Doors and Windows - Rotted Bottom Rail on Casement Window

Today I replaced a rotted bottom rail on a casement window for a customer. The window size is approximately by 61" tall x 21" wide. I had some trouble putting the new rail on because the glass had shifted down due to the rotting and it was no longer properly seated in the top rail. After I got that resolved and attached the new rail, I put the sash back in the opening and found that it wouldn't close completely. The bottom rail was now rubbing the sill at the open end (not the hinged side) of the window. Any ideas as to why this happened? The bottom sill also shows some signs of water damage and the sill has soft wood on the hinge side such that the screws do not grab and hold.

Respectfully,

Handy Matt

Handy Matt,

What brand window was this? Did the glass have a marine glazing boot around it? Was the bottom rail the kind that had a screw on each end (thru the stiles) or was it nailed together?

This is a Windsor window. Based on what the homeowner said it's about 19 years old. The entire edge of the glass on all four sides had the black rubber gasket to seal between the rails/stiles and the glass. There were two screws on top and 2 screws on the bottom, one on each end of the rail, that held it in place. Please let me know if you need additional information.

Handy Matt

Yeah, it sounds like some of the Karadco windows that I'm familiar with. The simplest thing to do is back out the 2 screws on each end of the rail you replaced, stand the sash on it's top, and beat that bottom rail with a block of wood and a framing hammer. It sounds to me like it just did not get assembled tightly, and is dragging on the bottom.


If this doesn't work, it's possible that one side of the IGU has slipped, due to the old rotton rail. Take the sash back out, remove the 4 screws, and disassemble the whole thing. Take the rubber marine glazing boot completely off of the glass, and check to see if one side of the glass has slipped (due to the old rotton rail's lack of support). This would cause the rails to not come completely together. If this is the case, about the only thing you could do is run that new rail through a table saw several times to make it 1/8" (or so) deeper. Then reassemble it, tapping it together as described above. Hope you get it working again. Casements can be a royal pain.

Things are never as simple as we would like. You mentioned a table saw to make the slot deeper. As a consideration, what about trimming a little off the bottom of the rail itself? That way it would fit into the opening and would not require modifying the interior dimensions from the factory. There was one other idea that came to mind after I submitted my question. Could the rails and stiles be slightly out of square? Even though it looks to be square there may be just enough of a shift from the rotted piece to create the interference at the bottom. Your suggestion on taking the bottom rail off may be referencing the same thing. Thank you for your suggestions.

Handy Matt

I'm guessing that the perimeter of the sash has weatherstripping of some sort, and that trimming the bottom edge of the sash would interfere with that. My original suggestions would get at the root of the problem, not try to put a bandage on them. My first suggestion would take 5 minutes tops, the second would take maybe ten. I'd give them a try. Since the IGU should be perfectly square, if everything is put back together tight, the entire sash will be square, and the bottom rail would not be dragging. If one side of the glass has slipped, that would also make it not go back together tightly. Cutting a small kerf to correspond to the slipped pane of glass would compensate for this, and would be the best way to fix it.

If you'd rather trim a little off the bottom of the sash, instead of actually fixing the problem, that's your call. I can't actually see it with my own eyes, so you're the man.

I've worked on windows with weatherstripping on the perimeter of the sash. These Windsor windows, however, don't have weather stripping located there. It's on the space between the interior window frame and the sash as it closes. Cutting the bottom rail wouldn't interfere with any of the weatherstrip.

I was looking at trimming the bottom rail as simply another option. When I return to the customer's (it might not be until next weekend) I will look at the entire window and inspect the glazing, the joints, and the rails/stiles. Taking the entire unit apart and rebuilding would be the best choice. That way I could see what is now not visible. Thank you for all your help.

Respectfully,

Handy Matt

I finally got back to the customer and finished the casement window repair. I first checked for squareness of the sash by measuring the diagonals. There was a difference of only 1/16". As I looked more closely at the sill I noticed that there is damage appearing there, and the screws holding the bracket for the hinge to the sill do not hold tightly. The customer doesn't want to make any major modifications so the simplest solution for me was to trim a little off the bottom rail. I used the table saw to cut the rail, sanded it down to smooth it out, and installed the sash. The window cranked closed easily. The customer will have to keep an eye on the sill to make sure there's no more deteioration taking place. This concludes another project.

Handy Matt