Window in the gable of my old house? Challenging!

skiposwald · 04-07-2010, 09:51 PM

I want to put an octagon window in my gable / attic. My house is 100 years old so nothing is very straight or easy to work with. I initially thought I could do this myself, but now I have discovered a few things that will make this a serious challenge.

1. There is no sole plate (if that is the right name) along the attic wall. The only thing along the wall are a few studs (three of which are in my drawings), which run from my roof to my ground floor.
2. I need to cut the center stud to have my window be centered. Funny enough, this center stud doesn't actually support anything, as there is a 1/4 inch of space above it.

I will either call a contractor about this and/or abandon the whole idea anyway. First, I want to make sure I have some idea what should be done before I hear what a contractor has to say. It would nice to be able to gauge whether a contractor is proposing a good solution or not.

The first rough drawing is what the attic currently looks like and where I would like the window to go.
The second rough drawing is what I THINK is the best ballpark plan.

Hopefully you can read my bad handwriting and understand my amateurish drawings. Some of the info in my drawings are just for my own reference.

Are the rough plans in my drawing a good way to do this? Is there a better way? Should I scrap this whole idea? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Leah Frances · 04-07-2010, 09:58 PM

People - Skip gets 10 awesomness points for including his location and a sketch of his plan. Someone (who knows what they are talking about) give him a hand....

Take pics, before, during and after your project.

Scuba_Dave · 04-07-2010, 10:05 PM

I'd put a new stud on either side of the window & call it a day for support
Add 2x's between the new studs top & bottom to attach the window
Most people add the diagonal support, I did not at my last house

I actually have a front gable like this & I was going to add a window
The wife didn't like the idea

jlhaslip · 04-08-2010, 12:51 AM

should be good.

your house is 'balloon framing', by the way.

skiposwald · 04-08-2010, 12:10 PM

Ah, "balloon framing." I was googling around trying to see if anyone had a similar problem as me, but I didn't find anything. Now that I know that phrase, I will probably have better luck.

I guess since no one is ripping my plan to shreds yet, it must be good!

04-07-2010, 09:51 PM	#1
skiposwald Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Detroit, MI Posts: 36	Window in the gable of my old house? Challenging! I want to put an octagon window in my gable / attic. My house is 100 years old so nothing is very straight or easy to work with. I initially thought I could do this myself, but now I have discovered a few things that will make this a serious challenge. 1. There is no sole plate (if that is the right name) along the attic wall. The only thing along the wall are a few studs (three of which are in my drawings), which run from my roof to my ground floor. 2. I need to cut the center stud to have my window be centered. Funny enough, this center stud doesn't actually support anything, as there is a 1/4 inch of space above it. I will either call a contractor about this and/or abandon the whole idea anyway. First, I want to make sure I have some idea what should be done before I hear what a contractor has to say. It would nice to be able to gauge whether a contractor is proposing a good solution or not. The first rough drawing is what the attic currently looks like and where I would like the window to go. The second rough drawing is what I THINK is the best ballpark plan. Hopefully you can read my bad handwriting and understand my amateurish drawings. Some of the info in my drawings are just for my own reference. Are the rough plans in my drawing a good way to do this? Is there a better way? Should I scrap this whole idea? Any suggestions are appreciated. Attached Thumbnails

04-07-2010, 09:58 PM	#2
Leah Frances Learning by Doing Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Easton, Maryland Posts: 3,156 Blog Entries: 7	Window in the gable of my old house? Challenging! People - Skip gets 10 awesomness points for including his location and a sketch of his plan. Someone (who knows what they are talking about) give him a hand.... Take pics, before, during and after your project. __________________ If I could only remember to THINK about what I was doing before I did it.

04-07-2010, 10:05 PM	#3
Scuba_Dave Xtreme DIY'r Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: South of Boston, MA Posts: 17,248	Window in the gable of my old house? Challenging! I'd put a new stud on either side of the window & call it a day for support Add 2x's between the new studs top & bottom to attach the window Most people add the diagonal support, I did not at my last house I actually have a front gable like this & I was going to add a window The wife didn't like the idea

04-08-2010, 12:10 PM	#5
skiposwald Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Detroit, MI Posts: 36	Window in the gable of my old house? Challenging! Ah, "balloon framing." I was googling around trying to see if anyone had a similar problem as me, but I didn't find anything. Now that I know that phrase, I will probably have better luck. I guess since no one is ripping my plan to shreds yet, it must be good!

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Window in the gable of my old house? Challenging!