Manhattan Beach Windows & Doors, One Step at a Time
Original casing is numbered, stored and put back after each new unit is set: window and door work in older Manhattan Beach houses, done in a set order.
The trim comes off first, and before it does, every piece of casing, stool and apron on an older Manhattan Beach house is numbered on its back and photographed in place. That record decides where each piece returns once the new unit is set. From there the work runs in a fixed order: framing checked, pan and flashing lapped in, unit set and sealed, trim reinstalled, paint last.
Removing trim without losing it
Old casing is often nailed through into the jamb and the framing, and paint bridges every joint. We score the paint line with a sharp knife, ease the casing loose with wide flat bars over a protective shim, and pull the nails out through the back so the face stays clean. Each numbered piece is stored flat, away from sun and damp, until its opening is ready. A piece that cracks is glued and clamped if the break is clean, and only a piece too damaged to save is milled new from its own profile.
Setting the unit and closing up
With the old frame out, the rough opening is checked for rot and squared. A pan of flexible membrane goes in, turned up at the back, then jamb strips and a head flashing lapped in the right order. The new unit goes in on shims at its corners and is fixed to the framing with stainless screws, which hold up in salty air. Low-expansion foam fills the gap without bowing the frame. Only then do the numbered pieces go back, each to the place recorded for it, and paint touches up the joints so the old trim looks as it did.
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Restored sashes keep their casing on the wall, since new cord, putty and weatherstrip can go in from the stops. When the sill is soft or the frame has twisted, replacement is the sounder repair, and the numbered trim goes back around the new unit exactly where it came from.
The numbered casing returns to its own opening, so the border of each window stays original. Inside it, the new unit follows the sash split and bar pattern of the old one, and its outside face is painted or ordered in a color near the trim.
Window and door work in Manhattan Beach is reviewed and inspected by the city's own building department. New units need energy labels, and glass beside doors or tubs must be tempered. A lot within the coastal zone can face a separate coastal approval for an enlarged opening, so that is settled before the trim comes off.
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