It can help to have a stock of different lengths of pine for the frame.
Brian is using a nail gun to assemble the frame in this photo. Drywall screws and an electric screwdriver are a good alternative method for putting the frame together.
Measure one diagonal, then the other. If they're the same, your frame is square!
Stick the double-sided tape to the outside of the frame face. Leaving a little extra at the beginning will give you a tab to pull when it comes time to take the backing off the tape.
Press down on the double-sided tape before removing the backing, to make sure it is securely stuck to the frame.
Clamping the heat-shrink plastic to a flat surface (like a table or counter) will keep it as flat as possible when you put the taped window frame down on top of it.
Press firmly on the frame so that the plastic sticks to the tape.
Turn the frame over and press around the edges of the tape and plastic once more before applying the heat.
Trim any large overhanging pieces of plastic before heat-shrinking. Leave about 1" around the whole frame.
Hair dryer time! This will take a few minutes. Move the dryer evenly back and forth across the plastic for best results.
Trim the rest of the excess plastic away. Hold the knife tight to the frame, and gently pull away the plastic strip as you cut.
Using a paper-cutter, if you have one, can be a quick way to cut up strips of thick plastic to make pull-tabs for your winserts.
Each winsert needs two pull-tabs.
Attach the tabs to what will be the bottom side of the winsert frame, using a staple gun or small nails.
The completed pull-tab.
Start attaching the 1/2" foam strip halfway along one of the short sides of the frame.
Use your fingers as a guide to make sure the foam is attached straight along the outside of the frame.
Peel the backing off the tape as you go.
DON'T do this! If you pull the foam too tight around the corners, you may end up with little gaps in your insulation around the corners of the winserts.
This is a better way to go around the corners. Create a bit of slack in the foam tape, so that there's actually a little extra foam around each corner.
