Hillsboro Airport Control Tower.

One of the windows is leaking water into the building and doesn’t operate worth beans.

Time for an upgrade and a properly flashed installation, so the FAA contacts the local window installation experts.

Russell & Jared go about prepping the opening after having removed the original window assembly.

We’d like to be able to tell you that once you know the 4 or 5 rules of window installation, every job is a slam dunk, but it simply isn’t so.

There are numerous construction techniques that have been employed over the years…some of them extremely unconventional. So installing door or windows in older buildings is frequently anything other than a foregone conclusion in terms of what you can expect.

Short of rebuilding or residing the entire building, we are often called upon to problem-solve and improvise when dealing with the limitations of what has been done previously by others. Fortunately, problem solving is one of our strong-suits.

The new vinyl window is installed. The photo above shows FAA contact person Leland Harris giving the new window a test flight.

The Open Meadow Alternative School in North Portland.

Time to shed some light upon the IT-department…

…and to shed the dark ages.

Sorry that my prose is so lacking. Schools always have always had that effect on me. So anyway, we cut a hole in the masonry wall, installed a lentil support across the top…

…and installed our Vinyl Window. We’re not exactly certain why they needed the room illuminated because it was never stated to us.

Speculation is that a truck or van with a ladder or something backed up a little too close to the building and hit the glass.

The property owner wanted to take this opportunity, since an expenditure was unavoidable, to upgrade to insulated glass.

Especially given that the current tenant’s recording studio could use all the sound abatement from the traffic on Barbur Blvd. as is possible.

After being given numerous options, our client settled upon Vinyl as the structural window component of choice.

It’s relatively economical, durable and pretty near zero maintenance. It was a good choice for this application.

As you can see from these close-up shots, we were able to reuse some of the original interior trim materials.

And this was accomplished while also incorporating some new materials to accommodate the differences in how the new window assembly related to the wall.

An interior shot of the finished product. You can click on the photos to enlarge them slightly.

And the exterior.

The old original wood window casement sash.

Only 1 3/8″ thick, and facilitating only single-pane glass.

Not only is it less than thermally efficient, but for a service business on a busy…

…main thoroughfare, the lack of sound abatement qualities can be less than attractive…

…for prospective tenants who want to provide their clients with a modicum of reprieve…

…from the bustle of life outside the personal services they provide.

Not only is Vinyl an economical solution now, but also in the long run when it comes to the lack of maintenance required.

YoCream is a world leader and manufacturer of frozen yogurt for the foodservice industry. On the south side of the…

…building where they get all the heat generating sunshine, it’s melting the frozen yogurt. No…I’m kidding, but it is apparently causing some discomfort for the personnel who work near the windows.

Such as at this station where two of the windows are covered with cardboard. If you have a hard time making out some of the details in these photos, you can click on any photo and enlarge it a bit.

The original windows are aluminum casement awning over picture windows with putty-glazed single-pane glass.

When the original aluminum framing is removed, we learn that the jamb had a STEP in its profile, hiding this concrete step in the rough-opening.

This will necessitate the modification of the Vinyl frames, but that’s O.K.. There are reasons that we call ourselves “mechanics,” and one of them is that we really do know the nuts and bolts of most things related to doors…

…and windows. This is to say that several decades ago, we embraced the unavoidable truth that sets our business apart from some of the others, and that is that door & window installation is frequently, if not almost…

…always about “problem-solving.” And so it seemed good that we should learn to thrive upon the challenge by mastering the skills it takes to be master problem-solvers. We’ve learned to expect the unexpected. It goes with the badge.

As you can see by these photos, our clients eliminated the operable windows and chose picture-windows instead. Can you make out the “bluish-green tint” of the new glass?

That’s the 366 Low-E glass that will filter out the vast majority of the heat generating properties of ultra-violet rays. If you want to know more, go to; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_emissivity.

Plaza 122 on Southeast 122nd Avenue.

High mileage basement aluminum windows at the back of the buildings.

This era of aluminum window was never manufactured with maintenance in mind.
The original neoprene glazing product becomes brittle from the sun’s ultraviolet rays,…

…losing its ability to seal against the glass and breaking apart over time. As this photo shows, someone has tried replacing it with glazing-putty at some point in history.

Vinyl is frequently the product of choice when replacing aluminum windows. When Vinyl first hit the scene in the late 80’s, there were lots of sarcastic comments about the…

…viability of “plastic” windows over the long term. But several decades later, with the advent of the UV resistant Vinyls that have been developed, it would seem that vinyl has proven worthy of its market-share in the industry.