Crooked House. Square Windows

[Ivanho]

We bought a house a few years ago that had settled substantially on one side. We had it jacked up to level and the that part of the foundation replaced. So I'm getting around to working on the windows. This part of the house has taken quite a beating.

I installed my first window today. Original sashes, but new frames and exterior trim. The window is perfectly square and level, but it looks really crooked, because the walls are crooked. This is noticeable when the windows are near a corner.

What do the carpenters do? Do I just shim one side of the window to match the lean of the wall?

[lisascenic]

Don't hang wallpaper with big thick stripes?

Seriously, I lived in a house one summer that was caving in on itself, and the owners thought that striped wallpaper would be a good idea. The stripes formed chevrons in every corner of the room.

[Sashguy]

If this home was built prior to 1940 and is balloon frame, two questions come to mind. Were the window frames and trim done before the home was leveled? Is the home REALLY level?
The reason that I question is that the base of the window rests on two to three supports that are cut to exact length. These rest on the beam of the home. If the beams are level, the frame is level. One of the favorite statements of House Levelers is "Well, if we try to get it exactly level, we may break the house in half". This is basically BS... They are trying to get out of additional work.

[heartwood]

you may want to consider just living with the 'funhouse' look for your unsquare accomodations...i have worked in/visited many a museum house where the VERY out of square components bring laughter and amazement...unsquaring the window may result in difficulty opening the sash...
....jade

[Ivanho]

It's balloon frame. The problem is the corner studs. For lack of a better description, they "tuck in" 2-3 inches at the bottom. In other words, for them to be level, top to bottom, the new foundation would have to be extended out 2-3 inches. The window is about 18 inches from the corner studs.

I built brand new frames and trimmed out the window. This is after the house jacking. The 2 x 4's under the window, and the sill, are perfectly level. I put my level on there and it's exactly level. The window and frame are level.

I'm curious what the pros do. I'm thinking about tipping the whole window frame and shimming one side. The window frame is about 82 inches tall. It would be about 1.5 inches out of square if I tipped it. I guess my concern, as Jade pointed out, is a functioning window. Right now, the window itself looks ridiculously crooked even though it's perfectly level.

I don't know. I just had a thought while typing - the siding is off in this area. Maybe I can pull the sheathing out a bit and shim under it to reduce the visual impact.

[Don M]

Does the window look crooked both inside & out or just outside? You might be able to adjust the siding to make it look right if it is just outside.

[GDWoodbutcher (WavyGlass)]

As I read these posts and replies, I'm not sure if we are talking about the sides of the opening leaning to the left or right, or in and out. If the walls lean in or out the double hung will work fine following the existing wall structure as long as it is all in the same plane. The plane need not be plumb, just flat. Often when foundation problems cause stress on framing, the flat portion of a wall will be pulled in or pushed out, while areas of wall that have a intersecting wall remain plumb. A door would have to be corrected, because it swings and would close or open itself if not plumb, while a window only slides. If the problem is left to right while the sill is level, that needs correction. As the height is longer than the width, I would follow the existing sides and, keeping the window square ( which does not mean level or plumb ) adjust the sill framing to be perpendicular to the sides, or maybe split the difference. As for siding and interior trim, resist the urge to be perfect, instead go for what looks good to your eye.

[heartwood]

good points gdw...i agree, pleasing to the eye rather than plumb, level and square...of course if there is more than one set of eyes, hopefully they all concur!

a few years back, we worked on a project where the walls leaned out from top to bottom of the window opening...the weights for the sash kept hitting each other and getting stuck....there was no way to install a divider between the weights so we just made it a single hung window and rendered the top sash fixed....

...jade

[Ivanho]

GDW, I'm talking about the sides of the rough opening. The window assembly itself (it's sash and it's frame/jamb) are perfectly square because it's essentially a brand new assembly (the sashes were rehabbed). The sides of the rough opening are not square. Neither are the remaining wall studs.

I plan to do what you suggested - split the difference.

[phil]

maybe you could trim the window casings a bit ( make them slightly tapered) to help reduce the visual impact?