Storrm window help needed

[Alan Turner]

In the new shop building, which was a bakery, mattress factory, plastic molding shop, and perhpas many other things in its past, there are a ton of windows, many quite large double wide, all double hung, and we need to build storm windows which will install from the inside as this building gets quite cold in the winter. And, we need to do it inexpensively. So, I would like a bit of help from my friends here at SMC.

The window frames and sash are all steel and not very wide. When the plastic company closed down, they had a bunch of flat stock inventory. We had them leave all of the clear plastic, which is perhaps 1/8" thick, much of it corrugated (sort of), and we would like to use this for the lights as the price is zero. I was thinking I would like to build wood frames for this plastic, which I can certainly do, but but the question of installation and deinstallation, year to year, is an issue. We can install using chiel point pan heads and drill them right into the perimeter frames, but reinstalling them the following winter would be difficult. The window frames are set back from the inside face of the building, all of which is of brick construction, and quite tight. Because of the size of these storms, they will lack very much structural integrity. Think floppy.

We were thinkiing of cutting a groove, perhpas 3/8 wide by 1/4 deep, and pressing in a round piece of compressible foam, which I am told is about 3 cents a foot. A bit of a seal.

Or, maybe I am thinking wood too much. Perhaps we could simply cut the sheets of plastic to size, and use a psa mangnetic strip around the perimeter. Is this stuff affordable? Would that work?

Anyone have any ideas that are wonderful, cheap and fast?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

If anyone cares, I will try to get some measurements of critical features. One of the issues is that the plastic is not large enough to cover any single window, at least as to the large windows, although there are some smaller windows where the sheets are large enough for a single sheet.

I wonder how I will cut this plastic without ruining tools. Bandsaw?

[Dick Strauss]

Hey Alan,
One idea that came to mind immediately was to use 6mil plastic sheeting with magnetic strips. You could recycle the mag strips and either throw away or recycle the plastic every year. They also have heat shrink plastic that works very well but can be used for one season only. I don't have any idea about how many square ft you have to cover. The 6mil plastic would definitely be the cheapest short term option. The labor involved might not make it worth the effort year after year.

Assuming the plastic sheets you have are similar to lexan/poly, you can cut it several ways. I've scored it with a utility knife about five or six times on each side. At that point I was able to break it leaving a slightly rough edge. I've never tried but would think you could use a circ saw with 150-180 steel blade run very slowly to cut the plastic. If you did ruin a blade, you'd only be out a few bucks. If it were me, I might consider using a portable jigsaw while possibly sacrificing one blade. Once again, I'd work slowly. If you cut it with power tools, you'll need to support it as close to the edge as possible (unlike most wood that has more leeway). It is probably brittle and will chip very easily once you apply pressure while cutting without good support. Assuming you go the panel route, plan to caulk the panels with silicone or similar material.

Assuming you have a router or TS handy, I'd make a groove for plastic weatherstripping on the wood frames. The weatherstripping could be used to hold the panels in place as well as prevent air infiltration. However, you'll have a hard time removing them with weathertripping on all sides. If needed, they also make removable chincking (sp?) that could be used to seal the edges of the panels to the window frames. This material can be re-used a few times but I don't really know how many. I feels like glazing compound that needs to be rolled into shape.

I'm just throwing out some ideas to get you thinking without knowing your overall situation. Hopefully something here helps you!

Dick

[Wes Bischel]

Alan,
I had a thought when I read your post. (I know it's unusual) Could you use the old standby storm window hangers? There are a few places that have them online, but I would think a local old - time hardware store would have them as well.

http://www.kilianhardware.com/screenstorha.html (very expensive)

Then again, this PDF has lots of options for hanging/installing window inserts that may give you some ideas.

http://www.aaascreen.com/pdf/P_PL.pdf

Also, concerning the frames - you could make them a bit wider to add strength - aesthetics aside. Or making the frame deeper would add some strength as well. I know, stating the obvious. :rolleyes:

Good thinking about this now. We're heating with natural gas and with the price increases from UGI, we're doing a similar review.

Hope you can come up with a simple solution!

Wes

[Andy Hoyt]

I've cut lexan on a table saw using my everyday blade with pretty good success. But the stuff I was cutting had a film of backing paper on both sides that reduced tearout (or in this case chipout). If your stuff doesn't have it just put some masking tape on both sides at your cut line.

I'm not certain , but there may also be a special sawblade out there that it expressly produced for lexan.

Hope this helps you in your quest