When To Paint Or Stain Wood Window Frames
If you're in the process of replacing your home's wooden windows and maintaining the frames, one thing you may not have thought of is when to paint or stain the frames that surround the window. You can do it prior to the windows being installed, or once the installation is finished. Which is the way to do it? While you can do it whatever way you like, here are some things to consider.
Painting Before Installation
In most situations, you'll want to do the scraping, sanding, and staining, or repainting of your window's frame prior to having a new window installed. It will be much easier to do it than if your home has window frames that are really thick, or sills that are close to edges that will be stained or painted. It will save you the hassle of having a brand new window that is accidentally splattered with stain or paint in the process. Since your old wood windows will be removed, getting paint on them by accident is not a concern at all.
Just make sure to take care of this well before your professional window installation. You want to make sure there is plenty of time for the stain or paint to dry and that you can get all the prep work done with scraping and sanding.
Panting After Installation
If your window contractor has said there will be some adjustments or construction done to the window frame before the window is installed, it will be best to wait until after the installation for you to stain or repaint. You'll just end up waiting time doing all of the necessary prep work, and then end up having it ruined since part of the window frame needs to be removed or altered. It will cause you to do all the prep and finishing work again to get the windows looking great.
For example, the new window may require making the frame slightly bigger, which would extend the frame. You'll need to treat the new wood frame section in the same way as the existing frame, so it could require sanding off the new paint or stain that you just applied.
Always remember that you can have your window contractors handle the treatment of the window frames in addition to the installation. This may be the best option if you find that you don't have the time to do it on your own, or you are afraid of getting paint on your brand new windows.