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Home & Garden Articles
Give Your Attic Flair With A Gable Window!
Thu 21 Feb 2008 - 15:29
Give Your Attic Flair With A Gable Window!
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Russell_R._Freeman]Russell R. Freeman
One of the most effective alterations you can make in an attic is a gable window. It will add light to your attic and will look very attractive as well. All the work is done on the inside so you won't need to bother with ladder work. Once it is completed, the gable window will be a very attractive and useful addition to your attic.
Most jobs involve cutting out one stud and framing it for the window, but unfortunately the only place where there's enough headroom to install an extra window is at the gable end of the house. (That triangular shaped space under the roof.) This is unfortunate because the one stud that's removed for the job is an important structural timber at the gable end of the house. For this reason be sure to remove the double bracing.
Double up the studs on either side of the one that will be removed to ensure that the gable end of the house is still secure. Toenail them in place, top and bottom, and spike them to the existing studs so you wind up with firm double-sized timbers.
Saw through the center stud and the siding to make a rough opening for the new gable window. Incidentally, the width (the span between three studs) is pretty standard. You can get stock windows in a variety of heights to fit this space.
Cut back the remains of the center stud, both top and bottom, to a distance equal to the thickness of two studs and nail double 2x4s as headers to the top and bottom of the opening for the gable window.
Fit in the new gable window frame. The rest of the procedure is pretty standard. Drill a hole through the roof at one corner and cut out the opening. Cut back the roofing or shingles an additional 3 in. from the hole. The frame has a preformed flashing that slips under the roof covering, so slit the roofing slightly at the corners to make this job easier. Fit gable window frame in opening.
Nail the flashing to the roof. Space the rustproof aluminium nails 3 in. apart. Liberally cover nails and the joint between flashing and roof with a thick coating of asphalt cement. As an additional precaution, press a 4-in.-wide strip of building felt over the cement all the way around the gable window and add more cement along the edges of the strip.
Wipe the inside of the dome clean with a soft, damp cloth. Set it over the frame and slip the preformed retaining rim on top. Turn in the sheet metal screws that fasten rim to frame. The whole works is extruded aluminium-rustproof, leak proof.
The outside of the dome comes covered with a protective skin so you won't cause any fumble-fingered damage. At this point, you can peel the film loose from the gable window using a slow steady pull. Inside the attic you can finish off the interior opening with trim to match the rest of the job.
Consider a gable window for an unusual alternative to ordinary windows.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russell_R._Freeman [http://ezinearticles.com/?Give-Your-Attic-Flair-With-A-Gable-Window!&id=998582 ]http://EzineArticles.com/?Give-Your-Attic-Flair-With-A-Gable-Window!&id=998582
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