Air drafts in old Gorell G5155 vinyl DH

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tomatrw
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2018 11:04 am

Air drafts in old Gorell G5155 vinyl DH

#1 Post by tomatrw »

Hi everyone,

First time poster/reader.
I noticed drafts coming into the windows this past winter. After a closer inspection I found huge gaps where the upper and lower sashes meet, basically at the lower corners of the upper sash and upper corners of the lower sash.

I bought the house 3-4 years ago. According the sellers records, the windows are Gorell G5155 DH.
They were installed around 2000.

I don't know if it's a weatherstripping problem or the windows are off-square or a manufacturing defect or design flaw.

Left side: Image
Right side: Image

Any opinions and how to fix this would be greatly appreciated.

**Edit: forgot to say this problem exists in like 10 out of the 11 Gorell windows and is not isolated to the pictured window. The window in the picture has the biggest gap/problem.

Thanks.
Tom.

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HomeSealed
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Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2010 3:46 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, SE Wisconsin

Re: Air drafts in old Gorell G5155 vinyl DH

#2 Post by HomeSealed »

I don't think that the 5100 had those lines on the frame, I believe that picture is the top line 5300. Its possible that there could be 5100 in another location in the home.

Beyond that, looks like those are still going somewhat strong after nearly two decades. As far as the gaps there, it should just need some shimming at the meeting rail, either the old fashioned way, or via jamb adjusters if present.

masterext
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Location: Window Pro-Serves All of Northern New Jersey. Bergen, Morris, Union, Essex, Passaic, Sussex Counties

Re: Air drafts in old Gorell G5155 vinyl DH

#3 Post by masterext »

Take another pic from a few ft away so we can see the whole window. Gorell were ahead of their time back in the day when it came to windows. From what i remember, the 5100 did have a design in the sash. The 5300 had a more subtle design but a bulkier frame.

Delaware Mike
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Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 10:44 am
Location: South Jersey, Delaware, Philadelphia area

Re: Air drafts in old Gorell G5155 vinyl DH

#4 Post by Delaware Mike »

Looks to me like the exterior part of the frame is twisted in a very unnatural position? The lower sash inner weatherstripping seems to be within tolerance, however the upper sash which sits towards the exterior part of the frame is gaped really bad. To fix one will need to free the frame of the inner and outer caulk seals to shim correctly.

tomatrw
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Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2018 11:04 am

Re: Air drafts in old Gorell G5155 vinyl DH

#5 Post by tomatrw »

Just a follow up. I had a window repair company come take a look at the windows. The repairman seem to agree with what everyone here posted. He said the window is bowed out. In the end, he said it wasn't worth the cost or trouble to fix almost 20 year windows. He recommended replacing the windows and didn't bother giving a repair estimate.

Now the question is, is it worth it to get totally new windows? The cost for 11 windows will be probably $7000+ for something decent.

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toddinmn
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Re: Air drafts in old Gorell G5155 vinyl DH

#6 Post by toddinmn »

Sounds like someone trying to make a sale to me. I would try adjusting the jamb jacks or shimming 1st, at least on one window. It might only take 20 min. If you are feasible handy it is a pretty simple adjustment to make.

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Windows on Washington
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Location: DC Metropolitan Area-Maryland/Virginia/DC

Re: Air drafts in old Gorell G5155 vinyl DH

#7 Post by Windows on Washington »

+1

Should be pretty fixable to be honest.

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