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Window Inserts - Should the stops align with the "stool"?

Window Inserts - Should the stops align with the "stool"?


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Old 06-21-17, 09:47 AM
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Window Inserts - Should the stops align with the "stool"?

We'd like to replace an old 1990s wooden Pella double-hung sash window with an Anderson window insert. The instructions I find online imply (and sometimes show) that the insert would essentially sit with its lower edge on the sill, with the inner side of that edge touching the outer side of the "stool". The inner-facing side edges of the insert would then butt up against the vertical "stops".

However, when the Pella sashes are removed and the plastic side channel pieces are removed, we are left with side stops and a stool which don't line up, because the Pella lower sash comes down and sits/fits over the stool rather than adjacent to it. See illustrations below.

Should I still set the Anderson insert on the sill outside/beyond the stool, or set it on top of the stool so it butts up against the side stops? Or move the side stops? Or will the insert have a groove on the lower inside edge that fits/sits neatly atop the stool?

Thanks for any input!

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  #2  
Old 06-21-17, 10:30 AM
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You generally expect it to be like your drawing on the left. I have never put a replacement window in that wasn't that way.

Are those Pella double hungs?

The critical thing is how wide your replacement window is and where it lands. (Also it's height and how it was measured to fit.) It usually pushes up against the blind stop (far right side of your photo). So if you install the window for the inside, pushing it out against the blind stop, the inside edge "should be" where the window goes. Occasionally you might need to trim the stool down, cutting into it with a multitool as needed. And sometimes you need to either replace interior stops or add onto them with an additional stop (like base shoe moulding) in order to cover any gap.

If for some reason you need to move the window in farther, (such as for a replacement window that is only 2 3/4" wide) you can add an additional stop onto the blind stop as needed.
 
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Old 06-21-17, 11:42 AM
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Thanks for your helpful answers.

Yes the old (current) windows are Pella double-hung, assumed to be from the 1990s. The sashes just ride on these plastic side rails and never really rub against any vertical stops; additionally, the lower sash has a female groove in its bottom into which the sill stool fits when in the closed position.

I believe the measurement from the stop to what you're calling the "blind stop" is the standard 3 1/4" depth, so the existing stool is within that distance. (See photo and measurement.) Unfortunately, the stool is covered by aluminum, which comes up the sill then folds up and over the stool. Maybe that will have to be cut and the stool removed if we can't get a special shallow depth insert window.

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Old 06-21-17, 12:15 PM
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Im surprised you are putting a replacement window inside the Pella frame. What's wrong with them? You know you could get new jambs and or sashes for them, right?
 
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Old 06-21-17, 12:47 PM
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I would LOVE to order replacement sashes rather than install inserts. The wooden frames are fine, but the upper sashes have gone rotten (as I have heard many wooden Pella windows from the 90s have done). I popped the sashes out easily enough and everything else looks good but I've been unable to find where I could order replacements and assumed it was because they're old solid wooden sashes without any of the modern fancy stuff. :/
 
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Old 06-21-17, 01:23 PM
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Lowes or any Pella store could help you. Just let them know you just want new sashes. They will need the window size and approximate age. If you can find a model # on the glass that would help tremendously. If not, take an outside measurement of the window frame on the outside... such as 35x54. You can often get them preprimed or even prepainted if you get them from a Pella store.
 
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Old 06-21-17, 01:35 PM
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I just called the local Pella store and they said I could just replace the old sashes. NICE. Who knew there was such a thing as a Pella store? :P Thanks for your help on this!
 
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Old 06-21-17, 02:08 PM
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Glad to help... my bill is in the mail. lol!

If you complain about the rot that was due to the bad exterior glazing, they may be nice enough to give you a discount or at least sell them to you under retail. Unfortunately Pella puts it on the homeowner to inspect glazing annually and wet glaze as needed, so don't hold your breath.
 
 

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