WINDOW SOLUTION

      Many may recall that there are a few diamond-pane windows in this house.   What you do not know is what we have done in attempts to restore the damaged pair in the dining room.  Only 1/2 of the original window remains. 

 

We have looked into having half made to match the one which remains (close to $1000 for an 

18" x 36").  We considered having the entire window duplicated in modern materials of aluminum and double-paned glass (again at least $1000 and it would have the modern between the glass grids...not to my liking).  We have searched salvage shops in the area and on the internet to find a suitable  replacement.   This is where we have found some success.

A single window of the same era and close to the size we are looking to fill

Unfortunately in the shipping it was greatly damaged

   It is time now to make this newly acquired window work.

Adding approximately 1.25 inches on all sides makes it a snug fit into our opening

Bondo  comes to the rescue again,  filling gaps and making the extensions appear to be part of the original window.  Removing the broken glass, cutting new diamond panes and pointing the glass makes the window ready for the painters to paint.

I will install the window this weekend.  Removing the plywood from the window opening will allow the light to come into the dining room from the west.  Check back to see how it looks!

THE MAGIC OF BONDO

    Having sung the praises of Gorilla Glue,  I will now give homage to Wallace's favorite product.....

BONDO .

     We have used said product for several fixes around Hawthorne House:  replacing rotten wood in a window frame,  merging old trim with new trim, repairing a deep cut from the saw, and now, most impressively, molding the stair rail joints.

Look closely at this BEFORE picture

Here is the beautiful AFTER shot

 Ahhhhhhhh, BONDO !

* What a difference this product has made in the making of the stair rail.

A HANDRAIL IN THE MAKING

    As we've come to find out, to no surprise, nothing original to this house is available in your local hardware store or even the specialty lumber mills in the area.  What this means is we find the closest product available (such as the crown molding in the roof repair which has the same basic profile but is slightly less thick),

Missing crown from roof

Newly primed close match to original crown

 change to an entirely different product (such as deck railing pickets since the deck is a new feature),

New deck, new pickets

beg, borrow or 'steal' from areas of this house or another local house (thank you Garland house),

Old floorboards from our kitchen and Garland Street house sistered in to the  back room

 pay an arm and a leg to have a product duplicated (the stair spindles are so unique),

60 duplicated spindles .....  Ka-ching!

OR

we make it ourselves (because, I've been told so many times and I am now beginning to believe it,  "Carlie, there's nothing we can't do." - DLS).

    So, make it we did.  We purchased an outdoor handrail that was close in size to the existing original rail at the top of the back stairs. 

Original handrail atop the bead board (2nd floor)

We milled the rail to be close to the original.

Purchased fir rail with a portion of the right side bead cut off

Using the table saw to remove the bead on each side of the rail

The router will give us a curved side

Clamping the rail before routing

After installing the rail it was time to sand the peak off the top side of the rail (originally milled to be an exterior rail it required a peak to shed water).

A palm sander comes in handy for this task (Thanks Lucius for such an awesome gift years ago)

*We are far from finished.  Check the following posts for the magic of Bondo and the completed wall.

  

DONNIE PICKED UP WHERE I LEFT OFF

The other day I ended here.

The next day, when I arrived at the house, Donnie had continued the project.

 Remember I said I would reveal Wallace's favorite adhesive/filler...bondo is it.  

The half inch gap between the hand rail and the new drywall is filled with Bondo .  Hardened, it becomes part of the wood and when sanded it can be molded to any shape.

Once painted it will look like one continuous handrail