How to Replace Household Exterior Windows
If you're looking for a way to update and beautify the exterior of your home and you'd like some utility savings at the same time, one of the most effective things you can do is to replace the windows. Old, dilapidated windows can ruin the look of a house while allowing air to flow around the windows, making for higher heating and cooling bills. Replacing windows once required a professional, but today's pre-hung, self-contained window units install easily enough to put the project within reach of homeowners. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Pry bar
- Hammer
- Exterior windows
- Level
- Wood shims
- Screw gun
- 2 1/2-inch mounting screws
- Foam insulation
- Trim nailer
Instructions
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1
Take width and height measurements for each window opening (even if they all appear to be the same), measuring from inside the tracks where the sashes sit. Measure at various points along the height and width and if there is any variation, take the smallest span in each direction. Order the new windows with these measurements.
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2
Take out the old windows once you have the new unit in hand. Pry off the interior trim perimeter from the inside edge of the window opening, which keep the old sashes in place. Pull the sashes out of the opening. Keep the trim intact as you remove it and set it aside. (Note: There will be another perimeter of trim around the exterior edge of the opening. Leave that trim in place.)
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3
Place the new window unit in the opening, bottom first. Push it back all the way around until it rests against the border of trim that's around the exterior of the window.
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4
Shim the sides of the window unit while holding a level next to it until it reads level.
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5
Shoot mounting screws outward through the pre-drilled screw holes in the sides of the window unit and into the surrounding frame of the opening.
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6
Shoot spray-foam insulation into the thin gaps around the edges of the window unit.
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7
Put the trim back in place using a trim nailer while holding in the new unit and covering the gaps between the unit and the frame. Seal the lines around the trim with caulk.
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