Marshall - The complete guide to windows & entryways: repair, renew, replace

Repair
Renew
Replace

by Chris Marshall

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
www.creativepub.com

The Complete Guide to Windows & Entryways

Windows and doors are your homes primary points of entry, but they also have a major impact on its appearance. They must allow free passage to desired elementsfriends and family members, sunlight, and fresh airbut they also need to protect against elements you dont want, such as human intruders, animal pests, or inclement weather.

Few remodeling jobs have a greater impact on the livability and value of your home than replacing, adding, or repairing windows and doors. There are many paybacks: improved home value, better security, lower energy costs, increased light and ventilation, and added curb appeal. Best of all, if you have moderate tool skills, window and door projects are well within your reach, saving you considerable costs over having the work done by contractors.

The Complete Guide to Windows and Entryways is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of window and door workfrom initial planning and site preparation through installation, repair, and weatherizing. The book is arranged in 10 chapters to make it easy to use:

Gallery, the first chapter, includes many inspiring photos that show how windows and doors can enhance the architectural style of your home and create the mood and setting you desire.

The second chapter on Selection will help you clarify your window and door needs and choose from a wide variety of styles, material compositions, and hardware. It will also help you review the basic issues of light, ventilation, and home security youll need to consider, make project plans, and collect the tools youll need to do the projects covered here.

Replacing Windows and Replacing Doors take you right into some popular projects. In full step-by-step detail, youll learn how to frame window and door openings and install 16 different types of windows and doors. Finishing Techniques covers the basics of trim carpentry, so you can give your projects the crowning touch with the appropriate trim details, locksets, deadbolts, and security hardware.

Next comes a chapter on Entryway Additions that will show you how to enhance your home with three decorative masonry and tile projects.

Garage Doors and Openers expands your project options even further to include replacing sectional garage doors and openerstwo projects you may not have considered DIY before now.

The next two chapters show you how to maintain and weatherize the windows and doors you already have so you can extend their serviceable life and lower your energy costs. Finally, weve included an extended appendix at the end of this book on Preparation. If youre relatively new to patching wallboard, removing vinyl siding, or adding a temporary support wall, this section will provide a helpful primer for those necessary skills.

Thank you for choosing The Complete Guide to Windows and Entryways. We hope it becomes an essential reference guide for many successful projects to come.

An entry door extends a message to all visitors, either familiar or new. Whether that message is Youre welcome here or Please leave can depend on how attractive and inviting your entryway appears.

The perfect door is more than a hardworking, well-used part of your home. An entry door often makes a style statement, in addition to its main function as an opening to your home. An interior passage door serves to provide security and privacy while echoing elements of the homes architectural style.

In the same way, the perfect window does more than just let in light. It adds personality and charm to a rooms decor as it controls exposure to air and sunlight. Your needs for privacy, energy efficiency, and traffic patterns will influence the type, style, and placement of the windows in your home.

The dazzling photographs in this section feature many types and styles of windows and doors in creative and dramatic displays. They are sure to spark your imagination and help you make choices that will meet your remodeling needs perfectly.

When fiberglass doors entered the market, their flat, staid styling left much to be desired. Now, fiberglass doors are available in a wide variety of designs to match their wooden or steel counterparts. Sizes, surface textures, finish colors, and window arrangements can be combined to suit most any architecture.

Glass details, such as the intricate scrollwork design shown here, create a dazzling visual display for every visitor that comes calling.

Leaded glass and a dark finish add old-world charm to this double sidelight entry door. A handsome iron lockset is a fitting detail to this attractive entryway.

Steel, six-panel entry doors still dominate the entry door market. Theyre relatively inexpensive, stand up to the elements, and offer excellent security. By itself, a conventional six-panel can look drab, but a pair of fashionable sidelights and a matching transom window transform it into a stately entry.

The right entry door system can turn a traffic area into a spectacular space all its own. Heres a spot tailor-made to hang those memorable family photos or decorate for the holidays.

These triple-sash, double-hung windows create walls of light and a lovely interplay of sunlight against dark woodwork. It softens the formality of the space and invites conversation, a good book, or even a nap.