Vintage Window Restoration had the privilege of working on the Hughes House located in the Monteith District in Albany, Oregon. Our work orders were to restore 16 sash, 8 jambs, and manufacture 8 wooden storm sash. The first order was to manufacture the storm sash for the windows, all of which were of varying dimensions due to uneven settling over the past 140 years. Once the sash were built and custom fit to each window, the sash were collected from the openings and packaged for transportation to our processing shop on Water Avenue. On the same day, we would process the jambs by removing old paint, making wood preservation and restoration repairs, and applying the first coat of paint in anticipation of window installation.
One window jamb was so heavily deteriorated, due to being on the second floor facing South, a new window jamb was built with in-kind dimensions and wood species. During the window jamb removal, the exterior facade had been found rotting behind the paint. Upon further investigation, a past repair had been made with plywood and new casing boards of poor quality that created the perfect habitat for rot and mushrooms to grow. Fortunately all of the original house materials were in superb condition, but were treated with a pinetar and borate preservative to ward off any future issues. The work change order was made using traditional materials, all of which were pre-treated with a penetrate epoxy and pre-painted prior to installation giving the house an authentic appearance prior to the ill-fated repairs of the past. This particular project involved many of our services, including wood window restoration, preservation, reproductions, wood storm sash, exterior facade restoration, and numerous small discrepancies along the way.
While the original sash were out of the opening, the custom made storm sash would cover the window opening, giving the homeowners natural daylight with the ability to still open the storm sash for fresh air. During our time of removing the glazing putty, past repairmen used a very hard and difficult to remove glazing putty which resulted in a very high glass failure rate. Along with the odd putty, the interior was heavily dented and various parts of the window cut off and re-attached, giving a very unaesthetic appearance. We found that in the best interest of preserving the original wood windows, new reproductions would be built and the sash stored in the garage for future reference. The reproductions were installed with a close traditional finish and reproduction hardware was used.
We kept the project clean and clear at all times and kept the homeowners in the loop and took opportunities for educating and interpretation when unique features were discovered. By the end of the project, the homeowners were very pleased with the work performed and managed to develop a sense of community in our historic district.
This type of project is ideal for Vintage Window Restoration. It provided a challenge that we were able to resolve efficiently while delivering a product and service of good quality and in a timely manner. If you feel this is the type of project for you, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. Our team is able to handle every aspect of wood window restoration, preservation, repair, along with accessories like storm sash and screens. Call Vintage Window Restoration today!