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.

It has been a while since I lasted put out a Post.

Well, what have I been doing these last two months? Beside the holiday stuff, I cut in a bathroom fan before the first snow fall and I am still waiting for the electrician to wire it in. I raked the roof four times between December 8 to December 28 because I was worried about ice dams forming from all the snow on it. We had a thaw on December 30 to 31 and the roof was fine but the gutter downspout near back porch froze solid and water was running on the outside so I spend 2-3 hours with a heat gun defrosting the downspout the day before the thaw.

I finely put back the shoe base molding; it was pulled off over 6 six years ago when I was refinishing the wood floors. Before I could lay the molding down, I filled the larger gaps between the floor and baseboard with foam insulation. Allowed the foam to dry, cut off the excess then applied a bead of caulk before nailing the molding it place. This has cut down on cold air drafts and made the house feel warmer.

I also finished a project I started last winter. Last winter I was working on the storm/screen door to the three season porch. I finished stripping, painting, and hanging the door last March but never got around to painting the storm window for it. I finished painting it in October and replaced the screen with the freshly painted storm window.

These last two weeks, I have been back in the basement working on another unfinished project waterproofing the basement. I started working on this last winter and wrote about it in "Moisture and Water Problems, Part 1 -3". I finished cleaning the exposed south basement wall and 3/4 of the east wall. I cleaned the areas with wire brushes attached to an electric drill. I put off a lot of loose cement. Here are some pictures of the cleaned walls.


Last Saturday, it took 6½ 10-lb buckets of hydraulic cement to fill all the holes in the prepared walls. Next I plan to buy 2" sheet of foam board insulation and cut it to size fill in between the studs above the fountain to the basement ceiling. I was using the spray foam but that been to messy, the foam would fall in on itself and on the floor. Using the solid foam board and filling in the cracks between the board and studs should work out better.

That is what I been doing on the house these last two months. I will try to be more current on my posting this year.

Preparing for Winter

These last two months I have been winterizing my house which usually involves a very long "TO DO LIST".

1. Remove all the wooden screens, clean windows put in the wood storm windows and caulk them all in with removable silicone. Done mid-October
2. Clean three-season porch window and cover inside and outside with plastic. Outside: done mid-October. Inside: Not Done.
3. Clean up flower garden: Pretty much done if it snows tomorrow no big deal.
4. Clean up vegetable garden: Done except cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, and beets. Brussels sprouts are the last to harvest; I do it around Thanksgiving.
5. Roll up and store fencing around the vegetable garden: Done late-October except the garden with the beets.
6. Clean shed so I can put yard furniture in it. Done 11/2/2010
7. Put front porch cushions up in the attic. Done 11/2/2010.
8. Clean gutters: Done mid-October but after the big wind storm the white pine needle fill the gutter up again. Hopefully, I will get it done tonight.
9. Put in a fan in the bathroom: I have cut and installed the roof vent. Partly installed the fan in the bathroom ceiling: Waiting for the electrician to do the wiring before permanently caulking it in.
10. Clean inside windows and putting caulk cording around the windows. Not Done
11. Check for gaps between where sliding and fountain meet. Last winter I found large gaps where the sliding corners came together over the fountain. I had moisture condensing in those areas in the house. I found approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch gap between them and could push the foam straw up about 2 to 3 inch up the sliding on the north side. Done
12. Clean bird feeder and put heater in birdbath: Not done.

I got most of the list done, so I no longer feel rushed and worry that I will not finish before the snow come.