Installing new windows! Question?

For the past couple of years my partner and I have been doing home renovations. We had to replace half of our back wall including sills, joists, subfloors, windows and doors. We even had to jack the house up to do much of this work. Our house is mostly vinyl but part of the front is brick.

When I measure windows I measure from the inside of the window, from left to right ( being the width ) and the top to bottom being the height. ( W x H ) This I've always considered the correct way to measure for replacement windows.

Since we were replacing all our windows we gave those measurements to get windows made for the back of our house which has vinyl siding. When we got our windows they were ALL 1 & 1/2 inches too small on both the width and height but we couldn't wait for new ones to be made because it was already autumn and we wouldn't have had time. End result is we had to build up our frames to add the windows and they were too small for our liking but I got over it.

Now we are currently doing the front of our house and one side but no wall needs to be replaced. The big problem is that I wanted the side windows to match so called up the same company. Once more I explained to the salesperson that we want the size window from the measurements we give, explaining that all the windows last year were too small and he cuts me off telling me that they would send someone up to measure and make sure the size is right so they did. The guy saw our house and measured the existing windows.
Today our windows came and they are all too small again. The explanation I got was because there is brick moulding on the windows , they have to change the dimensions to compensate for that. The brick moulding sits on the outside of the frame and attaches to the siding. The salesperson told me that I didn't tell him we didn't have a brick house. Wth!
I replied that I didn't think I had to since the company had a professional come up and measure the windows.

I think the real reason they do this is to save money on making the windows and save money on installation. With making the windows smaller and compensating with brick moulding they just have to cut the old window out and put the new one on and not have to worry about j channels and siding or brickwork.

I've never in my life ever heard of windows being measured the way this company does it.
How would you handle this? When trying to explain once more that WE were installing the windows ourselves, it didn't seem to register and he just yelled at me.
I wasn't really sure where to post this because I didn't see a home improvement section but what ticked me off the most was that because I'm a woman my concern is dismissed like I don't have clue what I'm talking about.

Anyway I had to rant for a while. :mad3: :whip:

I meant to add pictures!

Here is one of the bedroom windows . You can see how much extra framing we had to do. It's not the extra work I mind doing. It's the fact that the windows are so much smaller. They ARE nice windows though. This is a double slider.
Attachment 389063

Whenever we are putting new windows into old openings, I tend to measure the outside opening (brick to brick) and take off 15mm (I think thats close enough to a half inch in your terms) so it slides right in. The inside may need to be plaster patched a little, but that's a lot easier than modifying external cladding.

An inch and a half seems like quite a margin to have to fill in my opinion.

I hope the rest of the reno is going smoothly! !

Gab

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Originally Posted by Gabriel

Whenever we are putting new windows into old openings, I tend to measure the outside opening (brick to brick) and take off 15mm (I think thats close enough to a half inch in your terms) so it slides right in. The inside may need to be plaster patched a little, but that's a lot easier than modifying external cladding.

An inch and a half seems like quite a margin to have to fill in my opinion.

I hope the rest of the reno is going smoothly! !

Gab

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Hi Gabriel,
Thank you for your comment.
How to you measure the outside of the frame without actually pulling out the window?
The outside frame is usually hidden under drywall and siding?

by pulling off the inside architrave if necessary, or just measuring between the brickwork (as the inside is easier for us to fix than the outside usually)

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Originally Posted by Gabriel

by pulling off the inside architrave if necessary, or just measuring between the brickwork (as the inside is easier for us to fix than the outside usually)

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Check! Well my next windows that need replacing are actually in brick so I really don't want any mistakes.
Today we are putting in a basement window from a side wall. It's a brand new opening so I'm very excited to see the sun shine through. We have the frame all ready so it shouldn't take too long.
Ill do a before and after.

Before:
Attachment 389146
And here's our old living room window. It's pretty bad. Oops! It's sideways but you get the general idea.
Thanks again Gabriel.
Attachment 389147

most window crowds here tend to relate window dimensions on aluminium windows over the aluminium, not the timber reveals eg. for what is considered an 1810mm wide window, the actual thing measured from the inside would be approx 1850mm. same for the height.

Thanks shedbound,
We now have the living room window up and the basement window. The new windows are great. I just miss the extra viewing we had before but I'll survive. Lol :D
Windows have come a long way in the last 20 years and it sure feels great having two extra basement windows . It makes our basement so much brighter. Soon I'll get to see the sun shining through the window before it sets.

Here are some more pics. I hope these one turn out the right way.
Attachment 389188Attachment 389189

I can see why you are a bit disappointed with the reduced window size as it appears you have a fantastic view outside with all those trees you are surrounded with. It looks like an idyllic setting.

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Originally Posted by Treecycle

I can see why you are a bit disappointed with the reduced window size as it appears you have a fantastic view outside with all those trees you are surrounded with. It looks like an idyllic setting.

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Thanks Treecycle, ( cute name )
I'm over the disappointment of the windows being made too small and am now tickled pink that actually have some new good windows. It's so wonderful being about to see everything outside. It's also great for added insulation and sound proofing. Gratitude goes a long way and I feel very grateful that after all these years , the windows can finally be replaced. The house builder didn't add any caulking or sealer around any of the windows. It's amazing the things you discover but I don't want to go back to complaining . Lol!
Life is good! :hapy: :hpydans2:

We installed another bedroom window. This one was much easier than the last one and I'm very pleased with them. These are called double hung sliders. You can clean the inside and outside from the inside. Windows sure have come a long way. Attachment 390161 I'm going to add that wide boarder to frame ithem It is more expensive but sure makes a huge difference.