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temp1_gw

Installation questions for metal clad renovation windows

temp1
16 years ago

Dear Experts,

I am having to make a decision on getting 11 metal clad windows (and two doors) installed. The brand is Jeld-Wen Wilmar:

http://www.jeld-wen.ca/eng/jw_willmar.html

These windows only seem to be available in Canada as the JW product lineup for the US is different. The 11 windows with installation are going to cost me about 27k (incl taxes) so I would be stupid not to be concerned about their proper installation. The $ amt might seem high, but there are many grille and glass options included. After an agonizing comparison with Marvin and Loewen, this price seems quite reasonable.

I am renovating a house from 1968 and three of the windows are going to be installed with nailing fins and as "new construction". This is because they will go on a side of the house where new siding will be installed after the windows go in.

The remaining 8 windows are to go into a stucco siding. The plan is to leave the stucco undisturbed (as possible). All the windows going into the stucco were measured using the existing stucco opening dimensions (sometimes called the masonry opening). All the stucco side windows will have 2" factory brickmoulds. The installers said for these windows they will:

-build out the rough opening (RO) to keep the gap between the frame and RO at the usual 1/4". Never seen this mentioned anywhere in the usual handiman books. Although after pulling the brickmould off of an exsiting window, it appears this was done in the past. Also, this seems a necessary evil given that the sizing of the windows was determined by the masonry opening.

-do some preparation of the rough opening by covering with building paper or some other tyrap type material. I am not certain which parts of the RO will be covered or the details of how it will be covered.

-They will shim the bottom of the windows (the sill) but (to my surprise) will not shim the sides or the top. They will screw through the side jambs of the windows into the studs of the rough opening. This will create some nasty holes in the jambs which will "plug" these with hemlock stock to hide the damage. The lack of shims on the sides seems to contradict most handiman books on the topic of window installation. Also my concerns are based on the only available Jeld-wen instruction on the web

http://www.jeld-wen.com/_pdf/resources/installation/JII013.pdf

This PDF outlines what appears to be a more elaborate installation procedure which involves a "sill pan" construction. Also there are instructions to shim on all sides of the window. I mentioned that perhaps masonry clips could be used to avoid drilling through the frame of the windows. But perhaps this clip install would overcomplicate things and would be more suitable for a different install configuration.

On the other hand the installers claim that shims on the side are not necessary as the screws into the jamb and the inside casing will keep the window from moving laterally. They state that the casing will keep the jambs straigt as they are nailed into both the jamb and the rough opening studs. Hard to believe.

Lastly they will use spray foam insulation on in the gap and follow with the pink stuff.

Given that what I am trying to do is leave the stucco undisturbed, one might expect that the installation might not follow the usual procedure of the new construction scenerio. Can anyone shed some light on what might consists of a correct installation for the stucco side windows?

I imagine on the three windows which will receive a new construction install, there is ample opportunity to integrate any window flashing with the building paper which presently covers the plywood sheathing. Is there anything I should insist they do for these windows. Eg, force them to follow the manufacturere instructions (assuming the ones available on the .com site (the PDF above) appplies to the Canadian product).

Any help is much appreciated. The climate here is very cold (ie, Alberta)

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