REPLACING STEEL CASEMENT WINDOWS (PART 2)Written by John Rocco
Last week, I explained how to remove your old steel casement windows as you prepare each opening for new Vinyl windows. In most of country, you are limited to a replacement style frame, which is a new construction frame with nail fin removed. Remember, when you removed old casement window, you left perimeter frame in place. So, you have a lip protruding into opening that is approximately 1/2" wide. You need to order your replacement style frame to fit inside of this old frame. Measure width from lip to lip and deduct 1/4 to 3/8". Measure height and deduct 1/4". When you install new window, rest new frame on bottom lip of old frame. Leave front of new frame further outside than old frame lip. How far out depends on you, and how much inside sill space you want. A quality vinyl replacement window will measure 3 1/4" deep. Drive a screw in top center to hold it in place. Then, make sure window is perfectly upright before installing a screw in bottom center. Now you can secure rest of window with screws. At this point you should have a replacement window that is approximately 5/8" away from left and right wall, 1/2" from bottom, and 3/4" from top. You now need to insulate and trim all four sides. You should get a trim that will adhere to face of window frame on outside, then go over to wall from which lip is protruding on all four sides. However, before applying trim, fill space with fiberglass insulation. You can get a roll of insulation at hardware store. You can also get trim there, but if you choose a wood trim, you will have to paint it. Also, wood is susceptible to weather, so you might be repainting somewhere down road. I sell a vinyl flat trim in several different widths, that has an adhesive backing to stick to face of window. Since it's an exterior grade trim, it will never need maintenance. You do same procedure when trimming out inside. Be sure to seal where trim meets wall on all four sides inside and out.
| | Classical Venetian BlindsWritten by Garry John
Venetian blinds, or as they’re sometimes called, window blinds, are composed of thin slats of aluminum, plastic or other material that overlap when closed to block out light. The dry definition of Venetian blinds doesn’t even hint at history and utility – not to mention subtle drama - of these versatile window coverings. Venetian blinds are, as definition states, thin slats of material that are strung on a string ‘ladder’ and fitted with an adjuster that allows you to vary tilt and angle of slats. It’s this adjustment mechanism more than anything else that makes window blinds ‘Venetian’ blinds. The use of slatted blinds can be traced back to Roman and Greek times. In Pompeii, for instance, archaeologists have uncovered homes that have fixed marble slats in window openings. It wasn’t till about 1760, though, that window blinds that could be adjusted by tilting slats came into more popular use. These were probably a variation on window shutters, with wooden slats that could be adjusted by virtue of a thin strip of wood affixed to each slat. In 1841, John Hampson of New Orleans patented a method of adjusting tilt of Venetian blind slats that is still most used method of stringing Venetian blinds in use today. Did I say ‘subtle drama’ above? Venetian blinds have been used in art since they first became popular, though their presence in a composition might be so subtle that it goes unnoticed. Venetian blinds are a staple in film noir to suggest drama, tension and secrecy. The patterned shadows cast by light through half-opened Venetian blinds has been part of composition of award-winning photos in both color and black and white, and used by painters to add interest to portraits and abstracts. In your rooms, those same shadow patterns can cast a subliminally noticed ‘spell’ over room.
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