How To Install Glass Block Windows

Drinking glass block windows are a bully fashion to add elegance to your bathroom. Non only are they stylish, but also very concealing. The 1 trouble is that they can exist very hard to install without the right tools and knowledge. This instructable volition explain the process!

For more bathroom remodeling ideas bank check out The Family Handyman - Bathroom Remodeling

Step 1: Fur Out the Window

Since the window's going in, you'll want to go out extra room. Fur out the existing window opening to 2 in. wider and 2-i/2 in. taller than the dimensions of the glass block console.

Step two: Boom Stop Blocks to the Window Frame

Tack stop blocks on the inside of the opening to keep the frame flush to the framing. Get together the frame, and so plumb. square it and nail it into the opening with 8d casing nails, shimming equally needed.
_________________________________________________________

The special-gild fixtures, fittings, shower pan, tile and glass block console tin can take weeks to go in hand, so do the necessary legwork and ordering well in advance. Earlier gutting the bathroom, check to brand sure that at that place are shutoffs for all the fixtures or a master shutoff for the entire bathroom. If non, buy ball valve shutoffs sized to fit your pipes. So plough off the main water supply line where it comes into the house from outside, cutting the pipes feeding the bath and install the new shutoffs right away (see Photo 7).

Disconnect the trap from the tub, remove any clips, fasteners or screws that agree the tub to the wall, and annihilate the former cast iron tub with a sledgehammer. Remove the sink and toilet. Turn off the electricity at the main console and remove low-cal fixtures. Cap the wires with wire connectors. Then rip out the wall finishes and surfaces clean down to the studs and pull out whatever insulation. If your ceiling is in good shape, use a utility knife to cut the drywall along the edges so the wall materials volition separate cleanly from the ceiling.

How to Order a Glass Cake Window Console
To size the glass block, remove the trim from the existing window and measure the rough opening. Subtract 2 in. from the width and the meridian to let for the frame, then make up one's mind the panel size by counting the number of rows and courses that easily fits into the opening. Glass block comes in eight-in. and half-dozen-in. squares and 4 x eight-in. half-block rectangles. You'll need to choose between real mortar grout joints and clear silicone–joined blocks. We chose the silicone arrangement because we liked the clean, uninterrupted expect. Whichever way you get, purchase the panel preassembled and banded together every bit one unit, set up to set into the opening. Remember that it'southward easy to make the opening smaller by using furring, just it can exist an ugly task to make information technology bigger. When going with mortar-grouted panels, figure each block is 8 in. wide, then add 1/4 in. to both the total acme and width. If yous're ordering silicone-joined blocks, figure each block at 7-iii/4 in. and don't add the extra 1/iv in.

Step 3: Get the Window Ready for Tile

Rip two 3-ft.-long spacer boards at the same thickness of your tile plus 3/4 in. This will cause the window to protrude 1/4 in. past the finished tile surface. Tack them to the sides of the window opening. Then tack two 2x2s into the boards to agree the drinking glass block panel in the proper position while you lot push it in from the exterior

Stride 4: Inject the Expanding Foam

Tap shims between the console and the frame to hold it evenly spaced on all four sides while injecting the expanding foam. Afterward the foam cures, cut away any excess and caulk the i/4-in. space between the panel and the jamb on the outside of the frame with silicone caulk. End off the trim and siding to match the exterior of the house.

Step 5: Additional Tips

Converting a bathtub with a conventional window to a higher place information technology to a shower is dicey business, but the event is hit. Lodge a premade glass cake window to fit your existing opening . Wait under "Glass Block" in the Xanthous Pages or online to discover a supplier.

The primal to a weatherproof, attractive drinking glass block window both within and out is to encase it in a custom-built wooden frame (Fig. A) The inside dimensions of the frame should be i/2 in. taller and wider than the panel itself. That will give you room to conform and shim the console exactly and so inject expanding foam between the frame and the panel to lock it into the opening.

To brainstorm, rip the tiptop and side jambs to the thickness of the wall framing plus the exterior wall sheathing. The cement board will lap over the jambs. The windowsill should also be flush with the interior framing, only hang over the outside sheathing about 1-1/two in. and take a 5-degree gradient toward the exterior to help shed water. To go on water from running behind the siding as it drips off the border, cut a shallow groove (or saw kerf) in the lesser lip. Also, think to flash behind the trim to keep the window watertight. Trim the window exterior to match the house, using caulk to seal between the trim and siding.

It'south important to set the panel then it protrudes ane/4 in. by the finished tile surface. That way, a bead of caulk can seal the articulation between the tile and block to keep water out of the wall cavity.

Tip:

Prime and paint the window jambs and sill before setting the glass block panel to save time-consuming painting details.