Once you’re happy that the building you’ve moved into is now your home after significant interior decorating, it’s time to move outside and make your house looking welcoming to visitors and to you when you come home from work. You should add paint to the exterior walls and clean the driveway if you have one. This will certainly add to the aesthetics of your home. But this is still insufficient if the windows are old and rotten because this can ruin the entire look of the home. You need to install new windows for a variety of reasons, not least because it will remove the ugliness of the old windows. New double glazed windows will also save energy, add value to your home and keep it more secure.
If you fancy installing the windows yourself, you’re in for quite a surprise. This is an extremely difficult task that should only be attempted by professionals. It will probably take around 6 hours to fit a single downstairs window with each one costing several hundred pounds. And this is only if you know what you’re doing. The process begins by measuring the existing window frame to ensure that the right size window is cut. As you can imagine, a simple mistake during the measurement stage will be a complete disaster. If you try to DIY, you could be left with an expensive window and nowhere to put it.
The old sash needs to be removed from the window frame. This can only be achieved if the interior wooden stops are removed along with the parting beads. You’ll also need to take of the jamb liners, prepare the frame and take off the old sash weights before preparing for insulation. It’s recommended that you use polyurethane foam rather than fibreglass because it is better at blocking air. Holes have to be drilled in the area around the window so that the foam can be sprayed in. It will harden but this could take several hours. You are then required to caulk the opening, install the window, fasten, shim, caulk again, prime and paint.
If this sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is! Make an error at any time during the process and all your hard work will be undone. This is why you need a professional to install your window because an expert will have performed this task on hundreds of occasions. Are you really willing to test your DIY skills on something as expensive as a window? A professional installer make cost several thousand pounds but at least you’ll get a high quality result.
If you have old windows and they are spoiling the overall appearance of your home, it’s time to get them changed to give your house a new outlook. What you don’t want to do is DIY because this option is fraught with danger. As you can see above, fitting a window is a precise process and should only be performed by someone with many years experience in the field.