Windows: Replacement or New Construction?

There are two types of windows that can be installed in your house.  These are called “Replacement” and “New Construction.”  This note will describe the differences.

What are the Parts of a Window?

A window consists of several parts.  Both new construction and replacement windows are built this way.  The sashes are the parts that hold the glass and move  up/down or sideways to let in the fresh air.  The sashes move in a track that is contained by the window frame, a four-sided box.  Usually the sashes are held to the frame by a piece of molding called a window stop.  The exterior siding or masonry abuts the window frame; the joint is finished off with trim molding.  Same for the interior wallboard or plaster.

What Are New Construction Windows?

New Construction windows, as the term implies, are windows that are installed in new houses — where none of the finish work has been done, making it easy to mount and attach the windows.   These windows can be installed in existing houses, but it requires more work to do so.  The reason is due to the way the window is fastened to the house.

A house under construction has openings in the walls that accept windows, usually framed with 2x4s. The so-called New Construction windows are full-frame windows that are attached directly to the framing of the house, then trimmed out with moldings to cover the gap between the wall framing and window frame.  Sometimes exterior siding, interior wallboard, or plaster abuts or extends over the frame of the window.

Because this window is installed before most of the finish work is done to the walls, it is integral to the walls.  To remove this window, it is necessary to remove the trim, cut the nails that hold the window frame to the underlying wall framing, and perhaps remove a portion of the siding or wallboard in order to extract the entire window.

The new window must be shimmed to fit the opening to ensure it is square and plumb.  All of the trim (and potentially the wall board) has to be replaced or repaired following installation of the new window. The biggest advantage of doing this is that the new window gives the appearance that it was installed when the house was built.

What are Replacement Windows?

Replacement windows are essentially the same in make-up as New Construction windows in that they consist of window frames, window stops and sashes. The only portion of the existing window that needs to be removed is the window stop, and of course the sashes. The difference is that the process of installing the window is much simplified because the window frame of the existing window remains in place.  None of the trim or wallboard has to be disturbed, and the installation takes much less time which saves you considerable expense.

There is, of course a window frame for the Replacement window, and it slides into the frame of the existing window once the window stops are removed.  This means that the finished window has two frames (the existing one, and the new one) so the apparent width and height of the window is smaller than the window that was replaced.  The area of the glass of the Replacement Window is slightly smaller than the glass area of the existing window by a small amount.

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