty clear. You don't want to lose size. I understand that. But this is a problem of wanting your cake and eating it too. Sure you can put a replacement window in that is as big as your opening and caulk it in, but it's going to leak... if not now, later. You asked the question and I tried to give you the best recommendation and advice. Sorry if it isn't what you wanted to hear. You rarely want to rely on just caulking to prevent a window from leaking. That's a pretty basic premise of window installation, because caulk eventually fails.

When you frame the opening in (slightly smaller... basically the width of one 2x4 per side), you "incorporate it into your existing wrb". This means using housewrap or felt paper or similar to protect the new rough opening, covering both the new framing and old framing. A window with a nailing fin then can shed any water that may happen to leak (now or in the future) onto the wrb, which protects the wood from ever getting wet.

 

XSleeper - thanks, not criticizing your answer, just trying to make this work.

How do I get access to get tar paper from new framing onto the old w/brick in the way?

 

No worries. It won't be too tough. There should be an air space behind the brick. If it has some mortar slag in the way, a grinder and diamond wheel can be used to clean out the gap so that you can overlap the paper as much as you can. You will want to slip it underneath the felt on top.