Ranch Refresh 1

[Fred Mayfield]

We have a ranch style house build about 50 years ago. The original aluminum windows are all single pane and are badly worn out. The last windows to replace are three sets on the front of the house which has a brick veneer on it.

The sets of windows each consist of two windows joined together in the middle by aluminum bars (inside and outside) about 2" wide. I'm betting we'll have to have windows custom made.

With the brick I'm unsure how to replace the windows. Appears to me that I need to:

1) Measure the window opening carefully. 2) Get windows appropriately sized. 3) Pull the old windows out. 4) Put the new ones in by fastening through the sides, top and bottom of the windows into the framing.

Any tips on how to measure the window opening? Do I need to take enough apart on the inside to be able to measure the framed opening?

Any tips on pulling the old windows out? I'm guessing that these were nailed into place through flanges on the outside of the framing and then bricked over.

Any tips on how to seal the new windows to the brick veneer. We're in S Texas so the house has large overhangs. Most rains never touch the windows. Still, with heavy wind they do get wet sometimes.

Any thoughts, tips, tricks or suggestions are welcome.

[Fred Mayfield]

We have a ranch style house build about 50 years ago. The original ceiling insulation was fiberglass bats. The paper has all deteriorated and the fiberglass has all compressed. Now we have about an inch of stuff between each ceiling joist.

My plan is to blow new fiberglass in over the top of the original stuff. We have a couple of recessed lights that I'll put some screen around. Aside from that, it's a pretty typical S. Texas attic with heating / air vents, wiring and galvanized water pipes.

Anything that I need to be careful about? Recommendations on how to blow it in? Fiberglass vs. cellulose?

[Fred Mayfield]

We have a ranch style house build about 50 years ago. The original wall insulation was fiberglass. I think it may have been blown or pumped into 2" diameter holes top of each wall cavity. The insulation has all compressed at the bottom of the cavities.

I'm thinking that about the best way to reinsulate the walls is to pull the sheetrock off. The wife wants to retexture and repaint the walls in the dining room, living room and two bedrooms that need insulation anyway.

Any thoughts, tips, suggestions or tricks would be appreciated.

[aemeijers]

Make sure the soffit (sp?, not in dictionary) vents don't get blocked. Those giant-egg-carton-looking things work pretty well, as long as there is a dam at the end of each rafter bay to keep the loose-fill from flowing down and filling the soffit. Check with an electrical distributor or local inspector about what is locally acceptable to put over the light cans. It would be a bummer to fabricate something, and have an inspector flag it as non-code come sale time.

I've been in south TX. Even in winter, this will be hot nasty work. Just for giggles, I'd have the guy with a truck-mounted blower come by and give a free estimate. Up here in the frozen north, fixing the venting and adding 1400 sq. feet x 6 inches of cellulose cost me $750, and material to do it myself would have cost at least half that, including renting the machine. They were in and out in two hours with their big blower. Since I didn't have a helper available to feed the little home center machine, or crawl in the attic while I fed it, it would have taken me all day, or more. Yeah, it was worth the extra money to avoid a day of misery crawling around in a shallow 5-12 attic, especially since addition has trusses and I am far from small and limber. Wish I would have done it as soon as I moved in- just in last 14 months, I have probably earned back half that $750 on reduced utility bills.

-- aem sends...

[aemeijers]

That would be the best way, if you can live with the expense and mess in those rooms. You could even use spray foam, and fill the stud bays completely, like they do on TOH. Note that one or two fresh walls in each outside room will make the interior walls look tired, so don't be surprised if the wife decides those need to be redone as well. If original wall insulation was loose-fill, it was probably blown from outside through the celotex sheathing, before siding and brick went on. I know you have brick on the front, but if rest of house is horizontal siding, they could easily do that again. Other popular shortcut is to do it from top of wall on the inside, and then add wide crown molding to hide the holes.

-- aem sends...

[Old Windows - No, Not That Win]

although stucco is different than brick the installation will be very similar.

measure inside of old windows, order new windows, pull out old windows, caulk frame, install new windows, go inside and seal area between wall and window with insulating foam and then cover the same area with the strips that come with the windows. Here are some pictures of my house (stucco). I did the windows myself and it was real simple.