I am having problems installing vinyl replacement windows in my basement. The wood framing had a lot of old termite damage and had to be removed. That made the opening much wider than the window I purchased. I can fill it in with wood, or purchase a new window, but am unsure of the techniques to use.
The original window fit inside a frame that was a perfect fit. The new window doesn’t fit perfectly. I have several questions about how to proceed. The sides are now flat (I mortered over the stone work), but the top is rough. The bottom is sloped to the exterior. The opening is about 37×17.
1. Should I attach wood to the sides of the opening and the window to the wood, or is it best to just get a bigger window and attach that direclty to the morter?
2. The depth of the original wood was 6in from front to back (that is the area on the left that you can see is newly stuccoed), and the window was at the back of the 6in, towards the interior. On the bottom of the 6in deep area, it is sloped. If I place the window on the sill, there is about a 1/8in gap at the bottom exterior due to the slope. Can I just fill that with caulk? Alternatively, I can install the window a few inches to the interior, in front of the sill, though that requires I make a ledge for it to sit on (perhaps a 1×2 on edge)
3. If I use wood, it is better to use PT or Cedar? I prefer to work in Cedar, but is that OK for contact with the masonry?
Replies
I usually order custom fit windows 3/8 inches smaller than the opening. (check first for level and plumb opening).The I shim the window in and foam it in place. Once the foam has set up, pull the shims and fill in the void with another blast of foam. A day later clean up and oozed foam out side and caulk the small gap between the concrete and the new window.
Have a good day
Cliffy
Thanks Cliffy,
Do you recommend putting in a wood frame first, then placing the replacement window in the frame, or just go right up to the stone work?
I go right against the concrete. The windows I buy have a return on the inside that I can slide in drywall or wood for the jamb extention so putting in a wood frame before the window is useless. I like to maximize the glass size to bring light into the basement.
Have a good day
Cliffy
Hello,
I'm in the process of replacing my basement windows as well, 1 down 3 to go! Although I would have liked to frame out the opening with pressure treated lumber, I wanted to be able to use a stock window so I ended up using mortar. The window I used is a 32x15 vinyl sliding Pella I p/u @ Lowes and my basement walls are field stone. To install the window, I centered the window in the opening then screwed the top of the window to the sill adding a piece of sill seal between the two. I then temporarily shimmed the bottom of the window to hold the window plumb. I then added mortar around the window, (there was about ½” on the sides to fill and between 1 - 1½” on the bottom). This took a while as it wasn’t easy filling around the window inside and out. After the mortar set up, I removed the shims and finished. Once the mortar was dry, I caulked the outside between the sill and the window. With 3 windows to go, I’m sure I’ll figure out a quicker way to mortar around the window, though I will definitely tape over the weep holes next time around as grinding out the mortar for a drain with my Dremel wasn’t much fun!