Saturday, December 23, 2017

Merry Christmas All

I hope all our friends and followers are having a nice holiday season. We're having a pretty quiet month so far. For the first time in over a decade, I actually managed to put up a little six-foot tree. We don't really celebrate the holiday anymore, but I do enjoy the colorful lights to brighten up our gray weather.
On the house front, I am still futzing around with the shed windows. We discovered that not only were they put in upside down, they were put in backwards (with the inside facing out). Jeff removed them and I spent a day trying to remove the old glazing compound. I'm not sure what they used, but it's like cement. I honestly don't think it was actually window glazing compound. I'm not sure what it is, but it is very hard to remove and I'm worried I'm going to break the glass panes trying to get it all off.

I removed the glass that was cracked and decided to strip some paint for repainting. When I did that, I realized one of the windows was pretty rotten and so I had to try and fix it up some.
I bought a wood rot repair kit to try and fix this. It was difficult to work with and I didn't manage to get it very smooth, but luckily once it was dry, I could sand it down. I had hoped to rebuild some of the missing wood, but I could do little more than fill the rotted areas.
After a couple of days I could sand it down to smooth it, then I primed and painted the windows.
Once I had finished preparing the frames, Jeff cut new glass panes and I installed them. Then I had to add glazing compound. I had purchased the DAP glazing compound that goes in the caulk gun, and the stuff was horrible. It was like trying to shape whipped cream. I tried really hard to make it work, but I just couldn't get it smooth.
I was torn about what to do because I just wanted to be done with the project. I nearly called it "good enough," but today I went off to the hardware store and bought the DAP glazing compound that comes in the tub. It has more of a clay consistency and works much better for my beginning skill level.

Of course, I had to scrape out the earlier attempt. It was a lot easier than the original ancient stuff, but it still took a couple of hours to remove it. I should have removed it much sooner, before it had time to set.

I've done one window so far. My glazing is far from professional, but it definitely looks better than the first try. And honestly, I am ready for this project to be done so we can get these windows back in the shed since it's raining outside.
I'm going to have to let the glazing compound set for about a week and then paint it, then we can reinstall the windows. If we get a few days of clear weather, I'll probably also go out and paint the door because that's just stained and shellacked. I doubt it will stand up very well to the rain.

Be safe and have a good holiday everyone!

6 comments:

  1. It sounds like it's been a very frustrating project, but oh my the window looks really good to my eyes. I know it will be a relief once you are over and done with them.

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    1. I'll live. :) I guess I whined too much. I'm glad to be nearing the end of this project. We still have to paint the shed next spring, but having the windows painted and repaired should make that task a bit easier.

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  2. I ran into some of that cement quality glazing compound, too. Unfortunately I broke some original panes trying to remove it all. Now I just remove the loose stuff and glaze the voids. I store my tubs of glazing compound upside down so that all the oil doesn't sink to the bottom of the container. I thought about getting the tubes of compound but now I know not to. The window looks good after the repairs. I try not to get too fussy with the compound. It's a lot like drywall compound in that you need to stop yourself from over working it. One last pass it usually the one that screws it up.

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    1. Yeah, I ended up breaking all the glass too. I finally gave up and used the heat gun to get the last of it off which ended up causing hairline cracks in the glass. Oh well. Luckily the panes were pretty small.

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  3. The Dap 33 is fairly easy to use, but the trick is to press it in with a very stiff tool (like the backside of a chisel). You want to have only enough putty that you match the inside line of the wood. It takes practice, but there are several helpful YouTube videos that show how to do it. I don't recommend "bedding" the glass in additional putty. It makes later putty or glass removal a huuuuuuge pain in the ass.

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    1. I watched the videos and tried their technique, it just proved to be beyond my skill level. And for the record, the windows were bedded in with compound by the previous person; I think that's why they were so hard to clean out the compound. I ended up breaking out all the old glass to get off the glazing compound and replaced it with new wavy glass from salvaged windows. (shrug) The clay stuff takes FOREVER to dry. They're still sitting in my basement waiting to get dry enough so we can paint them and reinstall in the openings.

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