divided light window grills

[Scott Loven]

We have Anderson windows and my wife would like to have grills added to the interior of the windows to make them look like divided light windows. The windows have plastic inserts in the wood that you could put the grill members into. The grills would be removable for washing. It would cost me $1,000+ to do 26 double-hung windows (24"*60") I was thinking about trying to make them myself, anyone ever try this? Any ideas?

Scott

[tod evans]

scott, just shipped 12 -6 lite grills to the lumberyard this morning, they`re pretty straightforward to build. i do not use the plastic clips that anderson /pella and most mfgrs. use, most are flimsy, brand specific and costly. what i do after building the grill is to drill 1/4" diameter holes into one end of the upper grill members, insert the spring out of a "gimmie" ball point pen then a plunger of 1/4" dowell. this springloaded dowell works well for holding grills in every manufacturers sashes and parts are easy for the end user to procure. hope this helps? .02 tod

[Scott Loven]

Thanks Tod, what do you charge for paint grade grills? I am guessing at the window size, but it is about right. How do you secure the other grill ends? Do you do a half-lap at the intersection?
Scott

[tod evans]

scott, the charge on grills depends on two things, the size and the profile. i only deal with one local yard and right now i`m having trouble keeping up with their stuff, but a ball park price would be 30-50 bucks each. yes i half lap all joints, same for free form and radiused, cathedral ect. the little pins seem to hold them in well enough without any other fastening, i`ve never had a complaint. for crankouts i like to add solid pins at the other end and seat them in shallow mortices(holes). tod

[Scott Loven]

The plastic inserts in the window are fairly flush with the wood, with a dimple in the middle. Do you drill these out, or how do you fasten the dividers to the window?n Do you put stationary dowels in say the bottom ends, and plunging dowels in the top end?
Thanks again for your help
Scott

[tod evans]

scott, on casement windows just leave them where they are they don`t help or hurt, on crankouts pry them out and use their hole. tod