Problems with casement window rebuild.

[tlhfirelion]

Hello everyone. I have a house full of casement windows that I need to sand down and rebuild to match the bungalow style of our home. We can't afford new windows, but I am having a hard time figuring out if I can even rehab these windows. I need to sand them down to restain them to match, but I can't tell what is the actual window and what isn't. I am hoping that I can remove a lot of these boards (see pics) and just sand the window frame itself.

Anyone have any ideas besides just tearing a window out in mid winter? Thanks in advance and have a happy thanksgiving.

[tlhfirelion]

100_1820 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

100_1821 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Sorry forgot to add the links.

[XSleeper]

Unless I'm mistaken, there are only 2 stained and finished parts of your windows that are actually removable. One is the piece below the screen (it lifts straight up and likes to break. Prying it up 1/8" allows you to cut the nails so that it can be pulled up more evenly- and even then it will often gouge the wood on the sides when you remove it. But removing it is the only way to remove the crank arm.)

The other removable piece is the 1/2 x 3/4 extension jamb that surrounds the window jamb.

I'm not sure if the other pieces surrounding the screen come off or not- on most older casements, those were glued and nailed from behind. The only way to tell for sure is to try it. You'd first remove the bottom piece that is over the crank... then remove the top (I think) and then the sides. Rather than prying from the inside (where any dents and damage will show) use a putty knife and small wonder bar to pry from behind- crank open the window and pry on the back side of those stops rather than the front side that shows toward the interior.

The window sash itself can be easily removed, laid flat, worked on, and can then be reinstalled, so it's not like the window will need to be open for a prolonged period of time. You can cut a piece of plywood the right size so you can have something to pop into the opening temporarily to keep the heat in / wife happy.

As for stripping the rest of the window parts, it looks like a good job for chemical strippers and a detail sander, such as the Fein Multimaster! Not a fun job.

[tlhfirelion]

Originally Posted by XSleeper

Unless I'm mistaken, there are only 2 stained and finished parts of your windows that are actually removable. One is the piece below the screen (it lifts straight up and likes to break. Prying it up 1/8" allows you to cut the nails so that it can be pulled up more evenly- and even then it will often gouge the wood on the sides when you remove it. But removing it is the only way to remove the crank arm.)

The other removable piece is the 1/2 x 3/4 extension jamb that surrounds the window jamb.

I'm not sure if the other pieces surrounding the screen come off or not- on most older casements, those were glued and nailed from behind. The only way to tell for sure is to try it. You'd first remove the bottom piece that is over the crank... then remove the top (I think) and then the sides. Rather than prying from the inside (where any dents and damage will show) use a putty knife and small wonder bar to pry from behind- crank open the window and pry on the back side of those stops rather than the front side that shows toward the interior.

The window sash itself can be easily removed, laid flat, worked on, and can then be reinstalled, so it's not like the window will need to be open for a prolonged period of time. You can cut a piece of plywood the right size so you can have something to pop into the opening temporarily to keep the heat in / wife happy.

As for stripping the rest of the window parts, it looks like a good job for chemical strippers and a detail sander, such as the Fein Multimaster! Not a fun job.

I have discovered that the bottom plate does like to break. There is no way I can afford to buy new windows and yet the current ones color looks horrible. So I'm gonna have to do something. Looks like I have a lot of sanding in my near...and distant future. lol I have a rotozip so I'll get a sanding tip or borrow my nieghbors dremmel with a sanding drum. Regardless it is gonna take forever with all these windows. I guess I have more time than money. Thanks for the reply.

[XSleeper]

Dremmel has come out with a tool that's similar to the Fein Multimaster... i've seen it advertised in the ads on this site a lot lately. It's called the Multi Max (can't tell it's a knock off, can you?) and it runs about $129 or so. I think you'd probably benefit from buying some sort of detail sander like this or similar, because the triangle shaped sanding head would be pretty invaluable to have to get into all the corners. Good luck!