Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Yesterday I was so proud of my cute salvaged window find. Today I am told by my husband that the drains are on the long side, so the windows won't work. Oh well, now I've learned more about windows. Does this fall into the measure twice, cut once category?
Guess I get to go see if Singleton's makes exchanges.

Kris

could u drill some on the short side and maybe make them work.just a idea without pics i can not even give u a good guess.

Hi Chucklehead,
I think I'll keep the windows until I build the doors to see if I can make them work afterall. If I turn them the way they are meant to be used, they will only be an inch and a half wider than the plans call for. Maybe this will look ok on the door and work if I put the framing in the right place. Guess I won't give up on them yet.
Thanks for the drilling idea. I'll have to give that some thought, too.


Kris

Kris, many have drilled drain holes on the sides to allow for vertical mounting of horizontal windows...ain't no big deal usually....Checkout SteveH's tear...he did it.....
madjack

Thanks for the idea, Madjack. I'm not sure how these windows are going to work out. The aluminum is cleaning up great, but there is something on the glass that appears to be almost etched. I've tried commercial glass cleaners, Goo Gone and Oops but it won't come off yet. I think my next attempt will be rotten stone and alcohol. If that doesn't work, I'll just drink the alcohol and get some different windows.
Kris

Also might try scraping with a single edged razor blade...sometimes, calcium staining and build up can be scraped off...or try that CLR stuff they advertise on TV all the time...however, if the trailer spent any of it's life in places like Colo...it is possible the windows are etched from wind blown sand...Doug

Hi Doug,
I'll give that razor blade technique a try.
Kris

KA wrote:Yesterday I was so proud of my cute salvaged window find. Today I am told by my husband that the drains are on the long side, so the windows won't work. Oh well, now I've learned more about windows. Does this fall into the measure twice, cut once category?
Guess I get to go see if Singleton's makes exchanges.

Kris

I went to Singletons once, YUCK!. Save your money and get some really nice windows from Grant.

Danny you are probably right. My windows may never get to the point where I'll use them in my teardrop, but I'm not ready to give up quite yet. I used Doug's suggestion and scraped some of the calcified yuk off the glass with a razor blade and now that window looks pretty good. The second window has some other issues that I didn't notice until I started cleaning them....a missing spring (I can fix that) and some disintigrating material that fits into one of the grooves...some sort of padding. I'll have to see if the hardware store has any or if I can make something from a strip of wool felting. If anyone else out there goes salvaging for windows, I'd suggest taking some glass cleaner along so you can see what is under all the grime before you purchase. I'm learning about windows by taking these apart and that, for me is half the fun. Of course, by the time I finish my teardrop and have more glitches, I might substitute some other word for fun.
Kris

OK...so it is really hot here and I'm having "fun" with my salvaged windows. I figured out how to chop down some moulding and make a replacement screen for one window. That went pretty well. I got all the gunk off the glass with a razor blade and that went pretty well. I cleaned up most of the aluminum, and again, that went pretty well. Now I'm replacing rusty screws and it is not going anywhere near pretty well. I've managed to remove 2 and I stripped out the heads on all of the remaining ones. On the bright side, I've learned how to use vise-grips, and I will soon be attempting to drill out the really perverse rusty screws. I'm starting to feel that if I can fix these windows, the rest of the trailer will not seem so difficult to build because I'll have mastered the use of several hand tools, all sorts of bandage techniques, and perhaps even some explosives.
Kris

Kris, explosives use is a handy technique to aquire...especially for those pesky personal problems
madjack