Or, possibly titled “How to hang that pesky, 50-pound window air conditioner unit in those purty little vinyl windows that you can’t stick screws into.”
We have beautiful, wonderful double-hung vinyl windows, yay us. They’re very pretty, very functional, operate very smoothly, etc., etc. HOWEVER, they do NOT play nicely with window-unit air conditioners (you can’t screw the air conditioner into the vinyl window parts). So after getting a brilliant idea from a newsgroup post, and not willing to pay $40 for a metal air conditioner brace that I can’t really use anyway (again, vinyl window sill), I set out to make my own air conditioner brace out of a 2×4, some white paint, and a little sweat. Turned out purty nice too, I must say.
I was really pleased with the final outcome of this little product. What started out as a crazy idea with me looking (to my bride, at any rate, who pointed it out several times) like I was just trying to not pay $40 for an air conditioner brace turned out to be a really nice solution. First, I didn’t have to drill any holes into the nice vinyl window frames or sill (they wouldn’t have held anyway). Second, the air conditioner is MUCH more stable by mounting it from above to the window sill than below to the frame. And third, there is no way this air conditioner is going anywhere, unless the entire window frame decides to exit my house. =:)
I’ve put up a little pictorial/tutorial on flickr here….
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Wheee!! =:) Oh yes, or at least, I hope so (that the house will be nice and cold for you guys!!) =:) I can’t wait to see you guys too!! Definitely love and miss you guys and am looking forward to watching you get knocked over by some wavies!! =;)
Tuesday July 18, 2006 at 5:23 pm
A very nice looking job.
This would also work on traditional wood windows.
Does the window seal nicely on the new 2×4 ? I looks like it does.
You might need to add a vinyl channel on top of the 2×4 if you get drafts coming in during cold weather.
Best Regards
Adrian D
http://www.all-about-screen-doors.com
Sunday August 26, 2007 at 11:24 amHi Adrian! =:) Thanks!! And yes, you’re absolutely right–this would work with traditional wood windows just as well. Yes, it seals perfectly, and what I’ve done is to put some self-adhesive 1/2″ trim on the top and bottom of the 2×4, which eliminates any draft. And I take the air conditioner units out during the winter too… =:)
Sunday August 26, 2007 at 11:38 am
Thanks for posting the photos and approach. I used 2x4s on my vinyl windows beneath the AC unit, with 4x4s beneath on the outside roof. Thinking of a different, more elegant approach. Question: with the 2×4 above the unit, you didn’t need any support beneath the unit when in the window? Thanks!
Saturday April 18, 2009 at 3:32 pmHey Barry! I’ve been using this set up for the past 2 years (this will be year #3, and I could not be more pleased with it. You don’t need any support underneath the air conditioner, from my experience. I was worried about that too, but the 2×4 is more than strong enough to hold up the weight of the air conditioners, from what I’ve seen. I don’t know that the air conditioner is at the same exact level that you’d get from the expensive metal mounting brackets, but we’ve not had any problems with the air conditioners since I’ve been using this approach. I guess it might be good to replace the 2×4′s every couple of years or so, for safety’s sake, but I haven’t had to yet, and the one’s I’ve been using aren’t showing any signs of wear. =:) Also, I actually saw this idea on the ‘net from someone else, but I don’t think I saved the URL.
Hope this helps! I’d love to see photos of how yours turn out! =:)
Saturday April 18, 2009 at 3:59 pmHi Jason! I documented our installation, which used your approach as inspiration and adjusted as necessary. I setup a page with the explanation and photos. So far, so good – the things works well and cools the room nicely. It also looks better than expected, thanks to your tip on the white paint. –Barry
Thursday May 7, 2009 at 1:26 amHey Barry! Wow, that looks really, really nice!! A couple of comments…. I read that the bottom part of the window frame was not made to support the weight of the air conditioner and that I should support it with wood as you have done, but I’ve just been resting the a/c unit on the bottom of the vinyl window frame and thus far, I haven’t seen any problems yet. But I do like what you’ve done. Do you have any other pictures of this–maybe bigger and zoomed in on just this bottom frame not inserted in the window yet? I’d like to see exactly what you did here.
Also, I really like the idea of using 2 1×4′s instead of 1 2×4 as I’ve done, but I’m not really clear on exactly how you did it. Are the 1×4′s in 2 separate vertical side channels of the window frame? Are the 2 1×4′s screwed together? How did you get them into the window channels? That’s one of the most annoying parts that I’ve found–getting the 2×4 to be just wide enough to still rest in the channels but not wide enough to prevent me from putting it in at an angle so I can slide it into the channels. Do you think you could explain this part a bit more and take some pictures?
Thanks very much for letting me know of your work and for the credit! =:) I like what you’ve done!!!
Thursday May 7, 2009 at 8:45 am
Hi. I have been searching and searching for a way to mount our window air conditioner in our new vinyl windows. This has inspired me as we did not want to spend all the extra $$ on central air or ductless air. I would also like to see a more close up picture of the bottom of that frame that you made.
Wednesday June 10, 2009 at 8:50 pm
I too like Karen have been searching to put in a window not central air. I would love to see more detailed pictures from Barry for the do it yourself challanged but willing to try.
Tuesday June 23, 2009 at 3:55 pmWith your way you can remove the air conditioner for the winter and close the window. Barry’s way looks permanent(wood across the area where the bottom window goes when it closes and locks). How have you secured the air conditioner to the window so that it can not be removed by burglars but can be removed by you for the winter? (adhesive, screws or ?????)
Tuesday June 23, 2009 at 4:34 pmHey Jan! =:) Yep, mine is trivially simple to remove during the winter and store the a/c’s in the basement. Also, I have screwed the top of the a/c unity into the 2×4 that holds it in place. there is nothing holding the bottom of the window onto the top of the 2×4 underneath it, but there’s only about 4 inches of room for a burglar to get through if they absolutely wanted to, and my a/c units are at least 10 feet off of the ground. And I live in a forest. If someone was determined to burgle me, there would be far easier ways of breaking into my house to find me waiting for them with a shotgun. =:)
Tuesday June 23, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Jason, I hope you see this because it’s such a fabulous idea, but I have a few questions. Maybe there are some steps left out that are probably self-explanatory for the handy but I’m getting lost from the chisel out step. Exactly what is that being attached to?
I love the idea so much! But I’m just having a hard time understanding how you are able to attach this from above.
We were told we void the contract with the vinyl window comp. if we damage or put holes in the frame. We would LOVE to find a way to use our window air conditioner. Security isn’t really a concern (second floor).
Thanks for any help with more steps for this project for the challenged!
Wednesday July 29, 2009 at 9:56 amHi Carol! =:)
So, the 2×4 fits in the grooves in the side of the window frame, and the air conditioner rests against the 2×4. So, the first problem is that the depth (not length) 2×4 is too thick to fit inside the window channels as it is. That’s why I notched the ends of the 2×4–to a thickness that would allow the 2×4 to fit into the window channels. The second problem is that you have to cut the 2×4 down length-wise so that it is long enough to fit horizontally in between the window channels and overlap enough inside them to have good strength still, but you have to make it short enough so that you can put the 2×4 into the window frame at an angle and then slide it in place so that it’s perfectly horizontal. I’m not sure if I explained that clearly enough. If not, just let me know and I’ll put up some more explanatory pictures.
FWIW, if I was going to do this over again and hadn’t already cut the 2×4′s down to size, I’d use 1×4′s like @Barry suggested and showed here: http://joycemajor.com/household/air-conditioner-in-vinyl-window.html
HTH! =:)
Wednesday July 29, 2009 at 10:26 amThank you so much for the prompt response and input. Can you tell that I’m eager to have a darn air conditioner in my bedroom?
We just got the vinly windows at Home Depot and according to them if you put any screws in or damage the frame with an air conditioner you void the warranty. Wish I would have known that before purchasing the windows.
Thanks so much!
Wednesday July 29, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Thanks for the detailed instructions. I impetuously screwed in 4 a/c window units to our new vinyl windows last night before finding out it might not be a good idea. They seem to be holding all right. They are not anywhere near where they could let argon gas escape. Why is this a problem (besides possible voiding the warranty, which would be a problem)?
Tuesday May 31, 2011 at 9:21 amHey Mark! I think the biggest problem is that the vinyl window frames are just not built to have screws put into them (they’re not solid vinyl and screw holes strip really easily), and they are nowhere near as stable as wooden windows, nor do they support the weight of the A/C windows without bowing.
Thursday June 2, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Hey Jason, thanks so much, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to do this! My only question, and maybe you already answered it and I just didn’t catch it in reading everything, is this: do you have a formula for arriving at the cut length of the 2×4, as far as being long enough to fit securely in the track, but short enough to allow angling it and slinding it INTO the tracks? That sort of trial and error scenario is the part thet makes me NUTS in a project like this, lol, and I don’t want to mess up and cut the thing too short! Thanks!
Saturday June 4, 2011 at 7:18 pm
I’ve got a SLIDING/Horizontal Vinyl Window. Seems almost impossible to get my air conditioner installed. I already had a portable one, but once the temperature is above 90 Degrees it’s not that effective.
So I’ve got my new air conditioner just sitting here.
Wednesday July 6, 2011 at 8:42 pmHey Jim. Sorry for the delayed response. =:( I’m guessing you probably have already figured this out by now. To answer your question, I forget exactly how I figured the right length of the 2×4. I think it was just trial and error for the first one and then after that, I used the measurement that I arrived at. It should be pretty easy to arrive at the right length by just looking at the length of the diagonal line of the 2×4 and making sure that’s equal to the width of the inside channel of the vinyl window frame.
James: Sorry, but I’m not sure how you’d get an A/C unit into a horizontal vinyl window. =:/ I’d probably look at the inside A/C units that just have a small hose that runs out to the window instead of trying to mount an A/C unit in the window frame itself. =:(
Tuesday July 12, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Thank you for posting this work around. We have AC in our rental home, but the duct is destroyed leading to the master bedroom. I finally gave up and bought a window unit, but didn’t want to screw it into the landlords vinyl windows. You Flicker photos were so very appreciated.
Saturday July 16, 2011 at 7:49 am
yay for you daddy kasper!!!!! : ) your house will be nice and cold when we get there ; ) Can’t wait to see you!!!
Tuesday July 18, 2006 at 4:30 pmLove and miss you,