Up in the west hills below OHSU. A southeast facing wall with little protection from the elements, which if you’ve been reading through many of the projects in our portfolio here, is probably beginning to sound like a skipping record for those who remember what a turntable was.

And this particular house might serve to illustrate as a potential cautionary tale regarding the repairing of wood windows. As it would happen, we were contracted to replace some failed insulated glass in these same windows about 6 years prior to these shots being taken.

Believe it or not, the wood components seemed fine at the time. But just six years later, this is what we found on approximately 25% of the windows on this side of the house. And this is one of the recurring problems when being asked to repair wood windows that are subject…

…to getting wet almost every time it rains. Especially pine windows manufactured prior to 2000. Discerning the extent to which the wood has become affected by, or infected with the fungus causing spores that lead to rot is less than an exact science. Unless maybe you’re a scientist.

And so you might understand that our client was more than a little disheartened to hear our diagnosis that warned him that the balance of the windows on this wall were probably not too far behind. Fortunately for us, this particular client was a realist regarding the limitations of physics and decided to work…

…with us to replace all the windows on this exterior wall. As this shot reveals, the rotten window in this particular location had begun to leak into the pony wall beneath it, which lead to the damage also extending into the wooden flooring materials.

Although we’ve been known to replace a piece of hardwood flooring or two, we will generally repair or replace the structural components and then leave the new flooring to those who do it for a living if it’s a substantial amount, as we did on this project.

We also do a fine job replacing/repairing drywall on something like a pony wall or to deal with having to cover over a header-support beam, which we do with a fair amount of regularity, including taping, mudding and texturing. And we’re pretty darn good at it. But we…

…would probably sub out a drywall company if an entire room or more needed to be done.
The original windows here were Hurd Brand windows, but we gave our client several options and he settled upon our providing and installing Jeld-Wen wood-clad…

…windows this time, which I think is a fine product, not unlike a number of their competitors. We sell and install most all of them. Marvin, Eagle, Loweon, Pella, Andersen, Hurd, Kolbe, Luxbaum, Quantum, Sierra Pacific & Weathershield to name a few other brands.

A modest bungalow in the Sellwood district.

Please note the lack of protection from the elements.

Please note the consequences.

New Marvin Window Sash installed into existing Jambs.

More windows with extreme exposure.

More crank-out casement window sash.

But this opening has more than just rotten sash. The window jamb assembly (The Sill) is also toast.

If you would like to know how to keep this from happening to your windows, we do consulting work.

So for this opening, we provided a complete new Marvin window assembly.

Just like new.

Portland West Hills.

Upgrade from Aluminum Single-Pane to…

…Marvin Wood Clad. Models Pamela Anderson & Kimberly Barnett adorning one of the industry’s top-shelf products.

Brandon Severn & Joe Minden applying their expertise.

Jared Anderson putting on the final touches.

Preparing the rough-opening.

Applying the self-adhesive flashing membrane frequently called “Blue-Skin.” One of the first of a number of new flashing products that came upon the scene back in the day.

New Marvin Wood-Clad Windows throughout.

Jake Minden (professional painter) touching up the new exterior trim & the siding that was cut back.

Notice the windows have very little protection from the elements on this house.

And thus it is that the original wood sash must be replaced.

Notice the Loewen Retro-Fit wood-clad double-hungs installed into the original jambs on the ground floor.

But the top-floor window assembly above it was so weather-damaged, that entire assembly had to be replaced.

Nate “Natrix” always knows where his pencil is, and it helps keep the chit-chat to a minimum.

The historic Drake House in North Portland.

Reportedly, one of the first homes in Portland with electric heat.

The general remodel was handled by Neil Kelly Remodelers.

Neil Kelly employed our services to handle the door & window upgrades.

In this case, a set of non-clad Marvin Wood Windows.

A rather stately residence in a rather stately N.W. Portland neighborhood.

A kitchen window design for those who love light and a view of the great outdoors.

Money was not likely spared in either the design or the components used to create this architectural flourish of glass and the views and light that it affords.

Like a number of their competitors, Pella Wood Clad Windows are marketed as being among the best that money can buy.

And not unlike their top-shelf competitors, Pella wood windows are sorely tested by the realities of Willamette Valley weather, aluminum-clad or not.

While the extruded aluminum-clad wood window products are generally considered by many as being somewhat bullet-proof,…

…anybody who repairs wood windows in this region well knows how untrue that can be, depending upon roof-lines and eves, preventative maintenance or the lack thereof.

As you can see from several of the previous photos, the window assembly was not the only thing that succumbed to the ravishing consequences of joints and seams that failed to keep the moisture at bay.

As you can also see, this entire array of windows has no protection from what the weather patterns throw at it. But such repairs have become a daily part of what we do, and we get plenty of practice.

A new window assembly and a wall whose structural components have been made literally “better than new” is all in a day’s work for our crews.

Eaglecrest Condominiums in Lake Oswego.
Original aluminum-framed windows have served us well for many years here in the Willamette Valley. For one thing, they don’t rot…

…or grow brittle from too much UV exposure. And no painting required. But aluminum is a conductor rather than an insulator & Oregon wrote aluminum out of the residential energy code back in the late 80’s.

The is a Loewen Wood-Clad window we installed on the 5th floor of this condo building. To learn more about Loewen Windows go here www.loewen.com

Awning windows are, in our humble opinion, one of the most practical windows ever made.

In most circumstances, you can leave them open in a mild rain & pretty much keep your interior dry.

And unlike casement windows, even a heavy sash with insulated glass will not have an adverse effect upon the hinging system over time, because of how the weight is carried.

Whereas the hinging system on Loewen’s revolving window, not only carries the weight well, they also have the added benefit of allowing…

…almost a 360 degree rotation.

For the elderly client in this condo on the 5th floor, this was of particular importance…

…because she could not stand dirty windows, if you know what we mean.

Another Aluminum Window upgrade to Wood-Clad.

This time, it?s a product from the largest Window Company in the world.

Andersen!

Not Anderson, such as in our name, which is Swedish, but Andersen, as in Norwegian.

Understandably, we are often confused with Andersen Windows, the window manufacturer.

We are the Anderson that installs & repairs Andersen Windows and every other brand of window known to modern man.

A Vancouver home near the Columbia River. Among my personal favorite types of architecture. Notice the fairly substantial eves.

A portal between the 2nd story master bathroom and the hot-tub deck off the master bedroom. A classy touch.
Due to forces not completely explained, some type of damage has occurred as is…

…seen here at the bottom of the window. There’s more damage than this photo shows, but suffice to say it was significant enough to require replacement of this very expensive wood-clad…

…picture window. Our client related to us that there had previously been some structural issues with this section of the house. And so we surmise that there were forces brought to bear upon…

…the window assembly that resulted in the deformations to the aluminum cladded bottom portions of the original window assembly. Behold, the replacement window is delivered.

Corey employing great finesse in the removal of the original extruded aluminum clad brickmoulding.

Tim scopes out a relatively small amount of water-damage to the bottom portions of the rough-opening that resulted…

…in a minimal amount of change-order work to effect the necessary repairs. Some of the tongue-in-groove vertical cedar siding that…

…was removed had to be replaced. The exterior aluminum brickmould-trim was replaced with a Flex-Trim version of the same profile.

An enviable view of the Columbia River.

A significant restoration project.

New Windows & then new siding is just the beginning for this homeowner.

Some slight modifications to the rough-openings.

Another Loewen Wood-Clad Window Project.

They do make a nice product.

For more info, we’d recommend you go to www.loewen.com

One of many manufacturers who make a tilt-in window for super easy cleaning.