Hewn and Hammered

circular door and window

This door / window combination is apparently part of an unidentified church somewhere in the UK - anyone seen it before? Anyone know where it is? I'd love to see more shots of this structure.

Broken Antique Window Glass?

Learn How to Replace It With Historically Accurate Restoration Glass®

thanks to Renee Rosiak & Bendheim for this submission

Owners of historic homes and buildings take great pride in their antique window glass. With its occasional wave, bubble, and characteristic imperfections, it testifies to the history of an old structure or a piece of furniture, exuding the charm and character of by-gone days.

The making of window glass began in the 7th century with the development of mouthblown Crown glass. The 11th century saw the invention of the Cylinder glass method of producing mouth-blown antique window glass, first developed in Germany. Today, Cylinder and Crown glass are two types of authentic, mouthblown antique window glass found in fine American homes and buildings built from the 17th to early 20th centuries.

When old window glass is broken or damaged, people often go to great lengths to find a perfect match in order to preserve the historical integrity of a home or building. Finding the right glass can pose a significant challenge, considering the relatively wide-spread production of antique window glass ended after the invention of the first mechanical method for “drawing” glass, to be later followed by today’s ubiquitous “float” glass.

Window glass salvaged from another old building can be one replacement option. However, it can often be challenging to remove it from its old frame, cut it to the required size, and clean it.

An excellent alternative is to purchase cut-to-size “new antique” window glass made today utilizing the same techniques and tools used to make mouth-blown glass centuries ago. Authentic Restoration Glass®, produced at Germany’s Glashütte Lamberts, is crafted by skilled glass masters. The factory has preserved the mouthblown production methods through generations, guaranteeing the historic accuracy of this glass. As a testament to its authenticity, Restoration Glass is found in our country’s most prestigious restorations, including the White House, George Washington’s Mount Vernon home, and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.

view through regular glass window with no restoration

 

view through Light Restoration Glass® window

 

view through Full Restoration Glass® window

To match precisely the original structure’s time period or the desired glass appearance, homeowners can select one of two varieties of Restoration Glass – “Full” or “Light.”

Full Restoration Glass is more distorting and accurately represents antique window glass made in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its distinct, somewhat “wavy” appearance makes it an excellent choice for colonial-style windows, antique and reproduction furniture.

Light Restoration Glass is less distorting and is an excellent match for glass found in structures built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its slight distortion is more pronounced when viewed from a distance, in reflected light, and over a large area, making it ideal for use in windows and doors.

If uncertain about the appropriate amount of distortion, homeowners can request samples from Bendheim or send a piece of the original glass to the company to determine the best possible match.

“New antique” window glass offers additional advantages to homeowners by blending historically accurate aesthetics with modern capabilities and standards. Today, Restoration Glass can be laminated with a special resin interlayer to provide an impact-resistant safety glass, which will remain in place if broken, as well as provide enhanced sound control. Current building codes require safety glass to be installed in doors and sidelites, among others.

To restore a damaged old window and replace its broken glass, homeowners can hire a glass installation professional or do it themselves. Those with the skill to complete the installation on their own will benefit from the following tools: protective gloves and goggles,  heat gun, putty knife, glass cutter, framer’s point gun, pliers, primer or shellac, glazier’s points, Calcium Carbonate (“whiting”), paint brush, and paint.

The steps below and an instructional video (featuring the restoration of Martha Stewart’s 1805 farmhouse window) will demonstrate how to replace broken antique window glass.

• Safety first. Put your protective gear on.
• Remove the window sash and place it on a table or other flat surface.
• With a heat gun, warm and soften the old putty so that it can be easily removed. Be careful not to burn the wooden sash.
• Remove the old putty with a putty knife, taking care not to damage the frame.
• Cleaning out the putty will expose the old glazier’s points. Pry the glazier’s points up.
• Run the glass cutter diagonally over the glass pane twice creating an X.
• Gently tap the glass from underneath to break it into pieces that can be easily removed.
• Remove the old glazier’s points with pliers.
• Clean and scrape out the remainder of the old putty from the cleared glass channel.
• After ensuring the window surface is dry, paint the channel with a primer or shellac. Note that regular primer dries in approximately two hours; shellac dries in approximately 10-15 minutes.
• After the primer or shellac is dry, place new putty inside the channel.
• Gently press a new glass piece into the opening. Squeeze the putty down by carefully applying even pressure on all four sides of the glass, ensuring a snug fit.
• Use a framer’s point gun or a putty knife to install one or more glazier’s points in each of the four sides of the opening. The glazier’s points will secure the glass in place.
• When using the putty knife, gently rock the glazier’s points back and forth until they are properly seated in place.
• Press more putty around the edges of the glass panel.
• Using the putty knife, flatten the putty to ensure a snug fit.
• Place the putty knife at a slight angle in one corner of the glass and run the knife along the side to remove extra putty. Repeat on all four sides.
• Take a small amount of “whiting” and spread it on the glass. Use a soft brush to rub the whiting on the glass and putty to remove excess oils, then gently clean it off.
• Wait approximately two weeks for the putty to dry before re-painting the window.

Good luck with your restoration project! Please view the instructional video at www.restorationglass.com for additional tips and information.

Greene and Greene Lantern

Greene and Greene Lantern, originally uploaded by Calsurferboy.

I'll try to regularly post images from the terrific Hewn & Hammered pool on Flickr, which has almost 3,000 images of beautiful historic homes, remodels, hardware and furniture for your to browse.

heat-sensitive textured glass tiles

Just like that weird heat-sensitive color-changing sweatshirt you had in high school, you can now outfit your kitchen or bath in the apotheosis of materials science. The tiles start at about $14 per piece - certainly not inexpensive - and should you find yourself with a surfeit of cash, you can find them for sale and currently shipping from the fine folks at Moving Color.

glass subway tile from Anchor Bay

Arizona's Anchor Bay Tile, one of the largest online tile vendors, is now selling glass subway tile in a variety of colors.

“We are proud to add this new tile collection to our already large selection of ceramic, glass, wood and metal tile,” said Steve Khan, founder and president of AnchorBayTile.com. “These tiles are available in a 3” x 6” size and come in beautiful colors that offer numerous unique design possibilities for any interior designer, architect or do-it-yourself homeowner who wants to add a classic subway tile design to any room.”
 
Khan also pointed out that glass subway tile is becoming more popular with his customers because of the timeless beauty it brings to any project. “Glass subway tile is a perfect choice for classic, modern and contemporary decorating styles and works well in areas such as in the kitchen as a backsplash, in the shower as a modern upgrade or as a subtle colorful complement to a tub surround or bathroom vanity backsplash,” Khan said. He added that his commercial customers find that glass subway tile works well for restaurants and hospitality projects.

Disney's Arts & Crafts lamps, fixtures & shades

The designers at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Tokyo & DisneySea have filled their rooms with some especially beautiful lamps, fixtures & shades, many of them in various Arts & Crafts & related styles. Flickr user Tavie has done the hard work for us by photographing 257 of them & putting them up in a photo set.

stuff I like: glass shades from Berkeley's Ohmega Too

Ohmega Too - near the similarly-named Omega Salvage on San Pablo Avenue near the Berkeley / Oakland border - is a treasure-trove of houseparts. Doors, medicine cabinets, a constantly-changing stock of restored antique bath fixtures and plenty of new hardware, they've got it all. But what they're really known for is lighting. The sheer immensity of their collection of shades at almost any size you can imagine will be a delight to any owner of an historic home; I dare you to go and not buy something.

Jay Curtis: "ArtGlass & Metal" in the Arts & Crafts tradition

Jay Curtis is a craftsman specializing in etched glass and metal, and his techniques include "water-jet cutting, hand painting, airbrushing, leading, beveling and glue-chipping." His work ranges from the whimsical to the elegant, and much of it is very strongly influenced by the floral designs of the Arts & Crafts Movement.

One recent line of products includes etched "special occasion" bowls, available for sale through the website.

Photos of Jay's more Arts & Crafts-influenced work are up in our art glass album on Flickr.

Architectural Salvage VI

Given the seemingly endless popularity of the DIY movement, awareness of green practices and recycling as parts of the design/build process and the high cost of new materials, salvage businesses continue to thrive:

• Chicago-based Salvage One, established in 1979, sells ... well, everything. And anything. Arts & Crafts furniture & fittings, A&C stained glass, fountains, doors, bath fixtures and columns - and that only scratches the surface.
• Minneapolis' City Salvage has a large stock - especially of art glass - at their First Avenue warehouse; they also have a blog "for the edification and enjoyment of all."
• Recycling The Past in Barnegat NJ has a good stock of the usual ephemera, plus lots of Indian salvage, tilenew furniture made from recycled / reclaimed wood and iron.
• The Old House Parts Co. in Kennebunk ME specializes in hardware, but they also have a ridiculously large stock of woodwork, fixtures & millwork.
• In Susquehanna PA, we find Conklin's barnwood & hand-hewn beams, which sells just what you'd expect. Whether you're looking for flooring or decorative and structural beams, they have one of the largest stocks I've ever seen, in a dozen different types of wood.

and in the UK, where architectural salvage is a way of life:

• The Salvage Doctor specializes in the "reclamation and restoration of cast iron architectural salvage and antiques," and carries an extensive range of radiators (cast iron, school- / hospital- /column- style, etc.), fireplaces & surrounds, woodburning stoves, rainwater systems (guttering, downpipes & fittings), gates and railings. They are located in Horsham, West Sussex.
• In Situ trade out of their Manchester ex-pub warehouse and studio. They keep a large stock of the usual - with attention to fancy pavers, lighting, glass, flooring, entryways and doors / door furniture.
• Cox's Architectural Salvage has operated their 12,500 sq ft covered warehouse in Moreton-in-Marsh since 1992. They are one of the largest Victorian ironmongers in Britain, and also refinish and sell their own line of nickel plate and brass hardware.
• Toby's Architectural Antiques has shops in Exeter and Newton Abbot. They carry a wide range of exterior detail - gates, ironmongery, roofing, slate, stone, water features - as well as kitchen materials, doors, light fixtures etc.
• Park Royal Salvage at the Lower Place Wharf in London sells everything from building materials, doors, windows and reclaimed plumbing to doors, windows, fireplaces and other old house parts.
• Robert Mills Architectural Antiques are one of the more specialized shops of their kind, with an especially large stock of architectural woodwork, mainly panels, columns, balustrades, mouldings and friezes, window frames, etc.

Preservation Brief 33: Historic Stained Glass

I find that all of the National Park Service's Preservation Briefs are interesting, and several have been especially useful in my own home repair projects; take, for instance, brief #33, which I had reason to consult this past month. It's a general primer on historic stained glass, written specifically for those of us with stained glass windows or panels in our old homes and the need to either maintain or repair them. Neal Vogel & Rolf Achilles' essay on historic stained glass windows is full of extensive information on history, dating, identifying and documenting, composition (even going a bit into chemistry and other materials sciences issues), ways to halt deterioration, tips on photographing stained glass and various repair techniques. If you have stained glass in your home, you need to read this. And, like all the other briefs, it's full of useful technical information but not written in an overly-technical style; it's accessible, readable and (as always) interesting.