HOW TO Fix a VINYL window that Won't Stay Open
Windows are always getting broken. Vinyl replacement windows can wear out so that they don't stay open. How can the average home owner, or DIYer repair the vinyl windows that have worn out.
Watch Geoff as he repairs a window. It doesn't go perfect but he gets it done.
Don't be afraid to do this yourself. With some patience and effort you can do it yourself so"
LET'S DO IT!!!
Transcript:
How to Fix a Vinyl Window that Won’t Stay Open
This is Dennis with Home Rehab Pros. We have a very interesting project this morning. I have to measure this window. It's a wood window, actually, it doesn't even open; it's been painted closed. Oh, I could work on it to get that paint out of there and open it up. I'm not going to do that; I don't need to do that. We're going to replace it. We're going to put a vinyl replacement window in this opening. So, I have to measure that opening to make sure I order the right size vinyl window.
Why is that important? Well, if you order a window that's too big for the opening, oh my, then you've got outside work to do; you've got inside work to do. You've got to redo your trims; you've got to cut wood; you've got to resize that opening. It's just a mess you don't want to get involved in. It's not as bad as if you ordered it too small, but if it's way too small, then you've got to redo your work outside. You've got to redo stops and trims and all kinds of things just because you didn't order the window correctly. So, what is the key to ordering the right size window? Well, measuring it properly is important. Is it hard? No, even with this window staying put because it's painted closed, I can get the right measurements and order the right size window. So, let's show you how we do that. Let's get started, and don't be afraid of doing this yourself. If you need to muster up a little courage, let's just do it, and let's make sure that we do it right. Measure twice, order once. So, let me show you what we do first. Let's understand the components of this window.
We have a casing. It goes three ways around both sides and the top, and that casing finishes the trim. It closes off the rough opening so you don't see it, and it's decorative. It's very nice. Then you have another piece, a stop. Okay, that stop is going directly against the rough opening of these sashes. Now remember, a window's built typical wood window, double-hung wood windows built with wood sides, okay? Along the bottom, on the sides, on the top, it's all wood. And so, we're going to keep that there. We're just going to take these sashes out, and we're going to take a little bit of the woodwork in between out. We're going to take the spring, this spring's out, and we're just going to have this rough opening there. So, this stop is directly connected to that wood rough opening, that's what we're going to call it, and or the wood jambs that are there for the sash to be built into.
So, from this point to the other side gives us the measurement of that rough opening. Now let me show you what I'm talking about. So here's a closer look, obviously. Here's your casing. Your casing is from here to out here, it's one piece, goes all the way up and down. And here's your stop. Now, this stop is only about 3/8 of an inch thick, that's all it is, okay? And you see where it meets your trim, your casing. Well, this is the point right here that I want to start my measurement, and on the other side, it has the same thing, okay? See, here's your casing, here's your stop. Okay, and right where they meet, right there, is where I want my measurement. So, I'm going to take that three times, at the top and at the bottom, and I'll show you how we're going to do this.
So, if you see, I'm going to nestle my tape right in the middle, right where that stop hits the casing, and I'm going to take it over to here, and I'm going to take a close look at that, where that stop meets the casing, and it's right about there. So, I'm going to take a close look at that measurement, and that measurement is 34 and 3/8. So, we want to take it two other places, right? So, I'm going to take it up here as well. I'm going to nestle it right next to that stop where that stop meets the casing, and I'm going to measure it over to here. Now, interestingly enough, that said 34 and a quarter. So, we'll talk about what that means in a couple of minutes.
Now let's look at the height of the window. I've measured the width, now let's take a look at the height. Okay, so one of the challenges in measuring a window is the height of the window. Now, because this window won't open, I can't get right into that rough opening, the sill, so to speak, and measure it all the way to the top. And here's the trim sill, and this trim sill is normally a very standard size, sometimes an inch thick, sometimes 7/8 of an inch thick. So, I've already measured this and I found out that it's 7/8 of an inch thick, and that's sitting right on that exterior part of the sill where my new window's going to go and where this seals up to and it closes, so it's on the bottom.
Okay, so when I measure the top or the height of this window, I'm going to put it right on top of that, of this trim sill, right like that, and I'm going to measure up to the top, where that trim, where that stop meets the casing at the top, and that'll give me a measurement, and then I'll add 7/8 of an inch to it. Let me show you what I mean.
So let me measure this window. I'm going to measure from the sill to the stop, just like we did on the side. Okay, so I'm going to measure it three times, so the top of that sill, I get 65 and a quarter in that corner, 65 and a quarter in that corner, but I get 65 and an eighth in the middle. Well, that tells me that I want to go with 65 and an eighth. I want to always take the smallest of the three measurements. For example, the side was 34 and 3/8 in a couple of different places, but what I want to do is take that smallest one, which was 34 and a quarter. So my rough opening is 34 and a quarter by, oh careful, it's not 65 and an eighth because remember, I have to add 7/8 for the sill. So that would give me 66. So my rough opening is 34 and a quarter wide, 66 tall.
Well, how do I order my windows? Well, I order slightly smaller windows so they'll slide right in and have enough room to install correctly, even if the window's a little bit out of square. But I have enough room to install it, enough room to put a little insulation in it, and then not so big of a gap that we can't caulk it. So I take a half an inch off the side measurement and 3/8 of an inch off the top measurement, the height measurement. So, what window measurement would I order here? Well, 34 and a quarter is the rough width. I take a half an inch off of that, so I'm going to write down 33 and three-quarters. The height is 66. I'm going to take 3/8 of an inch off of that; that would be 65 and 5/8. So there's my window measurement. That's what I'm going to order. I'm going to order a 33 and 3/4-inch by 65 and 5/8-inch window.
So there you go. That's how you measure your windows. Measure twice, measure three or four times. Make sure your math is correct when you go into a box store or if you have a window supplier and you're just going to try to do this yourself. And believe me, they're not that hard to install. Don't panic, don't be too afraid to do it. Muster up the courage, and you can learn how to do this yourself. And there are plenty of videos and other very qualified people that show how to replace a window, and we'll have videos like that too in the future. This is Dennis with Home Rehab Pros. Thank you so much for watching. Our viewers are so important to us. We appreciate all the time you give us as our viewers. And if you really liked it, please don't forget to smash that like button, or boop it, or hit it, or touch it, or tap it, however you feel like you want to do that. That like button tells us that you enjoyed the content of this video. Also, if you're not subscribed, think about doing that too, because we're committed to putting out a series of videos that can help every homeowner do their projects as efficiently and as budget-minded as possible. So again, thank you for watching, and we'll see you in the next video.