Drywalling Around Badly Installed Window

[cjherren]

I am currently in the process of reconstructing a lot of the upstairs of my house. I have been learning to do a lot of things as I go, but some problems seem to be insurmountable for me. The house I live in is quite old, which makes for uneven and bowed wood. My main concern right now is just drywalling around windows that were not installed very well. I do not want to remove them and reinstall them because I do not have the time at the moment but I figured there would be some way I could still fix it up and make it look good.

I posted some pictures to display my problem. My main concern is that the window seems as though it was not pulled into the wall enough, therefore, when the drywall goes up it will not meet with the window and it looks like it might create about an half-inch gap. Also on the top and bottom of the window a 2x4 was placed in attempt to hold/resupport the window but it actually protudes from the wall a great bit as displayed in the picture. I had considered just using a reciprocating saw and shortening it. If anyone has any suggestions i'd really appreciate it, thanks anyone for the help.

I have a few thoughts of my own that I will share, but I'd like to hear if anyone has any thoughts first.

[Debbie]

Not to make any jokes but I think it's funny. Why? My hubby is working on that similar problem right now at the old personal house right now.

When he return home, I'll have him respond. Uh, maybe tomorrow since he'll want to celebrate New Year's Eve party at my parents' house while I stay home and rest while I have this flu.

BTW, welcome to the Magic Bullets Fambly! :praise:

[cjherren]

Hopefully he has better ideas than I do for solving this problem.

Thanks for the welcoming, when I get some time I'll be even more anxious to browse the forums some more.

[SPIVALAW]

The windows in my home have huge molding around them.
Maybe trim them out nicely?

[cjherren]

The windows in my home have huge molding around them.
Maybe trim them out nicely?

I think I'd have to trim it similar to a door with trim on the inside and along the outside edge for it to close the gap, would that look weird? I guess that's an option. Thanks for the help.

Other than that I considered either just getting wood strips and tacking them on before I put up the drywall, then I could get wood puddy and cover the who window frame all the way around. After all that I would paint/stain it. This way seems excessive though.

My last thought was trying to get everything as flat as possible or using the wood strips again to close the gap and then covering it with contact paper.

I think I do prefer the trim suggestion most, but I want to see if anyone else has any thoughts first.

[SPIVALAW]

I think I'd have to trim it similar to a door with trim on the inside and along the outside edge for it to close the gap, would that look weird? I guess that's an option. Thanks for the help.

Other than that I considered either just getting wood strips and tacking them on before I put up the drywall, then I could get wood puddy and cover the who window frame all the way around. After all that I would paint/stain it. This way seems excessive though.

My last thought was trying to get everything as flat as possible or using the wood strips again to close the gap and then covering it with contact paper.

I think I do prefer the trim suggestion most, but I want to see if anyone else has any thoughts first.

I guess it depends on the house.
I get lots of comments on the trim work on my home.

Generally I think the more trim a house has th nicer it usually looks.

It clearly will add costs. I would think the window could be reset or the sheet rock could be raised in that limited area.

good luck.

[AIR]

shims and trim baby!

[Debbie]

Oops! I knew I forgot to tell hubby to respond here. I'll try to remember tonight when he gets home from working overtime.

[Debbie]

From the photos, it looks like you just need to add jamb extensions to bring the jamb flush with the studs. You may need to rip cut the jamb extensions especially if the offset dimension varies around the window. As for the extra 2x4 at the top, it appears you may need to plane it or saw it to get it flush with the studs.

Good luck;

Jeff

[Tim]

Yes, that will address the cosmetic issues inside. But, if that window was not installed correctly, meaning fully inserted into the rough opening, you may have a water entry problem outside.

Before you address the inside cosmetic issues, make sure you don't have a bigger problem making it necessary to reset the window.

Resetting the window will actually take about the same amount of time as meticulously cutting the filler trim and filling gaps with wood dough or drywall compound and sanding.

And, if you do reset the window you will know it was done right and will not lead to problems later.

If you don't have time to do it right, when are you going to find time to do it over? - My Dad