REMOVING OLD ALUMINUM WINDOWS by John Rocco
This week we are going to talk about the process of actually
removing your aluminum windows in preparation for installing
vinyl replacement windows. Let's start with a horizontal
sliding window, which is pretty common nationwide. There
is going to be a sliding panel and a stationary panel. You
want to remove the slider first. All you do is slide the
panel open, grab the sides of the panel with your hands,lift
up and swing out. Under ideal circumstances, it would be
that easy. However, there are small obstacles that can prevent
you from lifting out the panel.
Many sliding windows have rollers on the top as well as
the bottom. The top rollers don't actually do anything,
they are there more as spares to replace the bottom rollers
when they wear out. But many times the window installer
will adjust these top rollers to prevent anyone from lifting
out the panel. If this is the case with your windows, there
will be a screw at the top of each side rail. If you loosen
these screws, then lift up on the panel, it should come
out. Another obstacle involves a little piece of rubber
that the manufacturer places in the top track. This rubber
piece has the same effect as adjusting the top rollers.
It prevents you from lifting out the panel because it's
wedged between the top of the window panel and the top of
the upper track. If you can see that the window panel isn't
lifting all the way up in the top track, and the top rollers
are not the reason, then you have to dig out that rubber
piece. It's usually at the point in the center, where the
sliding panel and fixed panel overlap when the window is
closed. Reach in there with a long, thin screwdriver, and
try to pry it out.
Once you have the slider out, take out the screen. You
can just pull it out. No need to be gentle since you're
throwing it away anyway. The last step is the fixed panel
removal. There are a few different applications here. All
of them will have a center vertical bar. It's usually there
to accept the locking mechanism on the slider, but not always.
Look for screws holding this center bar in place. They will
either be on the outside top and bottom, or you might find
them on the side channel where the screen would go. Check
the top and bottom corners.
Assuming you found the screws and removed them, you now
need to take the center bar off. Take a screw driver and
a hammer and tap the center bar at the very bottom. Tap
it off the fixed panel frame. Now, pull the fixed panel
away from the side where it rests in the side channel. What
you are trying to do is slide the fixed panel open the same
way that you did the sliding panel. Then, you can lift the
fixed panel up and out. Sometimes, the fixed panel won't
want to slide open because it has gotten stuck in the side
track. You can put a screw driver into the side channel
and pry the fixed panel away from the side. It doesn't matter
if you bend the frame that's still attached to the house,
because we are going to hide all of that anyway.
Now, let's go back to the vertical center bar and assume
you didn't find any screws to remove it. That means the
fixed piece of glass doesn't have a frame around it. It's
glazed in with either silicone, caulk, or double foam tape.
You have to take out the glass, then cut the center bar
out using a reciprocating saw. Usually, there will be "stops"
on the outside to help keep the fixed piece of glass in
place. There will be 4 of them, one on top, bottom, and
each side. You should be able to just pry them out with
a screw driver. Then, you can go inside and cut away the
adhesive holding the glass in the frame. Use a utility knife
and cut between the glass and frame. Wear gloves, and be
careful not to put your hand through the glass. Put a sheet
or tarp outside and let the glass fall into it. You could
also have a helper stand on a ladder above the glass and
try grabbing the top edge as you cut it away from the frame.
Have your helper also wear gloves. The reason for the ladder
is that you want to be above the glass in case it has a
little crack that you can't see. As soon as you grab the
glass, the crack will run across to the opposite edge, and
suddenly you will find yourself trying to hold multiple
pieces of glass at the same time. Being on the ladder, if
the glass "runs", you let go. After the glass
is out, cut the bottom portion of the center bar flush with
the bottom track. Then, you can wiggle the bar back and
forth to break the top screw free. You can apply this removal
process to picture windows that have no sliding panel. Just
treat it like you did the fixed portion, without having
to remove a center bar.
Next week we will talk about the installation differences
between a vinyl replacement frame and a vinyl retrofit frame.
About the Author
John Rocco has been installing
replacement windows since 1978.
To learn more, visit http://www.how-to-install-windows.com
