Casement trimboards

Trimboard design was carried over from the adjacent bow.

Cheap knotty pine was fine for this location because of the good overhang. I repeated the bullnose sill using redwood. The outer layer of side and top trim (it's a two-layer design) was biscuit-glued at the corners and installed as a frame, which greatly reduces the chance of the seams showing after several seasons of expanding and contracting. Installing a "frame" assembly like this for trimwork is always better than nailing them one piece at a time.

So with a coat of primer and two coats of exterior enamel (and after double-caulking all seams), the final elegance came shining through.

As for surface finishing of the window itself, aluminum-clad wood windows (like these Pellas) need no maintenance beyond regular window washing. The cladding has a factory-baked enamel coat. You simply pick a color.

The bare wood edges, however, absolutely require surface treatment — and it's important to do so immediately after installation, or else the warranty is void in most cases. Since these are casements, the edge can swing out far and wide and get full weather exposure. The rubber gaskets also come into tight contact with the wood, with some sections rubbing slightly. It's just how they function. So the best finishing for these surfaces is not any kind of coating that would snag the gaskets, but a sealer — a parafin wax. Wood wax comes as a gel that can be brushed into all nooks and crannies. Then a wipe down of excess is all it takes.

I guess these Pellas turned out okay.

Double casement

I was hesitant about installing the Pella Architect series window. It didn't have the same contemporary look as the Designer series bow, and they're right next to each other on the same facade. It took me this long to capitulate and just do it.

The old unit was typical of 60's construction — aluminum-framed, single-pane and a cheap slider. Like all my original windows, it was drafty and corroded. Heat loss was a big issue, general operability was another. It looked and felt terrible, too.

Luckily I had wood siding on this facade. A circular saw with a general-purpose blade was as fancy a tool as I would need. Like for the bow, the siding here was "surgically" removed down to the existing felt paper. This type of window replacement is more like new construction than retrofit, so every part of the old window was removed, which meant pulling out the nails at the original fins. The original felt, however, was kept as intact as possible. Exposure to bare studs at the rough opening was necessary for shimming and nailing of the new unit. Sheathing need only to be cut to the opening.


Unlike the bow however, installation and waterproofing for this flat unit was quite standard:
1) fold and staple the felt around the rough opening
2) staple an extra strip of felt along the bottom, tucked under siding
3) generously caulk the edges of the opening for window fin contact
4) lift window into place, then shim at bottom corners for level
5) check unit for squareness, then shim the jambs, but not too tightly
6) push again into the wall from the outside and nail all fin holes
7) nail through window frame (using finish nails), through shims
8) tuck side strips under siding, over side fins, over bottom strip
9) tuck top strip under siding, over top fin, over side strips

This becomes not just a window replacement, but an whole new section of facade with complete waterproofing, heatproofing and soundproofing improvements. And it looks wonderful!