Practical window construction

Ech725

Active Member
I've made plenty of faux windows. How have you made a practical window (single hung that needs to open upwards).

Also, how have you attached the mutins and mullions to plexiglass?
 
Bill's forgetting that working on a fun project justifies the time. ;)

I've done many single hung windows, if you're not on a turn table and the audience only sees one side its the easiest thing in the world. Make your wood sash and screw your plastic to the back of it. (cut plastic smaller so only wood will slide in the track) lay out your mullions where you want them, tape them out, remove them, and pre drill through the plastic between your tape lines. replace mullions, pan head screw from the back. Don't worry about actually joining the mullions to each other, paint shop will take care of the seams.

Things i've discovered:
- making the sash an 1/8"-3/16" narrower than your window frame is all you need. (assuming you've built the hole in the flat accurately). If you make it smaller for more clearance its going to end up binding in the track.

-lube the track with wax. get a few tea light candles, melt them down, then brush the wax into the track with a chip brush. Makes the sash glide smooth as silk.

-Make sure you know beforehand whether or not this window needs to stay up. Sometimes it does, sometimes it needs to slam back down as part of the show. If it needs to stay up you can counterweight it like an old school window (cable or chain that runs through the flat framing to a sash weight)
 
When necessary I have either, Purchased a pre-built at a place like "Habitat for Humanity" or , here in Portland, "The Re-building Center", I love that place. OR When building, make the unit as a stand-only that slides into the flat from the rear, on Hollywoods and from the front on Broadways. If you pre-assemble the the casement molding to the window frame you can use the molding to make attachments to the flat. Having to install sash weights is a pain. I prefer to use brass window gasket that provides just a touch of resistance as the until slides up and down. If you use Poly carbonate you can staple of screw right through the glass into the Muntins. If you're using Plexi, you'll want to pre-drill and then be sure to use a shouldered or truss-head screw. The wedge shaped head of a wood screw will crack your plexi and ruin your day. :wall:

BTW Pet Peeve: All the little crossbars in a window are called "Muntins". The framing parts that move up and down are named just like a flat, Stile, Rail, Toggle. When you have two windows next to each other the casement molding between them is called a Mullion. Also if they are two non opening windows the larger piece of molding between them is called a mullion. If they are swing-open windows the small piece of trim or metal that is connected to one side and covers the gap when the window <or door> is closed is called an Astragal. :angryoldman:
 
booo I used the wrong word... learn something new every day
 
  • Like
Reactions: Van
When necessary I have either, Purchased a pre-built at a place like "Habitat for Humanity" or , here in Portland, "The Re-building Center", I love that place. OR When building, make the unit as a stand-only that slides into the flat from the rear, on Hollywoods and from the front on Broadways. If you pre-assemble the the casement molding to the window frame you can use the molding to make attachments to the flat. Having to install sash weights is a pain. I prefer to use brass window gasket that provides just a touch of resistance as the until slides up and down. If you use Poly carbonate you can staple of screw right through the glass into the Muntins. If you're using Plexi, you'll want to pre-drill and then be sure to use a shouldered or truss-head screw. The wedge shaped head of a wood screw will crack your plexi and ruin your day. :wall:

BTW Pet Peeve: All the little crossbars in a window are called "Muntins". The framing parts that move up and down are named just like a flat, Stile, Rail, Toggle. When you have two windows next to each other the casement molding between them is called a Mullion. Also if they are two non opening windows the larger piece of molding between them is called a mullion. If they are swing-open windows the small piece of trim or metal that is connected to one side and covers the gap when the window <or door> is closed is called an Astragal. :angryoldman:
@Van Now that you've mentioned "Astragal", what's the flexible rubber safety stripping called that often protects pinch / shear points around the perimeters of stage lifts? I'm recalling it as something very similar to your term. I'm thinking of the molded rubber with two electrical conductors running longitudinally throughout it's length and designed to electrically contact and halt movement whenever physically contacted anywhere along its length.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 
Often called astragal also. Quick Google and seems to have more to do with a rounded shape or meeting edges. I think these terms are somewhat context sensitive.

And btw, I think they are only muntins when they actually divide the panes. When the strips are applied, it's a grid.

Let's not bring up cycs.
 
Last edited:
alright, so i don't sound like a fool when i use the word for the first time, is it pronounced ass-truh-gall or uh-strah-gall?
 
alright, so i don't sound like a fool when i use the word for the first time, is it pronounced ass-truh-gall or uh-strah-gall?
Ass-tra-gull

PS It's one of my favorite words that 'Nobody knows'.
 
Hey @Ech725 Did some of this information, prior to our descent into discussion of window part names, help answer your question?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back