fish wrote on 28 Mar 2006:

can you tell me this, is there any part of the steel frame or
casement that is actually behind the walls?

I'm not sure I'm understanding the question, so tell me if this
answers it.

The original steel casements that were installed when my house was
built in 1956 had nailing flanges (also called fins) around the
perimeters of the windows that were used to attach the windows to
the wood framing. After the wall was framed and the sheathing was
put on, the window was slid into the rough opening from the outside
until the flange rested against the sheathing over the studs. Then
screws were inserted through the flange and screwed into the studs.
Finally, brick veneer was laid up outside, although asbestos siding
was used in earlier houses.

The problem was the screws. If nails had been used, the old steel
frames could have been removed with a pry bar after a few cuts with
a sawzall. The screws had to be cut.

On the inside, the steel pan resembles the trim pieces that extend
a wood window to match the drywall, except that the pan stuck out
beyond the drywall which was simply butted up against it.

So there was nothing behind the walls on the inside, but on the
outside, the nailing flange was between the wood framing and the
brick or siding. That's still standard construction. However,
most manufacturers make replacement windows without the nailing
flanges for use in brick veneer walls.

--
Doug Boulter

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