Federico Mena Quintero
05-20-2011, 1:09 PM
Our house has iron windows that are more or less embedded in the concrete. Here is one of them.
195247
I need to make a sliding screen to keep the mosquitoes out. The sliding part with the screen (basically a window with a screen instead of glass) is not a problem, but I have some doubts about the fixed frame with grooves so that the screen can slide.
The fixed frame is pretty narrow depth-wise, about 5 cm, so that it can sit on the concrete ledge pictured above. I intend to make the frame with a simple box-like construction, and then nail some strips to define the grooves/rails for the sliding screen. Then, I'll put some molding around the frame and the wall to cover the gap.
My problem is that the concrete "ledge" is not completely parallel to the metal window; the depth varies by about 3 mm at most depending on which corner you measure.
Should I simply assume that the final molding around the frame will hide that variation? Or should I plane the frame so that it sits flush with the wall when installed - so that the molding rests almost dead on the wall?
Elsewhere in the house, where the walls are not completely flat, there are door frames with molding that is separated by quite a few mm from the wall due to the irregularities - and I hate it and it looks terrible. What makes me unsure about planing the window frame, so that it is flush with the wall, is that it may look non-square.
Thanks for any advice; this is my first window frame ever, so I'm plagued with questions as you may imagine :)
195247
I need to make a sliding screen to keep the mosquitoes out. The sliding part with the screen (basically a window with a screen instead of glass) is not a problem, but I have some doubts about the fixed frame with grooves so that the screen can slide.
The fixed frame is pretty narrow depth-wise, about 5 cm, so that it can sit on the concrete ledge pictured above. I intend to make the frame with a simple box-like construction, and then nail some strips to define the grooves/rails for the sliding screen. Then, I'll put some molding around the frame and the wall to cover the gap.
My problem is that the concrete "ledge" is not completely parallel to the metal window; the depth varies by about 3 mm at most depending on which corner you measure.
Should I simply assume that the final molding around the frame will hide that variation? Or should I plane the frame so that it sits flush with the wall when installed - so that the molding rests almost dead on the wall?
Elsewhere in the house, where the walls are not completely flat, there are door frames with molding that is separated by quite a few mm from the wall due to the irregularities - and I hate it and it looks terrible. What makes me unsure about planing the window frame, so that it is flush with the wall, is that it may look non-square.
Thanks for any advice; this is my first window frame ever, so I'm plagued with questions as you may imagine :)