How to Replace a Residential Home Window
The windows in your home do more than just provide you with a view of the world outside. They are also essential in maintaining the energy-efficiency of the structure you live within. When a window is broken, energy escapes through the opening. Hiring a contractor to replace a broken window can be expensive, and you can save money by doing the work yourself. To replace a window, you must remove the window trim from around the window opening, pull out the broken window and then install a replacement. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Utility knife
- Pry bar
- Clay hammer
- Cordless drill
- Paint scraper
- Level
- Wood shims
- Nails
- Polyurethane caulking
- Caulking gun
- Exterior paint
- Paint brush
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Instructions
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Remove the window trim from around the window, on the exterior of the house. Slice away any caulking or sealant by running a utility knife between the edge of the trim and the siding underneath. Use a pry bar to carefully remove these wooden pieces. You can reuse the window trim if it isn't badly damaged.
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Remove the old window from the window opening. Slice through the caulking or sealant around the outside of the window frame. Unscrew the screws holding the window frame in place, or pull the nails. If the window is fastened with screws, use your cordless drill filled with the appropriate bit to back the screws out of the wooden window buck. If the window is fastened with nails, use a flathead screwdriver to lift the nails, and then pull them with a claw hammer or your pry bar. Find and remove all of the fasteners from the window frame.
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Pull the old window out of the window opening. Properly dispose of the old frame. Place the window between two sheets of cardboard and use a hammer to smash out the glass. Put the glass shards in a heavy-duty cardboard box, tape it, and label the box "broken glass." Discard the glass-free frame and the box of shards in a trash can or bin.
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Inspect and prepare the window buck. Remove any nails or screws that might be in the wooden buck. Use a paint scraper or your utility knife to scrape and cut away leftover sealant or caulking. Look for signs of mold or rot. If there is surface level mold or mildew growth, clean the window buck with a solution of one part bleach to three parts water. Scrub the buck with a nylon scrub brush and then rinse the wood with water and a sponge to remove residual mildew and the bleach solution. Badly damaged or rotted window buck wood must be removed and replaced with new material.
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Position the new window inside the window buck, working from the outside of the house. The new window's nail fin, a thin band of material that runs along the outside of the window frame, will rest against the face of the window buck. Drive nails in the lower and top corners of the window opening to hold the new window in place. Then, from the inside of the house, check the level of the window and use wooden shims to make adjustments. Once you've established the window's position, tack the wooden window shims in place with small nails. Then go back outside and remove the window from the window opening and set it aside.
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Run a generous bead of polyurethane caulking around the edges of the window buck. Then reposition the window back into the window opening. Press the window frame into the caulking to create a tight, water-resistant seal. Fasten the window with nails or screws driven through the nail slots in the nail fin. Consult the window manufacturer's instructions regarding the proper fasteners to use. Drive the fasteners through the nails slots and into the wooden window buck behind. Don't overdrive the nails or screws. Overdriving nails can warp the window frame and cause damage.
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Reinstall the window trim around the window opening. Fasten the trim in place with finish nails. Countersink and fill the nail holes. Paint the window trim with a quality exterior house paint in the color of your choice. When the paint is dry, run a bead of polyurethane caulking around the edges of the window trim.
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Tips & Warnings
When working with glass, wear protective gloves and goggles.
References
- Photo Credit window image by Marek Kosmal from Fotolia.com
