We found this double window at Hailey’s Salvage (see this post). It was a good find because it will coordinate with the homes other windows well and it’s already got a few layers of paint just like the others! Overall it’s in great shape and even had a a sill and a couple of old counter-weights intact.

The rough opening will need to be around 45″ tall by 68″ wide. I measured the location from the outside because I wanted the top of the window to match the height of the others on the front of the house. This garage has a lower roofline than the rest of the house so I measured the existing windows and just made the distance from the window to the eave the same for my new one.

With the height now figured out, I centered the window on the wall and drilled a hole through the siding as a reference point. Back inside, I could now place king studs at either side of the rough opening. These are the studs that go from the floor to ceiling. Next to them will come trimmer studs that will support the new 2×6 header above the window.

Before cutting studs I added a couple temporary supports to the top plate because this exterior wall is load-bearing, carrying the weight of the attic and rafters above. Once my header was in place with supporting trimmer studs I could remove the temporary supports.

I cut the siding so it would overlap my king studs and saved the boards for later. I’ll trim the siding back more once I have the window installed and know where the casing will end up. Like when I added the door (this post), it’s a good idea to leave plenty of siding for later.

Even just having this huge hole in the wall made a dramatic difference to the feel of the room. Windows are a good thing.

This window is an especially good thing because it will give our concrete truck a way to get the cement in for the new slab. That’s coming up next!

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com