Installing a window unit air conditioner

[John Timmins]

How should I install the window unit air conditioner in my garage?

I can lift the lower half of the double hung window and just hang it... OR

I can take the bottom out of the duoble hung window, install a sheet of plywood with a hole cut for the A/C unit...OR

I can remove the entire window, frame the top for a pane of glass then do the wood below with a hole for the A/C unit?

I am thinking about plywood with the hole. Should I put wood reinforcement around the hole like 1x4 or 2x4?

I am thinking about making a welded flatbar steel cage abound the outdoor "box" of the unit so somebody can't steel the A/C and then have a hole to crawl through to get inside.

 

[6768rogues]

I have 17,000 and 12,000 btu window shakers in my shop. I put them in the bottom sash openings of the windows, but made a steel frame to brace them outdoors (from the outer edges of the unit angled back to the wall) so the weight is not on the bottom sash that is closed on the tops of the units.