Warning: that old brick building in the historic district can have some wild window frames

I was replacing a single pane in a 1920s apartment building downtown last week. The frame looked square, but when I pulled the old glass, the bottom rail was almost a full inch out of level. My boss had told me to always check with a level, but I'd gotten lazy on newer builds. I had to cut a whole new piece on site to fit the real shape, not the one I measured. Anyone else run into this on older jobs, and what's your go-to check now?

3 comments

3 Comments

kevin_west1mo ago

Yeah, that's the worst. Those old buildings have settled so much over the years that nothing is ever true. Learned that lesson the hard way on a 1930s bungalow. Now the tape measure and level come out for every single opening, no matter how simple it looks. It adds maybe two minutes to the job and saves a huge headache. What kind of level do you prefer for window work?

taylorc401mo ago

My first window job in an old house taught me that lesson real quick. I spent an hour trying to force a square window into a hole that was basically a parallelogram. These days I'm basically married to my 48 inch level for the long runs. It's a bit clumsy but you can't argue with results. The extra length shows you the full picture of how messed up the opening really is. I still double check with a smaller level on the jambs just to be sure.

josepha321mo ago

Totally agree about nothing being true in those old places! I fought the same battle in a 1920s craftsman. My go-to is a 24-inch aluminum level. It's long enough to catch the big leans across a window sill but still fits inside most openings. I keep a small torpedo level in my pouch for quick checks on the sides too. That combo has saved me from so many callbacks.