I need to replace two windows in the early Spring. I have measured the approximate rough opening size for the replacements, and I think the windows are a "standard" size, but need some way to find out what the various "standard" rough opening sizes are. I don't want to remove all of the trim until I am ready to put the new windows in so I am hoping there is someplace I can get "rough opening" information. Searching the web gets me to a lot ofcompanies that want to provide me with full service, all I want is "standard" opening sizes. Even HD and Lowes don't have lists of standard sizes that i could find. I can hit the big box stores tomorrow, but was hoping to find something here.
You can't get there from here. That is the wonderful thing about standards, there are so many to choose from. If you don't pull the interior casing of at least one window of each size fitted to your house and get a good measurement, you are taking a gamble that the expen$ive new windows you order won't fit. Why is pulling the interior trim such a show-stopper for you? Go around the outside and inside edges of the casing with a utility knife to break the paint seal, and use a putty knife and mini-prybar to gently pull it off. Do it carefully, and it should pop right off. Not a big deal, and you can put it back as soon as you take the measurements, with little trouble. The only sign will be the fresh nail heads.
Having said all that- you can at least get an idea of what is currently available in 'standard' sizes, by measuring the jamb openings on the outside. Find the one at the big-box that is closest to that, and that will tell you what you are looking at cost-wise.
There is no such thing as *standard sizes* for windows thus the need to order them....As others have said , you must remove the trim and get accurate measurements per the manufacturers instructions...Failure to do so will likely lead to major problems.......
While windows can be special ordered to any size, there certainly are standard sized windows and doors, especially in the last 50 years. Older houses were a nightmare on stuff like that, new houses not so much. I used to have a door and window business so I do know what I'm talking about.
So Ed-- wanna count? want some credit? "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
Teddy Roosevelt "Citizenship in a Republic," Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
So what are these "standard sizes' you know so much about. I'll bet there aren't any in my house. [built in 1896- most windows replaced 1986-2009]
As I pointed out, houses older than 50 years can be any size. There are today, though. standardized sizes of windows and doors in new homes. For someone to say they don't exist is spreading false information. Visit your local home center and see the variety of standard sizes they have in stock.
My son's house was built in 1749 and the doors are the same as today's standard size, window's I've never measured.
Doors yes..They stock basic steele and fiberglass doors..Both 32 and 36 wide...Wood or any other size has to be ordered... windows no except for a few somebody ordered and didn't pick up or were returned..You have to order them...Even new construction windows picked out of the book if that is what you mean by standard size..There is no way they could stock all the different styles and sizes from all the different manufactures of windows..I know I just ORDERED 3 more for my house..30/48 Alliance Wingate new construction Vinyl windows , double hung , Low E , full screen , tilt in , built in J channel with nailing fin...184.89 each....4 more to go....Replacing old (1960's) Pella casements which means I changing the window openings and the siding which is that old cardboard like stuff...HORRIBLE...LOL...
We have a stocking distributor for Anderson near us. They don't have every window, but they have about two dozen sizes in stock at all times. I can show you hundreds of houses built with the basis double hung window of the same size. The windows in my house are the same size as the house across the street even though they were built 20 years apart and are different house styles.
And I'm contending that windows in a house built yesterday can be any size. The OP was looking for a standard. Help him out.
My [nearest] Lowes caries Pella & my HD carries Andersen in stock. When I've needed to replace a window I always go to both to see which has a size closer to what I'm replacing. [or have in mind]
Fer instance-- I have a 30x50 window in my house. [a common size] I'm replacing a window so I can't go above that number without a great deal of work. Andersen can sell me a stock DH window 400series that is
29.625"x48.875".
The Pella equivalent is 30x47.75.
There aren't even standards between manufacturers. How can you tell the OP- who didn't even say where he lived, or the style and age of his house, that he can use a 'standard' window.
He needs to pull off some trim, measure the rough opening, and make a decision on whether he can match the window-- or buy a standard window that is close enough to make up the difference with trim---- or special order a window at twice to three times the cost of a stock size.
On an entry door, off the top of my head, I would say 36"x80" was more or less 'standard'. But I sure wouldn't bet anyone they had a 36x80 front door. [just replaced my 31 3/4 by 78 with transom-- had a 40" door in an 18th century house we lived in. both of those doors are
Hi Bob, It's rough, pun intended, to get the size exactly right. A lot also depends on what type of window you will be using and what kind of window that is being replaced. On my old house, I had a 3 sided bay, where they had constructed the unit on site using 3 separate windows. To measure, I had to temporarily remove some of the inside trim. I then went to HD and ordered Anderson. Anderson offered a line of individual windows ordered to size. I also had problems getting the new windows to fit because, through the years the bay structure had sagged making the
2 side openings slightly parallelograms. A little cheating here and there, especially with new inside trim, made it all work, but it was almost too close for comfort.
If you're replacing double hung, will the new ones be "replacement vinyl" or something like Anderson. Replacement vinyl are made to size and go into the opening, usually leaving the outside rectangle of the original window. Nice thing here is you don't have to touch the trim, as the original box stays in tack. If you're replacing the whole thing, you need to measure the outside of that original window box. It's usually 4 1x6s connected at the corners with a rabbit or similar joint. Of course, a lot depends on the age of the old windows. The double hung windows in the old house were circa 1970 and cheap single pane units at that. BTW, you can check at HD or on-line, for the blow up on how the windows are constructed. HD, no surprise, wasn't too helpful in my bay window, but the on-line Anderson stuff was very helpful. When I was ready to order, I called Anderson and asked about tolerances, like if specified as X inches, will it be X +/- 1/32 or something. They said it would be X. I know there has to be some tolerance, but they wouldn't give that to me. I probably should have specified a little bit on the small side, maybe by an 1/8". Things would have been much easier. BTW, is the house frame, brick or brick veneer?
I measured 13 double hungs (7 different sizes) with the trim in place and got them all right.
My method:
My windows were controlled by aIuminum tracks, with tube-encased springs, one on each side of the sash.
To measure the width, I used 2 slats from aluminum mini-blinds, slipping the end of each one into the small gap between the track and the interior stop. I marked where the slats overlapped, removed them, laid them on a table with the mark lined up and measured them. I did this in 3 spots - top, bottom and middle - and used the smallest measurement.
I did the same thing for the height, although I didn't have any tracks to deal with. I placed the slats in the front of opening - in three places - and marked the overlap, then laid them on the table and measured. (The sills were slanted, so the front of the opening was the shortest height.
No trim was removed until I was ready to do the installs.
Hi Art - I'm off to the Bell Labs retirees luncheon, then off to HD to see if a 30 x 40 rough opening is a "standard" size. It was, when I put the windows in 25 years ago to replace some (at that time) 30 year old casement windows. I rebuilt the wall to put in the new windows back then using a "standard" window size. I put in double glazed windows, but over the years they lost their seal and became cloudy. I have the glass size 20 3/8 x 24 3/8 and am also going to price just new glass from the company that I got some custom glass from in 2001 to put into all the remaining single-glazed casement windows. A little bit of routing on those old casement window frames and they took the new sealed units which have not leaked so far, so I trust the company to provide good-quality sealed windows I put a single pane of glass into 1/2 of one window last night and the improvment in clarity is amazing. I hate to pull the trim off to measure the exact size when I shouldn't have to.
BTW...the other thing I did was toss the expander cap that came with the windows and used blocks to raise the window up to the top of the rough opening. I insulated around the blocks and caulked both sides to create a dead air space.
I don't like the look of the expander caps, plus if you use them you have to rip the upper stops to get them even with the side stops. I'd rather "hide" the adjustment inside the sill.
That is a fine method for replacement sashes, but you are measuring the INSIDE of the old jamb, not the rough opening. And if I ever upgrade the windows here, that is the method I will likely follow, since the jambs seem to be in good shape. But if you are replacing the entire window, you need to see the actual 2x4s of the rough opening to get an accurate measurement.
Reading comprehension problem? I did not tell the OP he could use a standard window, I said they exist. No I don't know what he has, nor did I say that.
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