Window To Door

First you choose a window that doesn't have a radiator in front of it, more rare than you'd think in 100 year old houses.  This one is in my new kitchen, which used to be the back bedroom.  It looks out into my courtyard on the south side of the house.

In order to get the window out, you have to remove the trim and moldings.  Sounds simple enough but they only come out in a certain order, so you have to see what can come off first.  If your house is as old as mine and as well built, be prepared for a lot of humongous nails.

These are the inside moldings, holding the windows in place.

Here goes the window sill.

Finally the window frame comes loose, after a lot of cussing.

These weights, with pullies, are built into the window frames and the framing beside the windows.  They make for incredibly easy raising and lowering of the lower and upper windows.  They're also heavier than you'd think.  I didn't weigh them but they have a number seven embossed on the ones attacked to the upper windows and a number eight on the ones for the lower ones.  I'm guessing that's how much they weigh in pounds. 

I don't kow if you can read this but it's the name L. Schwartz written on the top of the window frame.  Since the name Louis Schwartz is written on other dismantled parts of the house I'm guessing that he's the one who built the place.  If he were still around I would first thank him for building such a very sturdy house and then ask him if it was REALLY NECESSARY to use so MANY very BIG NAILS. 

Here's the top parts of the pullies.  Those knots and the top part of the cords fit into the top outer edges of the windows, in a hole hollowed out in the side for the knot and a slot that the cord fits into. 

At the other end of the cords are the weights.  They have their own space alongside the window framing.

Knocking out the wall beneath the window is easier than I expected.  My skilsaw cut through the outside siding and the wooden wall with a minimum of hand-sawing at the bottom since I didn't want to make the cut past the level of where I wanted to fit the door sill.  The lath and plaster on the inside was a pain in the patoot.

Looking from the outside in, you can see through the room to the door just opposite - it has one of those windows that open up on top of it; I forget what they're called ... it'll come to me one of these days.

Here's the screen door I put in.  The heavier one will go in when the weather cools off.  For now I'm just happy to finally have gotten my door into my courtyard!  Duke likes it too. 

And yes, the trim is going back on as soon as I recuperate from the stress of it all. 

Also, a special thank you to my big sister who stood by me through the entire ordeal, cussing and all!