How to get rid of the cold

Completion of the installation. The finished wooden box is installed in the window opening of the stone wall. Align the box in the opening using wedges and drill two holes through each jamb to the wall. Use a screwdriver to screw the screws into the dowels pre-inserted into the wall to secure the window frame.

According to the master of “frozen music” Le Corbusier, the history of architecture is also the history of the window, which was largely determined by technology and economics. The changes that have taken place in the twentieth century have been rapid. Advances in construction and architecture have contributed to the development of new window designs such as revolving and horizontal lifting windows. The tightness and water resistance were improved, and various materials for window sashes were used, including aluminum. These changes primarily affected commercial and public buildings, but as the window and door manufacturing industry developed, innovations penetrated into the construction of residential property. Already by the fifties, a lifting casement window – the main feature of eighteenth-century houses – was finally supplanted by a swing window with hinged doors.

A swing window has become a standard design in new homes. Since the oil crisis in the 1970s and subsequent surges in fuel prices, all design efforts have been focused on insulating windows. The window is sealed only with glass, which is known to be a poor insulator. One square meter of glass lets in as much heat as 10 square meters of a wall. The use of double and even triple glazing helps to reduce heat loss by up to 50 percent. All windows of the new design use double-glazed windows – hermetically connected layers of glass with an air layer between them. There is a wide range of kits for the second layer of glass in single glazed windows. In addition, thermal gaskets are standard on most new windows, and both sash and frame have two or even three folds to improve air tightness..

Aluminum, like glass, is a poor thermal insulator and is often combined with wood or plastic (PVC). There is a large selection of clear PVC window frames and sashes on sale. Manufacturing technology of aluminum and plastic windows is rather complicated. Such windows are usually produced by specialized firms and inserted either by suppliers or professional builders. Wooden frames can also be ordered from companies and agreed on their installation. Or you can buy such a window from a local merchant or intermediary company, but you can insert it yourself.

The rise in the cost of the house has led many to choose to remodel or build on the house, rather than buy a new one. High building density, especially in large cities, has driven building expansion upward rather than sideways. Windows, specially designed for attics and attics, appeared on the market. Another popular choice was a skylight overhanging the sloping roof. These windows are far from being new. Window openings on roofs are as old as the construction industry. Dormer windows have a thousand-year or even longer history. Dormers are said to have originated in medieval Germany. It was a kind of trick on the tax collectors. At the time, the landlord paid taxes on floors – from ground to roof. So the dormer window gave light to another room – under the roof, for which there was no need to pay..

So how to get rid of the cold: double glazed windows with existing single glazing.

One double glazing is not the most effective method of thermal insulation, although it also reduces noise levels and increases safety. Draft barriers, thermal insulation in attics and hollow walls, all taken together will significantly reduce the cost of your heating bills. A less hassle and more efficient way is to replace the window with a ready-made factory sealed unit enclosed in a frame. However, if your single window is in good condition, it is cheaper to make secondary glazing. Secondary glazing consists in placing a second layer of glass or a sheet of transparent plastic on the sash or window frame, or in a quarter of it. You can design the secondary glazing frame yourself to match the existing frames and wall material, but it is cheaper and faster to buy a ready-made kit consisting of plastic or aluminum sections along with fastening parts.

Sliding frames fit into rails that are usually attached to window quarters. Swing frames or fixed frames are usually attached to old frames or sashes. You may need to insert a wooden subframe into the window quarter under the sliding frame if the sides of the quarter are uneven or if you want to reinforce hinged or fixed panes over the metal frame. Hinged or sliding frames can be easily removed for cleaning or in an emergency. Blind frames cannot be opened without removing the entire glass.

For effective thermal insulation, the distance between old and new glass must be between 12 and 25 mm. Good sound insulation requires at least 100 mm, but in this case, the construction of the window becomes impractical. To avoid drafts and heat leakage, and hence moisture condensation on the outer sheet of glass, the secondary glazing joint must be airtight and airtight. Sometimes the secondary frames are glazed with plastic (acrylic, polyester or polycarbonate). Plastic is lighter and more air-tight than glass, but it also has disadvantages: it is easily scratched, it can ignite (even from a cigarette), has a strong static charge, that is, it will collect dust, and its transparency decreases over time. For secondary glazing, 4 mm glass is recommended, and for windows with an increased risk of damage, reinforced glass is best. It is more expedient to measure glass according to the frame manufacturer’s instructions. The supplier can cut it, but according to the instructions you can do it yourself.

How to install aluminum sliding frames

1. How to cut a guide. Use a metal tape measure to measure the width of the window quarters at the top and bottom edges. Apply this distance on the two rails and saw off the desired pieces at right angles in the saw box. Smooth the saw cut with a file. Cut to size the flexible strip of sealant and insert it into the appropriate slot in the rails.

2. How to fix the guides. Drill holes in the base of the rails at a distance of 300 mm from each other and countersink them. Attach the rails to the top quarter of the window and to the sill board. Drill the driver hole in the top quarter using a drill, if the support beam is concrete, drive the plugs into the holes and screw the rails in with 20mm # 8 screws. The lower rail is fixed in the same way, but plugs are not needed if the window sill is wooden. On each side quarter of the window, measure the distance between the upper and lower guides, cut the measured length from the workpieces and in the same way as the upper and lower ones, screw the side guides to the sides of the frame with screws.

3. How to cut glass. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, measure the distance between the side rails and the top and bottom rails to determine the dimensions of the glass. If the old window has two or more glass panes separated by uprights, calculate the horizontal dimensions of the glass sheets so that they meet directly in front of the uprights. Cut glass to size or order from supplier.

4. How to install the frame section. Cut four aluminum plates and four rubber spacers for each frame section slightly shorter than the glass (exact dimensions depend on the gusset). Press the rubber gasket against the edge of the glass and place an aluminum plate on top. Using light blows from a mallet, lower the aluminum plate with the seal onto the glass through a wooden block. Lowering (putting) the plate on the glass should be done carefully along the entire length of the glass, moving the bar and repeating the blows. Fix the gasket and section in the same way on the opposite side of the glass. Screw the window handle onto the section that will fit into the side rail.

5. How to install corner pieces. Press the gasket to the upper and lower edges of the glass, insert the parts into the corners of the upper and lower frame sections and with a mallet on the wooden block imposed on top, secure the frame section and the gasket. The protruding parts of the corner pieces will fit into special grooves in the side frame sections. Drive two plastic castors or rollers into the bottom groove of each lower frame section and secure them with self-tapping screws.

6. How to install sliding frames. Cut two pieces of the guide along the length of the bottom one and insert them into the grooves. Place the anti-draft strips in the grooves provided for this on all frame sections. Insert each glass first into the groove of the upper rail and then gently lower it into the groove of the lower rail.

How to install the swing frame

How to hang an additional window. Make sure the flat wooden surfaces of the window frame allow for the width of the clips. If the frame is metal or with narrow profiles, fix wooden strips in the quarters of the window.

Take measurements for glasses. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, cut the glass and install spacers and frame sections as indicated for sliding windows. Use the supplied screws to screw the hinge pins to the side frame jamb or to the top bar. Fasten the hinge slots in the grooves on the desired frame section. Place twist locks on the other three sides of the window frame and hang the hinge slots onto the hinge pins.