Looking for advice to increase wall opening for AC unit

[Marc Dewalle]

I'm helping my GF with a carpentry project and looking for some advice. She has a "through the wall" AC unit that is 10+ yrs old and no longer works. We pulled it out and she bought a new unit that is suitable for "through the wall" installation (most window units are not). Because there is very little standardization in the world of AC units, the existing opening (and sleeve) is about 1" too narrow.

It was framed out when it was installed 10 yrs ago and those 2x4's are not load bearing. So I need to remove about 1" from one side, or 1/2" from each side. I would prefer not to take the entire wall apart and redo the framing for the AC unit. What is the best method to do this? I was thinking about using the circular saw and make cuts in the 2x4 and then use a chisel to remove them the wood between the cuts. Another option is to use my cordless sawzall, but I thought that might leave a jagged mess on that 2x4.

Am I on the right track or is there a better way to go about this? Appreciate any advice!

- marc

 

[tuffy]

If you have much experience with your sawzall you can get clean cuts just go slow .

 

[Snoonyb]

Welcome.
What is the exterior finish of the building?

1st use a stud finder to locate the framing members, because chances are that there will be a space on one side or the other, and a cripple could just be moved over.

 

[nealtw]

Exterior walls are load bearing what ever they are made out of. Older house were built out of 2x4s.