# Forum Home Renovation Doors, Windows, Architraves & Skirts  Removing Aluminium Window from Inside - Brick Veneer wall

## New_Renov8or

Hi, i'm about to take on a bathroom reno and one of the task involved in the reno is to take out an aluminium window so that it can be resized to make the inside wall bigger.  Unfortunately i'll be on a short deadline as the place is a rental property and I would like to plan the process before hand to be as prepared as possible. 
The main problem I face is that the window is in an upstairs bathroom and the outside wall is brick veneer.  The inside walls will be stripped and full access to the window surrounds will available from the inside. 
My question is: can the window be removed from the inside and if so what is the process for removal? 
From my research, I've seen that most aluminium windows are attached to the outside of the reveal, meaning they are put in from the outside and then bricked over.  Will it be possible to cut the reveal out from the inside or is it too hard to tell without getting in there first? 
I've attached 2 photos, one is of the inside showing most of the window (all i've got of it so far) and the other is the outside wall. 
Thanks for anyhelp that anyone can provide me.

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## Ronaldo451

_take out an aluminium window so that it can be resized to make the inside wall bigger_ 
....are you going to reuse the window or doesn't it matter if its damaged in the process? Also, if you 'resize' the inside wall, what is happening to the size of the opening in the  outside wall as generally they would be expected to be comparable in size...If the outside hole isn't going to be made bigger as well what's the efficacy of making the inside hole bigger?  _The inside walls will be stripped and full access to the window surrounds will available from the inside.My question is: can the window be removed from the inside and if so what is the process for removal?_ 
In my limited experience the reveals are nailed to the studs on either side. Once the surrounding material is removed you should be able to locate these nails and remove/cut them and the window and reveal should then be able to be pulled back into the room ...how neatly all this happens will depend if you want to save the window for later use or not. This usually involves levering the reveals with a jimmy or pry bar to expose the heads of the nails as the reveals are flexed. If you get stuck you could also try removing the screws that fix the window frame to the reveal (these will be in the tracks and possibly covered with a sill plate) and then pull the reveal out by being a bit more aggressive with the prying - as the aluminium frame is no longer adding strenth to the reveal it should be more prone to twisting and bending. 
If you REALLY get stuck, depending upon being able to support the load bearing on this part of the framing,  I suppose you could also take a saw to the surrounding studwork up to the size of the larger hole you are going to be cutting in the inside wall anyway and take out the whole window/reveal and excess framework in one go!

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## New_Renov8or

Hey, thanks for the reply. 
The outside wall will be bricked up to match the new size of the window.  The purpose of making the window smaller is to have more wall space to put a 900mm corner shower against the wall.  At the moment the shower would sit 500mm over the window and just wouldn't work well at all.  I've attached a wider shot to show how much wall space I don't have at the moment. 
I would ideally like to keep the frame in reasonable condition so that it can be modified to a smaller window but I know there are plenty of second hand aluminium windows available so it wont be so bad if it gets destroyed in the removal process.  Obviously it would be nice to not have to spend more money than necessary. 
So once I have the inside of the wall exposed, I should be able to pry the reveals some and then maybe tap the wood back in position and the nails should pop out enough to grab them? Then if I get all the nails out of the reveal do you think the whole lot will slide out?

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## Ronaldo451

*Then if I get all the nails out of the reveal do you think the whole lot will slide out?* 
Should do. Let us know how you get on.<!-- / message --><!-- attachments -->

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## New_Renov8or

Well after successfully removing one aluminium window and reveal I have a few things to point out. 
Fortunately I found a book on renovating that described a great way to disconnect the reveal from the house frame.  It was as simple as working out where the nails are in the reveal and sliding a hacksaw blade in between the reveal and the house frame, then gently sawing back and forth.  I say gentle because there isn't much supporting the blade and they break fairly easy.  Its suprisingly easy to cut through a nail.  In spots the frame was jammed too tight to get the blade in, but a bit of leverage with a pry bar was enough to get the blade in. 
Cutting the nails was the easy part.  The hard part was removing a window frame that was way to big for the hole it was in.  It must have been bricked in that way when the place was built.  so a little bit of force and manipulation and the whole reveal/window frame came sliding into the inside of the room. 
I did forget to remove the cement sheet above the outside of the window so that was one oversight that I would remember for next time.  It was only held on by a couple of small brads but was enough to make it a pain in the neck. 
Unfortunately no photo's of the process but hope this description might help someone one day.

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