Good tip about marking shims—I wish I'd thought of that earlier. Personally, I found using painter's tape to temporarily hold them in place helped a lot. Also learned not to overtighten screws on the frame... warped one slightly on my first try, rookie mistake. Thankfully, it wasn't too noticeable once the trim went up. Like you said, live and learn.
Painter's tape can work, but honestly, I've had mixed results with it—sometimes it slips or doesn't hold well enough, especially if the shims are thicker. I prefer using a small dab of construction adhesive behind the shim to keep it steady. Learned that trick after a frustrating afternoon chasing shims around the frame... And yeah, overtightening screws is a classic mistake; snug is good enough. Glad your trim covered the warp though, been there myself.
"Painter's tape can work, but honestly, I've had mixed results with it—sometimes it slips or doesn't hold well enough..."
Yeah, painter's tape never really worked for me either. I usually just staple the shims lightly to the frame—holds them steady without fuss. Adhesive sounds solid too, might try that next time.
Painter's tape is like that friend who promises to help you move but shows up late and drops your favorite lamp... I've had better luck with masking tape, weirdly enough. Staples sound quick, but knowing my luck I'd staple my finger to the frame. Adhesive sounds promising though—just gotta make sure it's not TOO strong or you'll be chiseling shims off later. Don't ask how I know that...
"Painter's tape is like that friend who promises to help you move but shows up late and drops your favorite lamp..."
Haha, that's painfully accurate. I recently installed vinyl windows myself and decided to try painter's tape first—big mistake. It peeled off halfway through positioning the window, leaving me scrambling to hold everything in place. Switched to a moderate-strength adhesive afterward, and it worked surprisingly well. Just make sure you test it on a small area first; otherwise, you'll spend your weekend scraping residue off the frames... ask me how I know.
"Switched to a moderate-strength adhesive afterward, and it worked surprisingly well."
Interesting... did you have any trouble aligning the window properly with adhesive, though? I'd worry about repositioning if things aren't spot-on the first time. Or is it more forgiving than I'm imagining?
When I tried adhesive on my basement window, alignment wasn't too bad actually. You get a little wiggle room before it fully sets. Still, I'd keep a rubber mallet handy—saved me some frustration nudging things into place...
- Tried adhesive once too, wasn't a disaster but def had some alignment hiccups.
- Curious tho, did your mallet leave any marks on the vinyl?
- I ended up using a folded towel to cushion it...worked alright, but felt kinda sketchy.
- Honestly, I'd skip the mallet altogether.
- Try a rubber glazing block instead—firmer control, zero marks.
- Towels can slip around...been there, done that. Blocks just feel more solid and precise.
"Towels can slip around...been there, done that."
Yep, towels are a slippery slope (literally). Rubber glazing blocks are solid advice—used them myself and they do give you that nice controlled feel. But honestly, I've had decent luck with a small wooden shim wrapped in painter's tape. Firm enough to seat the window, soft enough not to leave marks. Just don't whack it too hard...ask me how I know.