Category: Second Floor Windows and Doors

Mostly because they were existing, our master bath will have two full size windows. We’ll probably put plantation shutters or something on them for privacy, but they should bring in a lot of light. Replacing these went very similarly to the previous windows, with the exception that I came up with a better way of doing the exterior rigid foam that I wish I’d done all along. Since we’re putting 2″ of foam on the outside of the house, in two 1″ layers, I’ve been cutting a total of 8 rectangles to put around the windows. With these last two windows, I realized I could cut out the four pieces for the first layer while getting the entire outside layer in one piece. Not only does this reduce seams, tape, and look cleaner, it helps hold everything together better.

Removing Siding

Siding and old window removed

House wrap up

Window installed

The back window was also an opportunity to finally get the rest of the peeling siding off the house and get it covered in house wrap. Another thing I did differently with this window (though I did it with the attic window as well) was I put the house wrap on first, before I built the jam extensions. Again, that worked better, and I wish I’d done that from the outset. The house wrap probably would have looked better.

House wrap but no framing

Framing but no sheathing

Sheathing but no jam extension

Another technique I continued with was putting the temporary tabs on the jam extension to hold the window in place, but still give me room to pull it a bit out of the wall so that I could attach the brackets. If I had all of the windows to do over again, it would be considerably easier, and a better job. That said, it would still be a complete pain, given all the reframing involved.

Attaching brackets and flashing tape to the window

Really high up

See how much better it looks than the one on the first floor? That’s the first window we did. Oh well, that’s how it goes.

I haven’t posted in forever, so let me start getting things caught up, starting with the wide window that will go over the bath tub in the main bathroom. It’s a 64″ x 16″ picture window situated above head height so it will have the necessary privacy while still bringing in natural light. The existing window was a square of glass block with a louvered glass vent in the center. That was put in place of an original window that was a portrait shape but smaller than the other windows in the house, so this is the third shape/style of window that’s going into this location.

Glass block window

Demo started

Window removed

As with all of the other windows, removing the existing window took about three minutes with a crowbar. The only difference is that this time I also needed to remove some plywood that had been used to fill the space of the original window. I used the laser level to cast the same top height as the other windows, then measured up for the header and down for the sill. I had to cut out a few studs for this window, given how much wider it is than its predecessors. First I framed in the new header and jack studs, added plywood sheathing to fill in the top and bottom where the old window was, then I used the reciprocating saw to cut back the sheathing in the resultant opening from the inside.

Header and jack studs

Sill

New sheathing

Opening cut back

The next step, which proved the most time-consuming part of the process, was removing all of the siding from this section. I had originally assumed this would be fairly easy, given it’s a fairly small window, but there was the added challenge of it being on the side of the house (on the second floor), with very little room to have a ladder at a safe angle. When I previously removed the bump-out, I put up house wrap up to cover the sheathing until we are ready to put up new siding. Since that was only a few feet from the edge of the window, it made sense to remove all the siding between the window and the section already covered in house wrap. I had to move the ladder around a lot to get all of the siding off, chucking the pieces into the hole and making a big messy pile inside.

Eventually I got it cleared down to the boards, got the nails pried out or banged back in, and got the house wrap over the whole area. Unrolling a section of house wrap while up on a ladder, where the house wrap actually has to go behind the ladder, and getting it stapled up evenly, is a bit tricky. Out of maybe a twenty times I’ve put sections of house wrap on this house, I think it’s been windy nineteen of them.

Only then did I realize I’d made a mistake. I’d measured exactly where the bottom sill board should go, then cut back the studs to that height and made the opening accordingly. The problem is, that line was actually supposed to the top of the sill, not the bottom. As a result, I had to remove the sill, re-cut the studs an inch-and-a-half shorter, put the sill back in, then re-cut back the sheathing. Fortunately I didn’t get even further along before realizing what I’d done.

Window installed

Once that was done, the rest of the window went down the same way as the previous ones. I put in the plywood jamb extensions, installed the two inches of rigid poly-iso foam to the outside, taped the drain pan and sides to the foam, then added the temporary wooden brackets to allow the window to be put in from the inside and protrude on the outside an inch or so, which gives me the room I need to clip on the window installation brackets from the outside. Finally, I screwed all the brackets in, securing the window, and taped the edges of the window to the foam. I’ll come back around and put spray foam around all the windows from the inside at the same time, since the cans (or at least the straws) are pretty much one-shot.

From the outside

No rake, old boards under roof deck, window installed temporarily

With my last update, I had gotten as far as one side of the “rake” on the front gable, the frame under the edge of the roof that sticks out from the front of the house. Because I have 10′ boards, the one side wasn’t the whole length of the roof line, since the whole thing is close to 15′. Because of this, I hadn’t gotten the attic window installed, since it needs to have the exterior rigid foam around it first, and I needed the rake to be able to measure and cut the foam properly.

Ladder bracing

Crazy ladder, rake installation

For the second stage of the process I needed to handle the ladder, since the bay is under the one side of the roof, and we’ve recently put a peaked roof on it. It probably would have been smarter to do the rake before the bay roof, but that didn’t happen. Oh well; I never pretended my planning was perfect. I rigged up the ladder at a shallow angle so that it matched the roof line of the bay, screwing boards both behind the edges, over the top of the feet, and as bracing on the bay roof itself so it couldn’t slide off. Finally, I stuck a board under the ladder to account for the top ladder section being a few inches up from the bottom.

I pre-assembled the rakes inside. With that done I cut back the original boards that run perpendicular to the rafters. These needed to be cut back flush to the front wall so that I could fit the rakes tight against the house. I mostly did this with a reciprocating saw, but in a couple of spots I used the oscillating tool. I attached some scrap wood to each rake as a hanger, so that I could get it into position and screw it in without having to hold it up at the same time, especially because they’re heavy, I was standing on a ladder, and I only have two arms.

Pre-assembled rake

Boards cut back

Rake complete

Both rakes and attic window done

I measured and cut the angled pieces for the ends out of 2×8, since my intention was for the rake to end at the eave with a point with no corner structure. Dean pointed out after the fact that I needed to account for the rigid foam that will go on the sides of the house, which I didn’t do. I’m wondering, since I need to extend the eave structure out two inches as well, if I can’t just transition that. We’ll see; worst case I redo the ends. With the rakes done I cut the foam for the gable peak and around the attic window. Then normal window installation commenced with flashing tape, drain pan, and a ton of frustration getting the installation brackets onto the window, which is also normal.

Old window removed

Header propped up for easier install

Opening framing

Sheathing installation

Window installed

My next project was the front window of the second story bay. I’d saved it for last since that’s how we’d been getting onto the ceiling of the porch. I yanked out the giant existing window, re-framed, re-sheathed, house wrapped, took a break from window to remove much of the porch ceiling decking and railing we’d put up for the other projects. Bringing 4×8 sheets of plywood in through the window opening is much easier than lowering it down a ladder.

Window framing

House wrap

Rigid foam and window installed

As with the attic, normal window installation took place, with one exception: when it came time to install the window, I installed more scrap wood on the outside of the opening to allow the window to slide beyond the edge of the opening but not fall out. This allowed me to attach the brackets without so much difficulty. It wasn’t crucial to the front window, where I can stand on the porch roof right in front of it, but this technique will help me on the remaining windows, particularly along the side of the house where there isn’t much room to work and I’ll be up a ladder. This way I can put the window in from the inside, then attach the brackets from the outside.

I’ll take down the rest of the railings and ceiling decking soon, when I go to tackle the porch roof itself. For now, I have all the materials I need to install windows, so I’m going to work on that. I’ll need some more lumber for the porch roof, even though I already bought everything a while back. That’s kind of how it goes when you cannibalize your own lumber.

Work continues on the attic floor joists, but I had a whole day of above freezing weather on Sunday and put the first window in upstairs. I decided the easiest window to start with was the single window on the front of the house, rather than tackle the bay windows or one of the side windows that doesn’t have the convenient porch roof as a platform. Like the first floor, the windows in the second floor require a bit more effort than just removing the old and installing the new. Because our house is balloon framed, the existing windows are basically just attached to the sheathing with no studs involved. Since we’re putting two inches of rigid foam insulation on the outside of the sheathing, we need something a bit more substantial to attach the window and have it extend out two inches from the face of the house and bring it flush with the insulation.

Removing the old window took no tools and almost no time. The handful of nails in mostly rotted wood were reinforced by some caulk. I basically took the whole thing in two hands and ripped it out of the wall like a comic book villain takes a safe door from a bank. This window is directly above the first floor front door, so I had a nice level header to put things onto. I started by measuring to the center and then working from the stud on the left side. Technically it’s not exactly centered by about an inch, but I wasn’t about to remove the existing stud to shift it over. I added a jack stud, but discovered that the existing stud isn’t plumb. This is an example of how I’ve gotten better at working on my old house over the years, because in the first floor I actually wound up framing the whole opening and trying to fit in the window before I realized the existing walls weren’t square.

Shimming

I shimmed the jack stud to get it straight, then continued with another full stud and jack stud on the other side. I built a foam-sandwich 2×6 header and put that above, then put in a sill and fit in cripples above and below. The next step was filling in sheathing, since the new window is a bit shorter than the old one. We’re lowering the second floor ceiling from 10′ to 9′ in order to gain more space in the attic, and I wanted the bottom high enough we can still put furniture in front of the window, so the new window is 60″ tall rather than 72″ or 80″ or whatever the old one is. With the wall re-framed, next I had to build the plywood extension, which extends from the inner edge of the wall to 2″ past the sheathing. Since it’s been a while since I’ve done a window like this (over four years), I forgot to add an extra ¼” to the extension so it actually comes flush to the foam, but it’s passable and I’ll remember that on the other seven windows.

Header framed

Framing done

Sheathing and jamb extension

After that I removed a bit of the remaining wood siding up to the top of the second floor so I could put on house wrap. I had to run to the store and buy a new roll, so I picked up the 9′ stuff, which was interesting to do on a ladder by myself, but I got it stapled up and everything turned out fine. I wrapped the extension as well, so water should be channeled out everywhere. I used the 3M All Weather tape this time for the house wrap seams instead of Tyvek tape and that stuff is awesome. I’m also using Zip System tape for the four-inch sections instead of WeatherMate tape going forward.

Installing house wrap

The next step was foam, and by this time it was dark (it is December) but there’s enough light from the street lights to keep going, especially since I try to never leave gaping holes in the house overnight. I picked up the 1″ thick polyiso and doubled it up again. One day I’ll special order the 2″ stuff, but that’ll wait until I’m ready to do the rest of the house and can find room for an 8′ cube of foam. I taped that up with the aforementioned 3M All Weather tape, the split-down-the-middle peel off backing makes it really easy to line it up correctly. I also put in the sill pan and taped that in as well.

Installed (also Derek)

Finally, I was ready for the window. I attached the brackets (they neglected to add the nailing fins I requested to the order), and lifted it into place. Those brackets are every bit as much of a pain to attach as I remember. I always worry I’m going to snap the fiberglass track. By the time I screwed everything into place it was close to 7:30. Not our latest window install, but not great. I’ll come back and put on the Zip tape and spray foam it later. As it is, the holes in the house are much smaller than they were with the old window. I’ve got seven more windows and a door to go, but seeing as it takes a full day to do one, they’ll have to wait for weekends. In the meantime I’ll keep working on the attic joists.

Before

After

We’ve been putting in the attic floor I-joists, but since that’s not done yet, I’ll wait to post about it and instead write about what we did finish: the master bedroom french door. I took off yesterday and Mike S came down for try number two. This time the weather cooperated and we got to work cutting a big hole in the back of the house on the second floor. I admit, these projects go a lot more smoothly and with a lot less frustration when Mike’s here. In addition to his expertise, he brought a telescoping aluminum work platform that sits up on two ladders, that made the exterior portions a lot easier.

Starting work

Putting up a platform

Cutting the wall

We did some calculating as to the height of the finished floor, which was complicated by the fact that the second floor joist at the back of the house is about ¾ of an inch higher than the others. We wound up cutting back the floor boards and cutting out that section of joist, since it was going to make everything else that much more difficult. He cut the studs at the top of where the header was going in and we pulled everything out all the way down to the top of the header over the first floor sliding door. In balloon frame construction, you don’t stop when you get to subfloor. I built the 2×6 header (a polyiso foam sandwich for thermal break) and we fit that in, we put in the new king studs that don’t actually go anywhere (again, balloon frame), then fit in the header and jack studs under that.

Initial section removed

From the outside

Header installed

Sheathing cut back

With that sides figured out, we cut the sheathing back to line up correctly, put the cripples and sill plate in (doubled 2×4). We put ice and water shield on at the bottom instead of just house wrap, then finished everything else with house wrap. Since we’re putting exterior foam on the house, we need to build everything out. In this case, that meant putting some ½ inch of polyiso onto 2x4s, and screwing them to the outside of the door opening all the way around.

Installing housewrap

We put down a plywood sill on top of the edge and the plastic sill pan on that. I covered everything on the outside with Zip System tape, which I’ve come to like more than the WeatherMate tap I used on the first floor. With everything taped up, the only thing left was to put the door on. This time around I made sure to order stuff with nailing fins, and so once we got those folded out, installation went fairly smoothly. I got the perimeter screwed in all the way around and then put some more tape over the fins.

Door installed

As with most of these window and door projects, all the reconstruction and flashing meant that it took all day to do, but it’s looking good, even though there’s no deck yet, so we can’t use the door. It does mean we could crane or forklift in material if the opportunity presents, and the thought of not hauling subfloor or drywall or whatever in and up the stairs a sheet at a time is appealing. I glossed over some details, like removing my silly downspout across the back of the house, the random holes we opened up in the sheathing and had to repair, the patchwork of housewrap that resulted from running out on the last stretch with less than a foot left, and the second floor windows finally arriving in the middle of the day. Hooray for that, it means we can finally get the outside done and finish the porch!