Building the Window Frames

It’s been a few weeks since I last wrote and I’ve been busy building window frames. As stated earlier, the cordwood house is being constructed using Cliff Shockey’s double wall technique. With the walls comprised of 8″ of cordwood followed by 8″ of insulation and another 8″ wall, the total depth of the wall is 24″.

To build a 24″ thick window frame requires (2) 2″ x 10″ boards and (1) 2″ x 6″ board. Since conventional lumber is not a true dimension, the boards end up equaling a total of 24″ (9.25″ + 5.5″ + 9.25″ = 24″).

Here’s a photo of one of the sides to the window frame. As you can see, one of the boards is green treated while the other two are non-treated. I decided to go with the treated wood for what will become the outside part of the frame. It’s just a little bit of extra protection in case any moisture gets trapped between the window frame, the window and any exterior trim work.

To make sure the sides are true and square, I placed the boards up against a flat wall and then used a straight edge board to square up the three boards. Then I used pipe clamps to secure the boards together before attaching the 2″ x 4″ braces.

With the largest of the windows being a total of 6′ by 4′, these frames are quite heavy. Especially since the green treated lumber is still quite wet. These constructed sides will get a chance to dry out a bit before they are assembled as a complete window frame.

Here’s a bit of a skewed look at the 6′ x 4′ window. There will be eleven of these windows that will be installed on the south and west sides to the house. The 6′ x 4′ window is actually comprised of a slider window with a small picture window on top. The two windows will be attached to each other using special sealing straps that were supplied with the windows. The completed window unit will then be attached to the window frame with nailing fins supplied by the manufacturer.