Even an insulated glass window will lose heat around the edges with time, as the house shifts and gaps form around the casing behind the trim. A modern replacement window unit---including newer insulated window panes---will make a dramatic difference in your heating bill. Replacement windows usually are purchased "pre-hung," meaning you install them as an entire unit instead of putting individual sashes and hardware. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Measure for the dimensions of your replacement window unit before you remove the old windows, using a tape measure. Measure from the widest and longest points of the height and width inside the opening, moving the window sashes up and down as necessary to get at the sides. Your replacement windows should be 1/2 inch smaller than your measurements, so you'll have 1/4 inch of "play" on each side of the window unit when you install it.
2. Remove the old windows after the new unit arrives. Remove them by using your hammer and pry bar to pry off the perimeter of trim from around the inner edge of the window opening, which will be holding in the old sashes. Don't break the trim as you remove it. Pull the sashes straight out.
3. Set the new unit into the opening, starting by sitting the bottom of the unit on the sill and then pushing the rest of the unit up and in. Tuck insulation in around the edges to fill any open space around the unit.
4. Push wood shims in around the sides of the unit, using your level to determine when it's level and square. Once it is, shoot 3-inch screws though the screw holes on the sides and out into the surrounding frame to set it in place, using a screw gun.
5. Reinstall the perimeter of trim around the inner edge of the window opening to trap the new unit in place, using trim nails and your hammer. Caulk all around the new window unit.
Tags: window unit, around edges, around inner, around inner edge, edge window, edge window opening, inner edge
