With the Tyvek house wrap installed, it is time to get the new Home Depot vinyl windows and the new doors from Lowes installed at the Fixer Upper Main House. This post will show you how two people, myself and my husband, were able to DIY install our own new windows and doors in a T1-11 plywood siding system.
Why Home Depot Vinyl Windows:
There are sooo many choices of window types available that it can be overwhelming to decide what window brand, type, and material when choosing windows. After much deliberation and searching, I decided to go with the JenWeld 2500 brand of double pane Home Depot vinyl windows. Here is a list of the main reasons for this decision.
- Availability – There are a handful of Home Depot stores within driving distance, and the windows we need are listed as in-stock at multiple locations. We are pushing to get the windows, doors, and siding done before the rainy season starts, so having the windows immediately available is a big plus in the decision making.
- Quality – This was based on online reviews at first. I know online reviews can be filtered to make a product look more desirable. But, there still were a decent amount of good reviews by different people that these windows seemed like a good choice. I also inspected them in person and decided they would work just fine. Granted, these are not high-end super fancy windows! They are double paned with energy efficient low-E glass, come with a fiberglass screen, and look clean and simple.
- Price Point – This is not a break-the-bank fixer upper! My husband and I will live in this house, so we want it comfortable and nice. BUT, we do not need nor want it to be really expensive. I think it’s great that the windows meet the other points listed above for a decent price. Let’s be real. The lower cost and availability gives me some peace of mind should we bust one or two during our DIY vinyl window install.
Cut House Wrap at Windows and Doors:
Here’s where we left of in the Fixer Upper Main House progress. The Tyvek house wrap is on and now we’re ready for the doors and windows.
We need to do a little prep work on the house wrap before we put in the windows and doors. In this post, I will show you the basic steps steps my husband and I used on our Main House. For all the details and fine-grained instructions, check out the Dupot Tyvek Resource Center on their website and applicable installation instructions for your project. We’ll be installing doors and windows AFTER house wrap, so I generally followed these instructions. It was really handy to print out the relevant instruction pages and have them as on-hand as a reference.
Ok, so let’s cut the openings. First, cut the Tyvek house wrap at each opening such that it wraps into the window or door frame at sides and along the bottom. It is easiest to cut the Tyvek with a sharp utility knife.
Then, staple or tape the house wrap at the bottom and sides of the frame opening to keep it in place. Last, cut the house wrap at the top of the opening flush with the bottom of the header for now.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the house wrap wrapped into the frame at the back door. This is a door opening and is protected at the top from the roof eave, so I wrapped the top into the frame as well. Do not do this for windows! Cut the house wrap flush with the bottom of the header. Later on, you’ll see how the house wrap at the top will actually overlap the window flashing – upper sections overlap lower sections!
Sill Flashing at Windows and Doors:
Next, install FlexWrap along the bottom sill of all doors and windows to extend at least 2 to 3 inches up each side. FlexWrap is a flexible, stretchable, self-adhered, flashing tape that will provide a water barrier along the sill framing. Here is a photo of the installed FlexWrap at the door. You can see how it stretches around the corner.
Window Caulking:
Now it’s time to install the Home Depot vinyl windows. These windows have flanges with nail holes that we will nail through to attach the windows to the wood framing. Before nailing, install a generous bead of high quality caulk around the sides and top of of the exterior face of the window frame. Check your window installation specifics before doing this yourself. We were advised to NOT caulk the bottom as the bottom is meant to allow water to drain away and down the house wrap.
Word to the wise: there are standard caulk guns and there are awesome caulk guns. I used a standard one for years and would strain my hands trying to muster the strength of an aggressive gorilla. If you want to make the job a whole lot easier, get what’s called a high thrust caulk gun. Lol, that’s what it’s called I swear! It makes the job so much easier.
Make sure you shim and level the window in the frame before you nail it in place. Flat-head nails are best here so I used the longest roofing nails I could find to nail through the window flange.
Window Flashing:
Now with the window in place, we need to flash is properly. We used Dupont flashing tape over the window flanges. It is self adhering flashing tape that you cut to length. Push the tape smooth with a small roller once it is in place.
Here is a photo of my husband rolling the flashing tape smooth over a large back window.
Click on the photo to view it larger. Take a look at the top flashing. See how the house wrap is lifted up so that the flashing is installed underneath the house wrap there? We cut the house wrap at a diagonal at the upper corners and taped it up so that we could install the top flashing first. Next, with the top flashing installed, we bring that top section of house wrap over the top flashing and tape the diagonal cuts with Tyvek tape.
Here is a fully flashed window with the taped upper corners. Remember, upper sections overlap lower sections for proper water proofing. We opted to install the flashing tape along the bottom of the window because the window weep holes were still exposed and above the bottom tape. Check your specific window installation instructions for direction here.
Ladder Work Plank:
Some of our windows were higher off the ground than we could reach ourselves. We did not want to move or buy more true scaffolding, so I figured out a cheaper and more mobile way with ladders.
This photo shows our temporary ladder scaffold set-up at the front door opening. It consists of two a-frame ladders and one telescoping work plank spanning between them.
The next photo shows our ladder set-up at the highest gable window. This was the trickiest window to install because it is so far off the ground. We hoisted the window from the small step ladder to the work platform. From there, we both carefully stood on the work platform and real scaffold to position the window in place. Proceed with this option at your own risk! I’ll admit, it wasn’t 100% safe, but it got the job done.
Install Doors:
Next we installed the doors per the manufacturer’s instructions. There are a lot of YouTube videos on how to install doors, so I just want to show you what doors we used.
The back door has a large single light (or window) as you can see. I found the door at Lowes and through it would be lovely to have the view to the back yard.
The front door is one of the first things people notice about a home, so I wanted to it to look good and match the Farmhouse Modern style we are going for. I chose a simple craftsman style door also found at Lowes.
Here are the installed windows and the front door! I will paint the door for sure. I chose this particular door because the sections between the windows match the rest of the door. So they are paintable too! More on that in later posts.
Let me know what questions you have in the comments below. Next we install the T1-11 plywood siding to mimic a board and batten look. Stay tuned!
