Doors & Windows (coordinated)
The licensed door-and-window contractor Riley uses, for replacements and new openings, with the framing, casing and paint that follow.
Coordinated through Riley's trusted tradesInstalled by the licensed door-and-window contractor Riley uses, a specialist in that work, on his schedule and under the project's permit; the framing of a new opening and the casing, trim and paint around the unit are Riley's own work.
Replacing a door or a window is two jobs: the unit, and everything around it. The unit is installed by the licensed door-and-window contractor Riley uses, a specialist in that work, under his schedule and the project's permit. Riley frames a new opening with the rest of the job, brings the electrician or plumber where a wall holds a circuit or a supply line, and does the casing, trim and paint that make it look like it was always there. One person to deal with, one schedule.
What the work involves
- Openings measured and units ordered to the opening that exists, not to an old plan
- The old unit removed without damaging siding, drywall or trim
- Sill and jambs flashed, then the unit set plumb, level, square and shimmed
- The gap between the unit and the framing insulated and air-sealed
- New openings framed by Riley: headers, jack and king studs, and the wall closed back in
- Exterior doors with thresholds, sweeps and weatherstripping set to the floor that is there
- Interior casing and exterior trim — Riley's own millwork, mitered and returned
- Hardware, locksets, and paint or stain
Questions
- Does Riley install doors and windows himself?
- No. The units are installed by the licensed door-and-window contractor he uses, a specialist in that work, under his schedule and the project's permit. Riley frames a new opening, brings the electrician or plumber when a wall holds a circuit or a supply line, and does the casing, trim and paint afterward.
- Insert replacement or full-frame?
- An insert fits inside the existing frame and keeps the exterior trim, losing a little glass area. A full-frame replacement takes the old unit down to the rough opening, which lets rotted framing and missing flashing be found and fixed. The condition of the opening decides which is appropriate.
- Can a window be enlarged, or a new one added?
- Yes, with framing. A wider opening needs a header sized for the load above it, and on a bearing wall that means temporary support while the work is done. Interior and exterior finishes then have to be patched back into the existing wall.
- Why do new windows still feel drafty?
- Usually the gap around the unit, not the unit. If the space between the frame and the rough opening was never insulated and air-sealed, air moves through it regardless of the window's rating. That gap gets closed before casing goes on, and is invisible afterward.
Where Frasch Construction does this work
Rockford and Wright County, the Lake Minnetonka belt, the west metro, Minneapolis and St. Paul — 82 towns.
All 82 towns
Next step
Tell Riley what you're thinking.
Describe the project in your own words and add photos of the space. Riley personally reads every project that comes in before anyone calls back.