How does this basement window open

windows

These are steel basement windows on a 1968 house and it appears they open. I'm sure things are rusted & will require some "persuasion". I'd rather not break the glass, so knowing how they open will tell me where to tap with a block of wood & hammer.

You can see the handle at the top of the first pic (middle top of window). The second pic shows the opening mechanism. The third pic shows a rivet which could be a pivot point for the opening mechanism (red arrow). The last pic shows a drawing of how I think this window would look from the side when fully open. Does anyone have this kind of window and could tell me how it opens (what it would look like fully open)?

Second question: someone replaced the glass in one with an aluminum adapter for a dryer vent hose. The home inspector flagged it & said I should replace it with glass. It would be nice if I could take the window pane out to do this, rather than try to do it "in place" because a washtub is in the way. Can the pane (easily) come out? My gut says "no way", but it can't hurt to ask…

window

closeup of opening mechanism on right

closeup of opening mechanism on right showing rivet

drawing of possible ways it opens

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I know someone will ask: the brown & gray stuff at the top of the first pic are plastic bags that I temporarily stuffed in to fill the gaps (air was flowing in & you could literally see outside in places). The sheet at the bottom is a temporary "storm window" to help cut the breeze.

Best Answer

Got it open: I soaked everything with penetrating oil (inside & outside). Then I gently tapped the latch until it moved and the top opened up a bit. After a bit of wiggling, it opened. As you can see in the first pic, it's like drawing B. However, you can pull it out and get something like drawing A, but once everything is fully lubricated and working properly, I'm not sure it it'll stay put.

Also, there's a "keyhole slot" in the hinge to allow you to take the window pane out (see second pic).

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