Is the Wooden Storm Window Done Yet?

Completed Storm Window left to dry.

The answer is YES, I finished last coat of paint while writing this.  I have many excuses why it took me so long to finish it. Here are some examples snow storms, planting seeds, house cleaning etc.  The last time I wrote about this project I finished priming the frame, ordered the new glass and planned on glazing the window panes over the weekend of February 24-25.  The glass panes were glazed in on the 25th.  First, I needed to throw out any glazing compound that showed signs it was drying out after that it needed to be knead.  The kneading allows it to soften and become pliable when working with it.   The first thing to do is put a thin layer of glazing on the lip where the glass pane will sit.  Then gently place the glass pane in the frame and press on the glass to obtain a good seal between the wood and glass. You will see some glazing squeeze out along the edge but do not press hard enough to squeeze all of it out. 


This type of glazing point is much easier to push but they also
have a setback.  Their edges are sometime hard to cover with
the glazing compound.

Don't use these they are awful to work with. 
The setup on the right show how I use a putty
knife to push it in. 

Once the window panes are firmly in place, it is time to press in the glazier's points.  I thought I still had some good points at home but all I have were these flat and large triangle points.  I decide to use them since I did not want to run out to the store, this was a mistake.  The triangle points are hard to push in and they need to pushed in a lot further compare to the other designs.  While trying to push in one of the points, my glazing knife slipped under my thumb nail.  Boy, there were a few #### when that happen.  I kept on working until all the points were inside the lip edge.


A completed glazing corner.

I learned a lot about glazing windows from "This Old House" and the book Working Windows by Terry Meany.  I need to re-glaze and weather-proof all my old window in this house.  Years ago when I owned another house I used an one-inch putty knife to do re-glaze all those window.  It was hard try to achieve a constant angle across the frame and it was almost impossible to get the angles to meet at the corners with the putty knife.  I found a glazing knife two years ago while working on the storm window to my back porch door.  The design make glazing so much easier one end of the knife is angled and the other side is flat.  The angled end makes it fairly easy to get a smooth straight angle across frame and the corners come out nice.  The flat side is good for removing the excess glazing compound.  You still will need to practice but it does not take long to archive a good result.  I rolled out long ropes of the compound and pressed them along the window frame and the glass.  After I pressed in the caulk I using the angle end of the knife to cut through the extra compound until there was a smooth angle of glazing compound between the frame and glass.  If there are a few minor flaws I used my fingers get a smooth edge.  Wear plastic gloves when doing this since the compound does not easily wash off your hands.  I cleaned up the area and put the window against the wall for the next week since the compound needs a week to setup.  It took me about 3 hours from start to finish before I had a nice looking window.  The longest time I spend was trying to get those triangle points in the frame.

Putty Knife top.  Glazing Knife is on the bottom.

A  week later I primed the caulk with an oil-based primer from what I read I needed to use an oil-based primer.  If using a water-base primer the glazing compound may fail sooner because the oil migrates out faster.  Last Wednesday was the first day I found time to start applying the exterior paint on the frame.  The hardest part painting a narrow bead of paint along the caulk edge and the glass.  Doing this forms a seal between the glass and glazing.  If you use a scraper on the bead to clean up, there is an chance that the seal been broken and the window will not weather very well.



Primed glazing: You can see how hard is it to keep a steady
hand along the glass and glazing edge.

Unfinished panel on the folding door.

My next unfinished project is shellacking the second panel to my closet door.  I finished half the door awhile ago but never found time to complete the job.  Don't ask how long ago it was; it is embarrassing to think I left it undone so long.

Finishing Up Old Projects

I did not make it down to the basement until Saturday afternoon.  That morning I took a trip to Cedar Grove Cheese factory for their low-fat cheddar cheese.  While there I also brought a low-fat Colby, smoked little baby Swiss, smoked cheddar and a cheddar with basil & tomato in it.  I make a few stops on the way home and one of those stops was at Country Sampler in Spring Green.   It is a quilt shop that has primitive folk art theme.  Since I brought the house I have very little time to quilt but I still occasionally enjoy visiting a shop and finding out what is new.  I return home around noon and went to work soon after lunch.

Starting aliening the screen

Finished!

My project for the weekend was to replace the ripped screen for the back door.  Two years ago I put something through the screen causing it to rip.  I removed the ripped screening planning on replacing the screen after I finished the basement.  I actually believe I finished the basement two years ago.  Boy, did I have high hopes back then!  By the time winter ended I needed to work in the garden and scrape another outside wall to the house so the screen waited again and of course I use the same reasoning over the 2011-2012 winter but for the summer 2012 my excuse was I went to Alaska to help Dad.  So now I have no excuse and the work must get done.  I forgot how easy it is to replace a screen.  I thought it would take me all weekend but I finished touching up the paint early Sunday morning.

Before sanding

Primed side, I will be turning it over to do the back later
this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That allow me to start working on a storm window I stripped in the fall 2011.  I did find time to treat rotten wood sections with hardener that fall and to remove the window panes but nothing been done since then for the same reasons as above.  I pulled out my orbital sander and remove the last bit of paint on the frame.  I covered a wooden shim with sandpaper to clean out the lip the glass pane sits in.  Once I finished sanding and vacuuming the dust off, I painted an oil-based prime on one side of it.  I will prime the other side later this week.  Then I pulled the glass panes out of the safe place I stored them but broke off a large piece off the corner of each pane.  I stored the panes for a little over a year near the furnace and managed to keep them in one piece.  I moved them about a month ago when I defrosted the freezer and thought I put them in a safe place but the storage place was too narrow to support it when I was pulled it out.  The good thing is glass is not that expensive and I will keep the glass to cut smaller panes when I work on my 6 over 6 double hung windows this summer.  I ordered two 24"x24" glass panes today and expect to glaze the panes in the frame this coming weekend.

Winter Gardening

I spent this weekend working in the basement again.  I did some cleaning but most of the weekend I spent putting together a new plant stand.  I brought the stand in December when Jung had their Dollars Days.  I waited until the basement floor was done to assemble it and it was fairly easy to put together.  The wooden plant stand in the second bedroom just could not hold all the plants I start from seeds. 

Sunday, I planted two flats of petunias and put them on the heat mat.  I found time to start my 2013 Seed database.  This allowed me to determine which seeds I still need to order.  I will be ordering German Pink Tomatoes, Black Krim Tomatoes, Chocolate Beauty Pepper, Forkhood Acorn Squash, Table Queen Acorn Squash, Cheddar Cauliflower and Graffiti Cauliflower.  I will be trying these new varieties Black Plum Tomato and Lemon Mint Herb this year.

Basement's ups and downs

The basement may still look like a mess but the decluttering is progressing.

I took Monday and Tuesday off this week to work on decluttering the basement.  I did get the table cleaned off only to fill it back up so I could start sorting and arranging my tools.  Last summer my father gave me most of his tools to take home from Alaska.  I needed to buy another standing tool chest to store them in.  I spent Sunday going through them and sorting them by use.  I also need to sort through the many different types of nails and screws it would help to know what I have instead buying something I already have.  I got a good start before calling it a day. 

Sunday evening I emptied the freezer and stored all the food on the 3-season porch for the night.  I unplugged the freezer and allowed it to defrost over night.  Monday morning I moved the freezer back against the wall dividing the finished and unfinished basement.  Then I wiped the freezer down and started to organize it.  Almost all my vegetables come from my garden and I freeze my vegetables in one pint bags.  I fill 2-gallon bags with the same vegetables since it is easier to pull out larger bags than pint size bags when looking for something.  I was able to consolidated bags and place older dated items near the top to be used first.

After I finished arranging the freezer I could finely change the furnace filter. I have an Aprilaire air filter which only needs to be changed once a year. It normally gets changed each September before I turn it on. I never expected to have the freezer still in front of the furnace when I moved it early last spring to paint the floor. I should have known better since it always takes longer than expected to finish a job. Once I finished that I moved my router out of my sewing/craft room back into the unfinished section. Next the stationary bike was move out of that room to its old area next to the furnace. I am not sure if the bike will stay there but I am no longer tripping over it in the sewing room.

Polished Light Fixture

The dirty panned light fixture.
















While moving everything around I found three light fixtures I have been storing in the basement.  Last year, I had two fixtures rewired, a pan light for the dining room and bathroom light.  I kept putting off the installing them since I am leery about working with electricity.  The pan light fixture needed to be cleaned, I found time to do it and it looks great.  The third fixture I got as a Christmas gift from my Dad and planned on installing it in the hallway.  I made a decision that if I plan to straighten out the basement I need to take the time and finish many of my UFO (unfinished objects) so I can free up space.  What an original idea, HUH!


Cleaning up the leaking water along the north wall.

Tuesday was a day with many ups and downs. I went downstairs to start working and noticed a small puddle of water leaking from the basement dividing wall. I walked around into the sewing room and found a large puddle of water coming from the middle of the north wall. The puddle was less than a 1/4 inch deep but it covered a large area. I was lucky since I put my picture framing supplies on plastic grids so nothing was ruined. I did need to move everything out of the area so I could mop up the water with old sheets and towels. The leak was behind the drywall and I been trying to fix leaking in the sewing room by changing the landscaping around the house in hope that I would not have to tear out the drywall. That will be a big job. We had over an inch of rain from Monday night to Tuesday afternoon. The water did not flowing from the leak until late Tuesday night.

The broken down sprout.

After I mopped up the water and laid down dry towel to soak up anymore water coming in, I walked around the foundation trying to figure where the water was coming from. I found the lower section of the northwest down sprout fell off allowing the water to soaking next to the foundation allowing it to find it ways into my basement. I use sheet metal screws to hold it in place. I hope this will sweep the water away from the foundation now. This spring I will need to remove the decorative stones and back fill the area with more soil tilling it away from the house. If that does not stop the leakage I will then need to pull down the drywall and fill the foundation cracks with hydraulic cement. Past changes in landscaping on the south side have stopped the leakage problems on that side of the house.

After but I still trying to get the light on the right to work.

Bathroom before









Later I installed two of the light fixtures. I did the bathroom light checked the to be sure it work and then put in the hallway light. Later in the day the bathroom light stopped working and every since I been trouble shooting the problem with no luck. I decided the dining room light could wait until my brother comes for a visit because I do not think I can move the heavy ceiling fan from the ceiling and then replace it with the pan light fixture.

Hallway Before

My new Hallway Light.

Tomorrow I will be back in the basement working again and checking the wiring in hope of finding the problem.

Where to start?

I took Monday and Tuesday off so I have extra time to start decluttering the basement.  I been avoiding the job all week and kept procrastinating this morning by cleaning the bedroom.  While cleaning the bedroom I took sometime to walk through the basement and look over the job.  Should I start here?

The east end of the Unfinished Basement?



Or the Sewing/Craft Room

The south side of the sewing room?

The north side of the room?

Here is where I should start the table in the unfinished section then I have a staging area to start cleaning the east wall.  It is a small step but a start.

I am sure you all noticed that I am still trying to find reasons to put it off by writing about it instead of working on it.  Well it time to face the music, go down there and start it.

It's Done the Basement!

Finished Washer and Dryer Area

I put the final coat of paint on the basement floor today.  I restarted this project soon after Christmas.   I vacuumed and washed the area where the dryer and washing machine sits.  I turned on the dehumidifier to dry out the area and started painting floor on Saturday December 29 and finish it on New Year's Day.  I waited one week for the floor to cure before moving the machines back into place Monday evening January 7.

I had a lot of laundry to wash and dry since it had been a week and half the machine were out of commission.  I finally starting cleaning and washing floor the following Sunday and again turned on the dehumidifier and waiting until Friday January 18 to start painting on another four coats in the unfinished area.  

The last section to be painted.

Now I have another week for it to cure before I can move my freezer back along the wall that divides my sewing room and the unfinished basement.   Hopefully the weather will be below zero so I can defrosted and clean the freezer next Monday.  I move all the food from the freezer on the back porch while the freezer defrosts. 

My next project will be cleaning and sorting my stuff in the basement.  I would like to get it put back together by spring.  I also will be starting my plants from seed over the next few months starting this week.  Yesterday is only 16 weeks from Mother Day and it is time to start the geraniums for my planters.

A finished basement!!!

A Little of This and a Little of That

In between posting I have been working on crossing things off my winter preparation list.  Examples are:

• Changing out the wooden screen to storm windows
• Cleaning out gutters after the white pine sheds all it pine needles.  Every year in the first half of October my White Pines have anywhere from a third of its needles turn yellow and fall off the tree and clog my gutters.  This year I filled five 5-gallon buckets of pine needles from the gutters.
• Putting a tarp over the air conditioner unit.  I have central air and most people do not need to cover this unit but I do.  The reason I cover my unit  if I need to rake the snow off the roof this winter, the air conditioner unit is located near enough to the roof edge that snow falling of the roof into the unit could cause the fan blades to bend.  That could cause a problem on the motor and destroy it.  So I cover it to void any repair cost.
• In an earlier posting “Living Room Curtains”, I show on set of curtains I finished putting a hem in.   I finished the second set in upholstery class except for hanging them and putting in the hem.   The unfinished curtains have been sitting in the dining since June and I finally found time to hem and hang them before Thanksgiving.   Having guests for the holiday always moves items up on the “TO DO LIST”.  Here is the finished project.



The living room new curtain completed.  Forgive the antenna hanging off the
curtain rod but this is the only way I can get good reception.

• The garden been through several frosts since I pulled most of my garden in September but I did leave the all the Brussels sprouts, broccoli, 2 cauliflowers and 1 cabbage in the garden.  The weekend before Thanksgiving I harvested all those plants.  The cauliflower did not do well this year because of the drought so the heads were small.  There was enough broccoli left for two serving and an 8-inch head of red cabbage.  I have a second one in the refrigerator so my mother was the beneficiary of this cabbage.  I planted 6 Brussels sprouts plants.  The two Long Island Improved plants did poorly and one plant never formed heads.  I harvested the smaller leaved off that plants and sauté them with caramelized onion for Thanksgiving, MMM.  The Falstaff Brussels sprout did fair only forming small heads.  Jade Cross variety did the best these plants were the best producing variety I ever planted for Brussels sprouts.  I am not going to plant any Long Island variety next year.  I will still plant Falstaff because of the beautiful purple color and they taste good.  I spent the weekend after Thanksgiving blanching and freezing the sprouts.
• Since the weather is turning cold and we had several raining weekends I did a through cleaning of the house.  Pulled up the rugs and moving furniture to wash the floor and dust and molding before Thanksgiving.  I needed to look good since Mom was coming for Thanksgiving.  The rest of the family was working over the holiday or going to theirs partner’s family event.

Revised end of  year “HOUSE TO DO LIST”

• Cover up the 3 season porch windows with plastic inside and out.  Outside is done but this weekend I will be straightening up the porch and working on the windows.
• Finished painting the basement floor with waterproof paint.  YES that DAMN basement still, excuse my language but I am sick of working on it.  Is this the 5^th or 6^th year I been working it?  Who knows!  Now that we are in the holiday season I will not be able to finish this until next year but I do plan on beginning work again in December.

Those two items are enough to work on until my new 2013 TO DO IT LIST comes out.

Moving Forward

The cement basement walls are waterproofed and I started to celebrate until I looked at the wall dividing the sewing room from the unfinished basement.  While looking at that marked up wall I just started laughing at myself.   Oh well, painting dry wall is alot easier.

I still have a fourth of the basement floor to finish before I am completely done

100 Percent Converted

In March I completed the goal of converting three appliances over to gas.  The first was converting the oil furnace over to gas.  I have been planning on do this since I first moved in October 15, 2004.  That fall I had the gas company bring a line up to the house.  I waited until the spring of 2008 to replace my oil furnace with a new efficient gas furnace because I did not want to go in debit paying for it.  I informed the company installing the furnace that I would in the future install a gas stove and water heater, and to plan on that when installing the gas pipe.

I spent over a year looking for a gas stove on Craig’s List before finding a GE Profile gas stove in the fall of 2010.  Again I reminded the guy installing the gas line to the stove that there was still a hot water heater in my future.

Since the first day I moved into this house I have been arguing with myself about when to replace the electric hot water heater.  The reason why it took me so long was I could not decide to go tankless or not.  The installation and tankless heater was around $3000 in 2004 compared to a tank water heater, it was about 1.5 to 2 times more expense.  There were other reasons why I put it off, the water in southwest Wisconsin is heavy with lime and I questioned just how long the pumping would plug up.  Just look how close the limestone is to the surface; the picture shows an excavation for a nursing home expansion just north of my house.  If you lived here the water must be softened, the lime just builds up to quickly.  I discussed the tankless option with the pumper before deciding and he did not suggest tankless heater.  His reason was Wisconsin cold winters can cause a large different in temperatures with the water coming into the house and the tank ability to raise the temperature hot enough.  The frost does go deep into the ground, -20 is common here in January.  He also stated the tankless heater needs to be serviced twice a year.

The research I did before I talked to the plumber and I had been leaning toward the tank water heater.  I had them install a 40 gallon tank with power exhaust on March 21.  I do have a chimney but I never allowed the furnace or the water heater exhaust through it because I keep having a CO₂ monitor going off in the middle of the night with the oil furnace.  I also had many headaches in the winter and I believe there is a crack in the chimney.  When the roof needs to be done, the chimney is being pulled down.  I know it is part of the original design to my Sear’s house but it is unsafe and useless now.  I did mention the CO₂ monitor going off to my ex-furnace man but his remark was the monitors are just too sensitive what little I knew then.

Now I can check off converting over to gas. √

PS: On Saturday, I sealed the remaining wall with hydraulic cement.  This coming Saturday I can start painting the wall.

Basement Update



The finished job of cleaning out the northwest corner



The mess was half cleaned up before I remembered
to take the picture.



The last three weeks have been busy in between fighting a sinus infection.  I did get the northwest corner cleaned up and moved to the new shelving I put up in the northeast corner.  Before I could set up the shelving I need to cut down a pipe with old wiring in it.  I believe this wiring may have been where the original fuse box was located.  The pipe was cut off about 6 inches above the floor when they removed the old pipe and wiring.  I first tried a hack saw and then moved to use a jig saw to cut the pipe and final used a hammer to nock the partly sawed pipe off.  Using the hammer loosen the cement around the pipe so I mixed up just enough cement to fill in the area around the pipe and let it set a week before I could touch up the floor paint.

The wires were not live.

A week later I finished touching up the floor and could start setting up the shelving.  That Saturday, I stop by the local lumber yard and brought a ¾” sheet of plywood for the flooring of each shelf since it was cheaper to cut the flooring to size than to buy it precut.  The unit I brought you can buy the end shelves and the number of railing need for how many shelves you need and I decided on four shelves.  It took a day to move all the stuff and arrange it on the shelves.   I also moved the table and pulled the washer and dryer out from the wall.  Now, I finally have access to the remaining wall section that needs to be fixed.

The finished cut pipe.

On Saturday I starting removing the loose section of concrete with a scraper and finished removing loose paint and concrete with a wire brush attached to my electric drill.  The wire brushing is necessary but the cloud of dust in the basement is bad.  Before I started I stuffed towels in the crack between the basement door and first floor and also the doorway to the finished sewing room in the basement.  A dust mask (not the white fiber mask) is a must along with ear muffles and a face mask.  I can only take about an hour before I need to take a break and let the dust settled before the next round.  It took about 6 hours with all the breaks before the wall was done.  I spent all Sunday vacuuming and cleaning the layer of dust that I created on Saturday.  The worst part is now over and the remaining work on water proofing the basement should be easy.