Custom Building Windows...Part Four

In the first three parts of this series, we have covered everything right up to the final painting of the custom built windows on the outside. Now it's time to go inside and finish the White Pine telescoping frames that we built. And by finish...I mean stain and finish. "Then" we'll get around to installing them.

As mentioned earlier in this series, the interior stain was a special blend previously chosen by the homeowner. All we did was get the numbers off the old can and order another gallon of it. It's not always that easy! We pre-cut all the trim pieces, and then laid them out across sawhorses in the garage. It was still early enough in late summer that we could leave the doors open, and they dried quickly. Everything from the interior frame parts (on the right) to the casing (one of which is second from left) and the stop (far left) was made ready before installation. 

The last thing to be applied was two coats of latex Polyurethane in a semi-gloss finish. Before the new inside trim could go on there were many places where drywall had to be repaired from removing the old sill and overhead shelf. Then it had to be primed and painted before the casing went on. For safety, we went ahead and installed the interior frames and glass stop, otherwise the only thing holding the glass in was the caulking, and a good gust of wind could have pushed it inward. Safety ALWAYS comes first!

In the process of finishing up the inside trim, we also had to change out the old trim to the new trim color, which meant going up and over two patio doors leading into the sun room that were jambed tight to the wall at each end. The previous trim had been butchered up because the installer didn't know how to do it, so we fixed it as it should have been. 

We also added a new extra wide jamb to the one opening leading to the kitchen. The dark trim is the kitchen side, which hasn't yet been changed to the new color. You can see the new trim around the entry door and windows in the sun room.

We also custom built and installed a new oak threshhold for between the kitchen and sun room. We always fill all nailholes, and apply a specially colored filler to our trim. Leaving nail holes is equivalent to not finishing the work!

This concludes our custom window building project, and the associated work that went with it. We hoped you enjoyed seeing the kind of work we used to do.

What a difference the new windows make...in the amount of light let into the room, in the much improved views, in the general looks of the place, and the increased value to the home!

In the next set of posts, we'll talk about the two decks that were added (actually the smaller one you see out these windows was just rebuilt, whereas the other one was totally new). The decks were finished prior to the window job, because we needed a place to stand to work on the windows!

Actually, as we finish writing these posts, there will be a few other decks shown at other locations. If you have considered taking on a project like this yourself, and have any questions, please feel free to comment below and ask me. I will be glad to help you by return comment or email, free of charge.