Window question--Jade and Sashguy?

[heartwood]

if the pocket door is too short to remove the weight, sometimes you can lean the weight so that you have a tiny bit of access to the hole at the top of it...do you have a hook at the top of the weight that the chain is attached to? you may need a wire to grasp the chain and manipulate it through the hook...yea, not so much fun to remove the trim but sometimes that's your only option...

...jade

[awomanwithahammer]

The weights are flat and long with the pulley attached to the top--no hook. There's really no room to maneuver inside the access door. I tried. I don't really even know why it's there. The chain ends go through the weight pulley, come out through the pulleys at the top of the window and hook to the sashes.

Phil, I've taken the casings off the first window, and although I know how to do it, I don't want to because it's all attached. The window sill is nailed through the bottom into the bottom of the side casings, which are in turn nailed into the head casing. I can't just take off the sides; it's all or nothing. *sigh* I guess that's my only option unless I can figure out a way to fasten a cord to the chains as I take them out to "save their places." I have an idea in mind that I'm going to try. Let you know if it works.

Just curious--are you tapers or scrapers when it comes to painting window panes? I find it much easier to just go to town with the paint and scrape it off the glass afterward. Putting down tape is much too fussy for me.

[heartwood]

scraper...one of the issues with tape or scrape is that you (we) may be lifting the paint (when viewed with a magnifying glass) causing moisture to get under the paint seal...really, if you scrape within a few days of painting, the paint isn't actually 'cured' so it should lay back down...it's taken me years to be able to paint so that there is minimal scraping...
go to town!

...jade

[awomanwithahammer]

I stand a taping knife next to the muntin/putty and then use a razor to scrape up to the knife. It leaves a tiny bit of paint on the glass.

[awomanwithahammer]

Here is a picture of one of my sash weights:


The idea I had for snaking out the sash chains without removing the casing seems to work. I went to the local fastener store and told them what my basic idea was and we did some brainstorming. What we came up with was an eyebolt long enough to stack about 12 large nuts, a washer, and a locking nut to hold everything together; the whole thing weighs about a pound. I got 4 of these--one for each end of the chain on 2 sides--and attached an S-hook to the eye.

When removing the lower sash, I unhook one side and attach the weight to the chain with the S-hook, then the other side. That holds the chain outside so it doesn't slip through the pulleys or off the pulley tracks. I follow the same process with the upper sash. This is the two weights holding the chain in place:


Then I tie a loop in one end of a strong cord and attach it to one end of the chain with a double lobster claw clasp. Holding the cord taut, I very carefully pull the chain out of the other pulley, pulling the cord through all three pulleys. When the chain is completely out, I remove the chain and attach the weight to the end of the cord. I cut the cord so that both ends are out and attach the other weight to the other end of the cord:


When I'm ready to reattach the chain after paint removal, I just reverse the whole process. I tried it on the window that has the trim removed so I could test it out, and it works! Now to try it on a window WITHOUT taking off the casing.

[heartwood]

wow, you figured it out! good for you!!
I've never seen such a weight with the pulley attached...though you've done a good job of explaining your process, my mind can't grasp it...i'd need to be there in person to see how it works...no matter, if it works, it works...A+ for effort!

...jade

[awomanwithahammer]

It feels like I've been working on the same windows forever, but I'm trying to get all the bugs worked out and get all my materials together. I just got all my weatherstripping, so yesterday I weatherstripped one window, installed it and thought it was ready to go. When I re-installed the latches, the two rails aren't quite even in height, so the latch, although it WILL close, is extremely tight and I'm afraid it will strip the screws out.

The windows originally had sill weatherstrip, so I ordered the bronze to replace it because the width of the dado was too big for the rubber weatherstripping. My question is, would it be OK to remove a very little of the wood at the bottom of the sash in order to make the two rails match? I think I could sand it down without losing the dado depth.

I'm so ready to move on to the next set of windows, but I don't feel that I can until I've got this set completely figured out. I think the rest will go more quickly (at least I hope so!)

[Mick_VT]

In my non-professional experience, yes. Adding weatherstripping can often result in a need to make adjustments to the window itself in order to accommodate that little bit of extra width / thickness. I would probably use a hand plane rather than sanding

[awomanwithahammer]

In my non-professional experience, yes. Adding weatherstripping can often result in a need to make adjustments to the window itself in order to accommodate that little bit of extra width / thickness. I would probably use a hand plane rather than sanding

That's good to know, Mick, but I am not very good with a hand plane. I'm not sure I could get a consistent amount off all the way across. I'm not even sure I still have one! I'll give it a try, though. Thanks!

[heartwood]

short answer, yes you can sand down the bottom rail...like mick suggested, planing followed by sanding would work best...another approach is to place a shim beneath the keeper (stationary lock piece on top sash)...this approach can be used when the meeting rail alignment is secure and keeps out drafts...I have a roll of rubber floor baseboard like what you see in restaurant bathrooms...I cut it into strips for use beneath the keeper...you can use cardboard from a box of matches or a thin piece of wood...if you choose a shim, place the keeper over the material and predrill the material using the existing holes of the hardware otherwise it can be a challenge to get the screw through the material...

there's always more than one solution...good for you for wanting to finish correctly before proceeding to the next window...

good luck!
...jade