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Introduction Making a new room out of an unfinished basement or attic, a garage, or a porch is far simpler than building an addition from scratch—the heavy work of providing a roof and a foundation has already been done. This section shows how to complete such transformations by adding doors and windows, supplying adequate heat, in stalling insulation, and applying an attractive finish to new exterior walls. Converting a Window to a DoorAdding a new exterior door to a frame house with wood, aluminum, vinyl, or stucco siding is a fairly simple job, especially if you put it in the place of an already-existing window. The task is somewhat more laborious for a frame house covered in brick veneer but can be accomplished by adopting the methods shown below. For easy conversion, the height and width of the window opening must match up with one of the standard sizes of pre-hung exterior door units. In addition, there must be no obstructions hidden in the wall beneath the window; check for pipes, cables, or ductwork, cutting a hole in the wall to carry out the inspection if necessary. Matching the Opening: Standard pre-hung exterior doors—hinged on either the right or left side to open inward—are 80” high and 32 or 36” wide, not counting the jambs. To determine if the opening for an existing window can be used for such a unit, measure the window’s height from the underside of the top jamb to the floor and its width between side jambs. The Thickness Factor: For a flush fit to a frame house with conventional siding and interior walls of wallboard, choose a door unit with jambs 4” deep. If the interior walls are plaster, you need a unit 5” deep. Unlike pre-hung interior doors, exterior models come only with outside trim (plus wood or metal sills). On most factory-made units, the exterior casing is 2” wide, extending about 1.5” beyond the jamb. You may want to order a unit with exterior casing that matches the size and style of existing exterior trim. Interior trim is assembled after installation. CAUTION!! If you are demolishing a wall built before 1978, take all necessary precautions against the possible presence of lead paint and asbestos. TOOLS
MATERIALS:
SAFETY FIRST: Protect your hands with work gloves when handling sheet metal, and add goggles and long sleeves when demolishing a wall. Goggles and earplugs are essential when using a circular saw. 86 Getting at the window. Before you can take the basic frame of a window out of a wall, you have to remove the trim and sashes piece by piece, begin- fling with the interior casing, the stop molding, the apron under the interior sill or stool, and the sill it self. In a standard double- hung window, the balance mechanism that controls the two sashes is disassembled next. The type shown here consists of metal channels and springs; to remove them completely, you need to take off the exterior casing. Other mechanisms employ sash cords, metal tubes, or flexible metal tapes, and some allow the sashes to be removed from inside; a little experimenting will show you how to proceed. REMOVING THE WINDOW 1. Taking off the trim. • Using a hammer and pry bar—with a block of wood placed under the bar to protect the wall—pry off the interior casing from the front of the jambs at the top and sides of the window. • Remove the strips of stop molding along the side jambs (and sometimes the top jamb as well). Then pry off the apron under the sill, also known as the stool. • Strike the underside of the sill with a small sledgehammer to knock it up and off the frame. Then pull out any nails protruding from the jambs and push both sashes down into the lower half of the frame. 2. Taking out the sashes. • On a channel balance window, twist out the tops of the metal strips covering the interior sash springs, pull off the strips, and release the springs. Lift the interior sash out of the window. • Working outside the house, pry off the top and side exterior casing and the stops. Free the metal strips covering the springs, release the springs, and lift out the exterior sash. Finally, remove the metal channels from the sides and top of the frame. • For a double-hung window with sash cords (above, right), cut the two inner most cords and lift the interior sash out of the frame. The sash weights will drop behind the side jambs and can be removed when you take off the jambs. • Pry off the parting strip that separates the sash channels and cut the remaining sash cords. Then lift out the exterior sash and remove the exterior casing and stops. 87 … EXTERIOR SASH CHANNEL; PULLEY; EXTERIOR SASH WEIGHT; INTERIOR SASH WEIGHT 3. Pulling out the jambs. Using a handsaw or a circular saw, cut the top jamb and the sill in half. Use a pry bar to loosen the top jamb and silt, and pull them out of the opening. Pry off the side jambs. Remove any nails that remain in the header, the jack studs, and rough sill. 2. Taking out the rough sill. • If the rough sill is toenailed between the jack studs, saw it in two near the middle and pry off both pieces. • If its ends extend under the jack studs at the sides of the rough frame, with separate jack studs between the bottom of the rough sill and the soleplate, saw the sill flush with the studs on both sides. • Use a sledgehammer to knock the rough sill from the cripple stud, and pry the cripple stud off the soleplate. ENLARGING THE OPENING 1. Extending the interior opening. • Remove the baseboard and molding from the wall below the window (ref. 26) and set them aside. • With a keyhole saw break through the wallboard at the rough sill at a point adjacent to one of the jack studs. Using the inner edge of the jack stud inside the wall as a guide for the saw blade, cut down from the bottom of the rough sill to the level of the sole-plate. Repeat the procedure on the other side of the window. • Using the pry bar if necessary, pry off the wallboard between the cuts to expose the framing. Pull out any insulation material inside the wall and remove any nails or dry wall screws from the studs, rough silt, and soleplate. - - RECIPROCATING SAW - - When demolition work calls for cutting through siding, sheathing, and the frame itself an electric reciprocating saw can substitute for both a circular saw and a hand saw. This powerful, two-handed tool uses replaceable blades—which come in various lengths and tooth configurations for specific uses—and incorporates an adjustable guide plate that governs the depth of the cut. Reciprocating saws are available in both single- and variable-speed models, and can be rented from many tool-supply centers. - - - - 3. Cutting away the siding. • Inside the house, measure the distance from both corners of the rough window opening to the sub- floor (ref. 93, Step 2), and transfer the measurements to the exterior siding below the rough opening. • Use a carpenter’s level and a straightedge to draw a horizontal line between the floor-level marks on the siding. Then draw vertical saw lines from the bottom corners of the opening in the siding down to the horizontal line. • To cut through wood, aluminum, vinyl, or stucco siding, set the blade of a circular saw—a carbide-tipped blade for stucco—to the thickness of the siding; the blade should not cut into the sheathing. Cut along the lines and remove the waste siding. The border of exposed sheathing around the window opening will be extended for the door opening. 4. Extending the exterior opening. • Using the level and the straightedge, mark the sheathing with two vertical saw lines from the bottom corners of the window opening to the top edge of the remaining siding. • Saw through the sheathing along both lines, then saw horizontally between the bottom ends of the cuts flush with the top of the remaining siding. Remove the waste sheathing from the opening. • With a handsaw, cut through the ends of the soleplate flush with the jack studs at either side of the opening. Pry the soleplate off the subfloor. 5. Putting up flushing. • If there is no flashing above the opening, cut a length of preformed aluminum drip flashing to match the opening’s width. • Insert the flat section between the siding and sheathing and slide it up until the lower edge is flush with the top of the opening. FITTING AND FINISHING AN EXTERIOR DOOR 1. Setting the frame in the doorway. • Remove the door from the pre-hung door unit. • Run two beads of adhesive caulk along the subfloor between the jack studs. • Working from outside, set the doorframe into the opening and push it back so the outside trim rests flat against the sheathing and butts against the siding at the top and sides. • Use a carpenter’s level to determine whether one side of the sill is higher than the other. Drive a 2.5” finishing nail partway through the side jamb into the jack stud 5 or 6” above the higher corner. • If necessary, push a wood shim under the sill near the lower corner and adjust it until the sill is level, then nail that side jamb to the jack stud. • Adjust the frame in the opening, using a level to make it plumb; shim the interior edge of the top casing if necessary. Drive 2.5” finishing nails partway into the side jambs about a foot below the top corners. • Re-hang the door and shim the frame from the inside, following the directions on ref. 44, Step 2. • Pack strips of fiberglass insulation around the top and side door jambs. • Center the thin edge of the casing on the face of the top jamb, at hinge-depth measurement above its lower edge, and the ends an equal distance—from 4 to inch—beyond the inner edges of the side jambs. Nail the casing first to the jamb, then to the header above the jamb, using 2” finishing nails. 2. Finishing the exterior. • Secure the top and side casings to the header and jack studs with 2.5” galvanized finishing nails. Nail through any shims, otherwise spacing nails at 12” intervals. Finish driving in the nails in the side jambs, then nail the exterior sill to the subfloor in two or three places; if the frame has an aluminum threshold, fasten it to the subfloor with 2.5” aluminum screws. • Use a nail set to countersink the finishing nails, and fill the holes with wood putty. • Pull the flashing above the door frame down against the top casing. Finally, seal around the sides and bottom of the frame with silicone caulk. 3. Starting the interior trim. • Measure how deep the barrel of the door hinge projects into the edge of the side jamb—generally between and 4 inch. Measure the inside width of the top jamb and add the hinge-barrel depth. • Mark the jamb-plus-hinge depth measurement on the thinner edge of the interior casing and make a 45-degree outward miter cut from each mark. 4. Finishing the interior. • Saw one end of a casing strip square. Butt that end against the floor and position the strip vertically, hinge-depth distance from the inner edge of the side jamb. Mark the point where the strip meets the inner corner of the top casing and indicate the direction of the miter cut. • Miter the casing at a 45-degree angle and set it in place. Starting at the top, use 2” finishing nails every 12” to fasten the casing to the jamb. Mark, cut, and nail the casing for the other side jamb in the same way. • Measure, cut, and replace the baseboard and molding so that they abut the side casing on either side of the opening. Use a nail set to countersink all the nails in the casing, baseboard, and molding, then fill the holes with wood putty. • If the door is not already fitted with door handles and a lock, install a lockset of your choice, following the manufacturer’s directions. |
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