Rebuilding a historic wood window

All,

I hope you had a fun New Year's celebration.

As we get into the new year, I am mapping out projects for next year and reviewing a few I never posted on. 

One of those was rebuilding a historic wood basement hopper window.  Most people that have a 100 year old basement window have been perplexed with what to do with these windows...
These historic windows are usually 3' x 2' openings, or another similar cinder block or brick opening size, and swing into the home.  They feature a 5-1/4" door jamb cut to make a window frame, and a 1-3/8" window sash which mounts to two top hinges and typically has a center cam lock.  They are set into a cinder block opening and secured with concrete at the sill, nails through the sill plate that they rest against at the head, and sometimes, fasteners through the side jambs into the concrete foundation walls.  In many cases, glass has broken from lawn mowers throwing rocks, etc...and often the replacement glass is merely siliconed, rather than glazed, in place with historic glaze that is built up flush with the mullions to prevent water infiltration. 

Before we go any further...let's look at the options for this window:

• Glass Block - High security, low maintenance, high light transfer, somewhat energy efficient, low or no ventilation (a small vent can be installed)
• Vinyl replacement slider with block frame - Medium Security, low maintenance, lower light transfer due to reduced opening and buck opening requirement (window opening must be framed out), higher energy efficiency, medium ventilation
• Original Window, Inswing wood hopper window- Low security, high maintenance, medium light transfer, low energy efficiency, highest ventilation.

I chose to rebuild the original window frame and sash to keep the historic integrity of the home, keep the option for increased ventilation in the basement or to get things through the large opening, and addressed the security concerns with reinforced locks (there are many options here, but I don't want to get into the weeds).  We also used a window well covering system to increase energy efficiency and lower the maintenance requirements (more below).

These windows typically sit at ground level...as such they are suseptible to quite a bit of weathering without proper maintenance and installation.  This was the issue with mine.  Below, a before picture of one of the basement hopper windows.





Original window had cracked glass, peeling paint, gaps between the glazing allowing water infiltration, a damaged frame, was sealed shut, and had multiple locks added through the years.


Now, let's look at each challenge to restoring this window:

• Damaged frame: Rebuild, or if necessary, replace
• Damaged locks: Replace, and consider upgrades with metal reinforcement behind the wood frame or security bars. 
• No weather strip Peeling paint
• No storm window
• Cracked glass

Here are a few ways to tackle this issue:

1. Retrofit, or use new wood frame with applied weatherstrip.  Add flashing on bottom of sash to dicect runoff water away from the frame, or add quarter round with weather rubber applied weather strip in combination with flashing.   I used a new wood door jamb made with Auralast, a wood which resists water absorption, wood decay and termite infestation.  This is perfect, since these windows sit at ground level.  But, that said, it is also good to dig a window well 6" - 12" below your wood window, and fill it partially with gravel so that water does not collect around your window frame. 
2. Remove all paint and repair wood work as needed (determine if you have lead based paint and take appropriate precautions if it is present).  I used a wood hardener on the softened wood on the bottom of the sash and treated it with Boiled Linseed Oil. 
3. Replace Cracked glass or Reglaze Window Panes: Remove all old glazing compound, metal glaziers points, and glass. Re-install with silicone between the inside wood sash and inside glass side.  Add glazier points to hold the glass in place while the silicone dries.  Then, re-glaze glass to the exterior side.  Repair mullions (I used square dowell rods to rebuild a mullion)
4. Reassemble or build a new frame (Sorry, no process pictures here...but you will basically replicate the old frame with new materials.  Again, I purchased a 6-9/16" door jamb kit from Home Depot and cut the jamb to size, and assembled the frame with 2-1/2" wood screws and metal reinforcement at the corners. 
5. Install New Frame by screwing the head jamb to the sill plate it sits against, shimming the sides, and bottom.  Underneath my sill (planed down from a door jamb), I had pressure treaded lumber which was secured to the opening with tapcons.  The Sill was then anchored into these boards. 
6. Complete your job with closing hardware and a window well cover or storm window.  This is for security, energy efficiency, and water mitigation.

After photos:

Finished Window.  Visible are the double locks, finger pull, window well and well cover.

New framing or retro-fitted weather stripping will dramatically improve the energy efficiency of the unit.  A storm window or window well cover will also help with this, reducce future maintenance, and help resolve many security concerns. 

Be sure to re-grade the land around your window, and add a window well, dug at least a foot below the window frame and partially filled with gravel.

Window Well protects our restored window.  It can be applied to the foundation wall with tapcons and is removable for large construction projects in your basement that require passing items through your window. 

Some of the products mentioned in this post to rebuild the window sash are shown above.

This mullion was flush with the window..which meant we could not glaze it.  So, we cut two square dowel rods, glued them together, glued them onto the existing mullion...and after glazing and painting, the window sash is fully restored! 

Other Resources:
More detailed window rebuild information is available in the following Preservation Brief: http://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief09.htm


All for now,

-Ryan & Kayla-

Planning an Expanded Garden for 2012!

Friends,

We wish you a happy new year!  What are your goals for 2012?

For us, one of those goals is to produce more of our own food.  We look forward to planting an additional square foot garden in 2012, as well as add a rain barrel to conserve natural resouces.

Below, a few photos from the garden in 2011....

Square Foot Garden, June 2011.  Left to Right, Back to Front, Tomato, Cucumber, Carrots

Tomatos

Carrot Harvest

carrot/cucumber harvest

Not in the garden...but we did have quite a showing of butterflies this year on the butterfly bushes!

That's all for now!

-Ryan & Kayla-

Shedding Past Remodels - Removal of a 1940's Bookshelf in Favor of a Coat Closet.

(October 2011)

Well, in the course of a busy summer/fall this year, we forgot to post a few updates.  At this point, we are basically done with all of the projects we set out to do in bungalow.

From the start, this home, and neighborhood has been an incredible place to make a home for our family.  As we enter 2012, we will continue to post updates from around the bungalow, but they should be focused more around the community, gardening, and decorating updates.

Thank you so much for the time you have shared with us on this blog!  We hope these project updates have given you confidence in the ability of a casual DIY couple, to tackle many rewarding projects around the house.  Additionally, we hope that they have given you an appreciation for the time period in which the home was built...from the solid craftsmanship of the homes, to the design of the neighborhood with esplanades...it has been a great journey and we look forward to the coming year!

This past year, the coat closet project was finally completed.  After sourcing a 100-year old 2-panel door at Audrey's Place in Indianapolis, we were able to convert a 1940's built-in bookshelf back into it's original life as a coat closet:


Before:

Before, Coat Closet entry is covered by a bookshelf which we believe was built in the 1940's.

This vintage 2-panel craftsman door was the perfect size and style for this coat closet.  The door handing was reversed from the original 1919 handing.

 

Inside, the closet now boasts room for shoes and extra layers

-Ryan & Kayla-

Restoring Bedroom Hardwood Floors

(October, 2010)

Well, it's been a few months and as usual, things have been busy.

One of our projects last year that we did not post was the refinishing of the flooring in the bedroom and hallway.  We held off on the second bedroom because it required sourcing replacement flooring.  Then, during routine cleaning, the carpet cleaner leaked several gallons of water while it was shut off.  The drain hose on the rental unit had a pin-hole leak.  By the time we noticed it, the carpet had to be pulled up to mechanically dry the padding and floor.  After realizing the carpet had stretched, we decided to replace it...but the replacement carpet quote would be higher than refinishing the hardwood floors...if only we could find about 100 sq. feet of replacement flooring for the room.

But our luck was about to change.  We found replacement flooring at Doc's Architectural Salvage in Indianapolis this month, and after spending time prepping that reclaimed wood, we ripped up the final pieces of blue carpet in the home.  We could not source enough of this wood to stagger the seams of the new wood.  This is a tongue and groove sub floor which is also the finished floor.

For this project, we used a belt sander, palm sander for detail, wood putty, Minwax brand "Special Walnut" stain and an Oil-Based semi-gloss topcoat.  The topcoat was sanded between coats for an ultra-smooth finish.

Below are the before, during, and after photos:

Long way to go...

Replacement subfloor/finished floor is layed.  Next, the entire room will be sanded with a belt sander.  Pre-conditioner will be applied to the wood floor, followed up by two coats of Minwax Special Walnut stain (for a dark, distressed look) and three coats of oil-based poly

The finished product

Finished product

Back to normal, but with a lovely, rich flooring...and no more blue carpet!

All for now,

-Ryan & Kayla-

Time for a break

(April, 2010)

After the bathroom remodel, it's time for a break.  We hit the road to see family and visit the beach in April.

"Vintage Modern" Finished Bathroom Worth the Wait

(March, 2010)

The bathroom remodel is (basically) complete.  We are very happy with the finished product.  The lesson learned was that Kayla is much better at work requiring attention to detail, like tiling.  She did a great job with the shower surround!

Our shared tile job is finally completed!

Another view of the tile job

We will later add a vintage-inspired shower curtain and darker towels.  The bathroom as of 2011 is shown, below:

Finished Bathroom includes vintage style shower curtain, dark towels to match the marble shower border, a subway tile shower surround, "vintage modern" octagon floor tiles, and chrome hardware throughout the room

Planning and Beginning a Bathroom Remodel

(January, 2010)

Happy new year!

It is winter, and Ryan needed a new project to keep him busy and learning.  During a re-grouting this winter, Ryan noticed that a couple of tiles were loose.  Oops!  The previous bathroom remodel utilized drywall behind the shower walls.  We decided to use this as an opportunity to renovate the bathroom.

To recap, this was the last update to the bathroom, before the demo work:

This bathroom style does not reflect the 1920's.  In our remodel, we hope to use period-appropriate colors, hardware finishes, and tile for a "vintage modern" appearance, rather than a 1990's ranch style.

But first, Ryan had to gather some valuable inspiration at The Tile Shop.

Then, the demo:

Kayla Pulls the First Accessories and Tiles--and we are committed to a month-long process, with no extra bathrooms in the house!

Another secret uncovered is an old window frame and top sash, which was covered by tile in a previous remodel.  We decide to leave it covered because our neighbor's dining room is directly across from the window :)

Ryan celebrates the easy removal of the old tongue and groove flooring.  Next will come the new subfloor and hardiboard.

A new toilet and cast iron tub are introduced to the room. 

We will post the finished bathroom pictures soon.  So far, the hardest lesson has been the realization that replacing a bathroom in a one-bath home is a sacrifice, from start to finish.  But the results will prove to be worth it, we are sure.  We just picked out subway tile and a contemporary glazed octagon ceramic tile floor.  marble inlays will be added as a border for the subway tile in the shower surround.  Time period sensitive chrome hardware will be used throughout the room, and a pedestal-influenced vanity from Home Depot with bottom drawers will finish the room off!



Del Mar Vanity from Home Depot.  What we like: Vintage styling cues from the pedestal sink, with modern bathroom storage needs taken into account with the handsome shaker cabinets, below.


We also consult a vintage Aladdin paint color brochure found online, to pick a light blue paint for the room:

Evercote House Paint Color Chart from 1917:

Check back soon!

-Ryan & Kayla-