I have a one bedroom condo, and I want to replace the bedroom window. It is a new construction vinyl window, and there is aluminum siding on the outside. Since this is a condo, I would prefer to remove the window without touching the outside of the building. Is this possible? How do I remove my current window?
Based on my experience, the condo board will have a lot to say about changes like this. TB
I'm pretty sure that I don't have to ask them for permission to replace the window. However, if I tried to remove the entire new construction window and messed up the outisde siding, I would have to pay for it. Thats why I would rather remove the current window from the inside, and put in a replacement window.
98% of new construction windows have a nailing flange on them. sometimes the flange has a slight crease in it where you can either snap it or cut it out
Why are you replacing the whole unit? Sometimes you can just replace the sealed glass unit.
The nailing flange is usually UNDER the siding and housewrap/flashing and will need to be reinstalled the same way to avoid leaks.
The current window is a piece of junk. This place used to be an apartment which was built in the mid 80's. In general, they didn't use the best quality materials. The window gets real cold in the winter, and it has this weird flimsy latch. The latch is basically a plastic tab on a spring, and if I break it, I won't be able to get a replacement. I've tried buying replacement latches at hardware stores, but they do not fit on the window. I already broke the latch once, and luckily the builder who converted these units into condos had a replacement. I tend not to use the window because of this.
Could you post a picture?
I would try to remove the siding to do it properly, failing that, cut the window out from the inside (drill and hacksaw maybe) and replace it with a "reno-flange" window. These are designed to be installed without removing siding but will have a very wide "flange" that will not match the other windows. Use a good quality caulk!
Here is a link to some photos of the window:
Should be quite easy if you can remove that wide moulding around the window (cut thru all the old caulk with a box cutter). That will expose the nail-on flange and you will just have to pull out the nails. That window looks pretty good to me. I doubt a new one will be much better. If you do buy one, sure it is low-e glass and argon gas filled. A plain double pane is approx R2 whereas the low-e is maybe R3.4.
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