This 96 year old window has some beautiful wavy glass. The sash appears to be in good shape beneath the layers of chipped paint. There’s a second window just like it on the other side of the house.
The glazing has seen better days. It’s starting to fail which means that water can get in between the muntins and the panes of glass which will eventually cause rot. I’ll remove these two sashes for restoration offsite. While I’m at it, I’ll add some flashing to the sheathing behind the casing legs.
These sashes are non-operational. They are nailed in place through the jamb and the gap between the sashes and jambs is packed full of layers of old paint and caulk. I’m cutting the old paint and the nails with the buzzy saw.
I’ve temporarily plugged the window opening with a piece of plywood. Now I’m shoving some modern butyl window flashing tape between the homosote sheathing and the siding.
I’m lightly cutting through the cellophane backing of the flashing tape about 1 ½” from the siding edge of the tape. This will allow me to expose the majority of the adhesive so it can stick to the homosote and jamb without accidentally pulling the tape out from behind the siding while doing so.
The cellophane readily pulls free from behind the tape. I firmly press the tape to both the window jamb leg and the sheathing. This will prevent any water that gets behind the casing (window trim) from getting trapped in the window rough opening and causing rot.
Both windows have flashing tape protecting the rough opening at the jamb legs.
I’ve discarded the old casing legs and built some new ones with a rabbet that will serve as an outer stop for the sashes. The outer stops will serve as a surface to seal the sashes to. This will further prevent water from infiltrating into the framing over time. Plywood temporarily plugs the window opening while I restore the sashes back at my shop.
I’m steaming the sashes in a steam box in order to soften the paint and glazing for easy removal.
Scraping the glazing. I’m careful to contain any chips of paint or glazing as lead is present.
Removing the original glazier’s points.
Now I’m removing the panes of glass. I'll scrape them clean and set them aside for future re-installation.
After a few more minutes of steaming, the paint is fairly easy to remove with a putty knife.
Sanding the rails and stiles smooth with a random orbital sander is pretty quick. I’ll hand sand the muntons.
I’ve taped off the rabbets, sprayed the sashes with shellac based primer, removed the tape and oiled the rabbits with boiled linseed oil.
Glazing the windows begins with reinstalling the panes with new glazier’s points and packing glazing into the spaces between the edges of the panes and the rabbits.
I’ve smooshed glazing up against the muntins, rails and stiles. Now I’m tooling it flat at a 50 degree (more or less) angle.
Whiting powder cleans the glaze from the glass.
I’ll leave the sashes leaned up against a wall in my shop with exposure to sunlight. This will help the glazing harden so I can finish priming and paint the sashes.
Achieving crisp inside corners and a consistent bevel angle with glazing is an acquired skill that I’m still working on. Once the glazing is dry I'll prime the exterior side of the sashes again making sure to spray the glazing as well. Then I'll apply 2 coats of exterior paint.
Applying sealant to the inner stops and stool will create a good seal between the sash and the jamb.
I’ve pressed the sash into place, embedding it in the sealant that I applied to the stops. Now I’m applying flashing tape to the outer edge of the sash in order to seal it to the flashing tape that’s adhering to the jamb and sheathing.
Caulking the stops to the sash and the jamb will allow for a seamless paint finish.
I’ve applied sealant to the end grain of the siding as well as the flashing at the edge of the sash. This will seal the siding and sash to the backside of the casing. Now I'm applying a final coat of paint to the casing, sill and rails and stiles.
This project is done.
These windows should be good for a long time to come.