Replacement window nailing fin question

gortman · 11-26-2006, 02:28 PM

A friend gave me a Pella picture window that had been removed from a new construction home (guess the owner didn't like the cladding color), and I would like to use it to replace our old single pane picture window. The problem is that during removal, about half of the nailing fin along one edge was ripped away from the frame. How do I install this window and make sure it is secured to the rough opening where the fin was torn away?

Thanks for your help!

redline · 11-26-2006, 04:06 PM

Do you plan on removing the siding on your house where the newer window is going to be installed?

gortman · 11-27-2006, 12:10 PM

The window is going in at the front of the house under a porch/awning so there is no siding around the window. It's kind of a stucco material around there. The new window is almost exactly the size of the old window so I don't think much of the wall will need to be removed.

gortman · 11-27-2006, 01:14 PM

If you don't use the nailing fin at all, how do you anchor the window in place?

redline · 11-27-2006, 01:32 PM

With out a photo it is hard to determine what style window you have.

You could just carefully broke off the (exterior) flange around the entire window and then screw the window in threw the side of the frame.

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 11-27-2006, 08:10 PM

The nailing flange is also part of the design that makes a new construction window ... weather and moisture tight.

If it is missing on one side, I would be concerned about using the window...You have no way of making sure that you have a weather tight seal(Compressed onto exterior wall sheathing and attached solidly ..... You would also have nothing to seal with silicone or Water and Ice shield)...on that side of the window, .... unless you do some serious 'retro-fitting', with other materials.

mighty anvil · 11-28-2006, 08:01 AM

You can always add thin metal straps at the jambs. they get bent around the inside face of the studs and anchored. Use self-adhered butyl or modified bitumen flexible flashing at the exterior and be sure it is fully adhered to both the window frame and the sheathing (not the underlayment). Pay special attention to the upper corner flashing and be sure to flash the rough sill too.

**joasis** · 11-28-2006, 08:33 AM

I installed some windows years back that were ordered and returned...happens a lot. These were "replacement" windows, sized for the opening, and the guy who bought them wanted then in his new addition. He also insisted on nail fins, even though we could have framed the openings for exact fit, replacement style, so what we did was get some 11 gauge aluminum 2 X 2 angle and pop riveted the new "fins" on. Many new windows come with "break-away" or cut-away" fins now, in the cheaper grades, so they can be installed either way.