A Window Step-by-Step

The tractor wasn't working this morning, even after charging the battery. He went to the auto parts store, and they tested the battery: it should be fine. Presumably the charger was the issue, so Phil bought a charger, then headed to Charlottesville and bought the supplies he needed for the windows.

Back home, it was afternoon, but he quickly mortared the concave window sill so it was all level.

He put down some cement board temporarily.

And then, while he waited for the mortar to dry and the battery to charge, he put in a second window.

I watched him for some time. Wood first, shot into the concrete, to make the opening about the right size for the window. In this case, the rough opening was 48", I think, and the window only 40", so he needed to build the sides out more than elsewhere.

Then waterproofing goes down on the bottom and the two sides.

Shims go along the bottom to raise the window whatever fractions of an inch are needed. Sealant goes down to stick the shims in place, and to ensure the window stays where it needs to.

The window goes in then, first with just a screw or two to hold it in place temporarily. Level and plumb the window, micro-adjusting as needed. Shim the edges to make sure the window stays perfectly in place. Finish the rest of the screws.

Then shoot slightly expanding foam all around. That foam is unbelievable: I watched as it went from barely filling the space to expanding way out of the space. And that was only slightly expanding foam—there is also really expanding foam, but that could warp the window!

Then another layer of waterproof, this time first on the edges, then along the top. Thus, the water flows from the top, down the sides, and down the bottom, rather than getting stopped at each layer, and trapping water (disaster, that!).

So the day was going wonderfully well, until Phil headed up to the barn this evening and tried to start the tractor with the newly charged battery. He didn't even get a click. Burned out starter? It was too dark to really investigate further, and so that will be the priority tomorrow.

The boys had a good time with the silty mud leftover from the last rain.

They made mud balls with it. Apparently they don't share Phil's aversion to getting hands dirty!