From Duplex to Single Plex -- New Window!

When we bought our house in November 2005, it was a duplex, complete with a wall running through the front room.

After several tours and other repairs (and after Eleni recovered my password so I could blog again!) I finally replaced one of the doors with an old four-over-one window (pictured in the middle).

I bought the window itself at Peter's Design Works a couple of years before installing the window this past summer.

It's nice to have a window here now providing more natural light. To complete this project, I first removed the door. Then, I framed in the window (after measuring the space), cut out and nailed the plywood to the wall (to cover up the gap from the door), stapled a vapor barrier onto the plywood to keep out drafts and water, then reused old siding from another project and nailed this over the plywood.

Then it was time to shimmy the window into the space, and line up to match the windows to the left and right (as much as possible). Last, I cut trim boards to cover the gaps in the right and left sides of the frame.

For the interior, I also cut and fitted the trim pieces onto the frame. I put insulation into the wall below the window, then covered this as well with drywall. I recycled pieces of baseboard from an old closet in the house, and nailed that in to match the existing baseboard.

Now, I just need to caulk the spaces and paint the trim.