C&C 27 Association Forum

Window Replacement, Installation

Some quick notes regarding my experience replacing windows on my MII (metal frame windows).

Removing the old windows was easy.  They mostly fell out.  Important to remove all foam rubber inner liner and window gasket, then clean the frame where the foam rubber formerly was, using acetone.  Also ensure the channel in the frame is entirely clean of debris.

I took the windows to Plastic World who did a great job cutting to exact size.  They charged $30 for the two main windows, with labour.  Standard plexiglas, imagine there are many alternatives, but this worked for me.  Replacement foam inner and gasket (also called spline) came from South Shore. I’ve been told that Holland Marine also supplies these materials as well, but have not dealt with them.

The actual installation is fairly easy.  Couple of tools you will want to have are a rubber mallet and short piece of wood, tapered towards the end.  These are used to help seat the gasket.  An “exacto” blade is used to cut the foam and gasket, and a bucket of fairly soapy water helps lubricate the gasket to make it easier to seat in the channel. 

So, clean the flat part of the frame where the foam rubber used to be with acetone.  Sweep the channel at bottom clean, and ensure there are no obstructions in any part of the channel.  Cut a piece of foam approximately equal to the perimeter of the opening.  Starting at the bottom of the frame install the new foam by peeling the backing off and pressing foam firmly to the frame.  Work around the frame until you get to the starting point. Using exacto blade, trim end to ensure a tight seam.  Next, take the protective plastic covering off the interior side of the window and peel back about an inch around the outside of the exterior side (or take off completely, risking some scratching during the instal).  Fit the window into the frame, ensuring it seats up against the foam and does not drop into the interior channel either at the side or bottom of the frame.  The main, exterior gasket fits into the channel and it can make things very difficult if the window also wants to occupy the same space.  I used bits of popsicle stick to prevent the window dropping in.

Cut an approximate length of gasket.  The window is going to lay up against the foam, then the gasket goes up against the window and the fat part of the gasket is going to seat in the channel, with the window frame edge going into the cut or small channel in the gasket.  Arrange around the frame so that the ends will be at the bottom.  You are going to start installing the gasket at the top part of the frame, working from the middle to the ends.  Dip the gasket in the soapy water to make it slippery, the begin to feed it into the channel.  Then take your mallet and piece of wood.  Place the wood on the gasket and use the mallet to seat the gasket.  The corners will take a bit of fiddling to get right, but I managed to do it without the gasket deforming. 

That’s basically it.  As you work around the frame you’ll remove the popsicle sticks, then cut the ends of the gasket make as close a fit as you can.  Remove any plastic covering you may have left on, clean the window, and you are done.  Now you will have to make curtains for the windows people can now see in.

Hope this helps….

Tom Parks
Chefanti (Mk II)
Toronto

Tom's remarks, with links to sources, have been incorporated in the Windows section of Black Arts (at left).< >