LESLIE: Dan in Kansas has a question about replacement windows. What can we do for you, Dan?
DAN: I’m going to add on to my house. And the area where I’m adding onto my house is going to encase the back side of my house and there’s four replacement windows that we just had put in a couple of years ago. And what I was trying to find out is if it’s – if it’s smart to move those windows to the new addition because we were going to, you know, just fill in those holes; we were going to make one on the door and then fill in the other holes.
TOM: Did the replacement windows fit inside the existing openings of some old windows?
DAN: Yes.
TOM: OK. Because what you have to do in that situation is, basically, you have to kind of frame out what was …
LESLIE: In the same exact way that the old windows were.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Yeah, because they were – yeah, they were custom made for those holes.
So, yeah, you can use them, but I don’t know that it’s really worth it, to be honest with you. I think if it was me, I’d probably toss them and put in new construction windows. Because otherwise, you’ve got to kind of build a wood frame, stick it in and then trim it out in such a way that it doesn’t leak. And that’s going to be …
DAN: So that probably wouldn’t be square or, you know, they’d be designed – if the old window wasn’t square, they wouldn’t be square either.
TOM: Well, I think …
LESLIE: Right, then you’d have to build an unsquare frame. You’d have to match it exactly.
DAN: Yeah.
TOM: Yeah, but I don’t think squareness is the issue. I think, more importantly, it’s not going to seal right against the weather. So, I would recommend getting new ones. You know, windows are not that expensive today. I mean you could buy a good window for $300 to $500. And so, if you’re going to do all this work, I don’t think it’s worth the extra labor it’s going to take just to be able to reuse the old one.
DAN: Alright.
TOM: Alright, Dan?
DAN: That’s what I wanted – that’s what I wanted to find out; if it was worth it or not. So …
TOM: Nope, don’t think it is. But – it’s a good thought, but I don’t think it is, in this case.
DAN: Alright.
TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
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