Old and worn windows and doors are on top of the list of biggest energy wasters. The sash pictured below was part of a double hung window  in desperate need of emergency care.

I removed the old window stops, cut the sash cords, removed the parting strips and removed the top and bottom sash from the window jambs. You can accomplish this without disrupting the interior or exterior trim.

Tools You will need for this project:

Ruler or Tape Measure, Grease Pencil for marking glass, Framing Square, Glass cutter, Oil and possible a pair of nips.

A note of  caution or two: Glass is very sharp be careful when you snap it. It is easy to get cut. Also snap the glass away from yourself and wear safety glasses and gloves. If you have any doubts about this process you can have the glass cut to size at a local glass shop.

For Materials you will need sheet glass  ( or glass cut to size) glaziers points, and glazing compound.

Once the sash is removed from the jambs, lie it down on a flat and level work surface. The next step is to carefully remove the old glazing compound with a putty knife. You will need to be careful when scraping the old putty out so that you do not damage the wood or break the glass.

Once the old glaze is removed you will probably have to remove the old “points.” Points are little metal wedges that hold the glass inplace. You can remove them by gently moving them back and forth with a knife or pulling them carefully.

With the Points removed you should be able to remove the glass from the sash.

When all the glass panes are removed you can clean any remaining grout and sand the sash. I also like to prime the 0ld wood prior to re-installation of the glass. You can then clean the the old glass, scrape off any old paint with a razor and set the panes aside.

If you have broken any of the glass, you will need to cut new replacement panes.  Measure the openings. The new glass that you cut should be slightly smaller ( about 1/16 to 1/8 ” less in width and length ) than opening measured from the exterior side of the sash.

Cutting the glass.

Lie the sheet glass on a blanket on a solid flat work surface. Measure and mark the glass  with the greese pencil to the appropriate size. You can only make a cut in one direction at a time.

Hold the Glass cutter so that the wheel is on your mark and carefully slide the framing square over to the edge of the cutter. This is to comensate for the width of the cutter.

Holding the square in position you can then “score” the glass with one long motion starting away from you and pulling the cutter toward you keeping slight pressure on the cutter. You should hear the sound of the cutter scoring the glass.

Once the glass is scored you will be able to “Snap” the glass. By Gently picking up the waste end of the glass while holding the good piece down flat on the blanket, the glass should “snap” along the score line.

When you have all the glass pieces you will need,  you are ready to start installing the glass into the window sash.

Putty.

When you open the can of putty, notice that it may tend to be a little firm and stiff. Take out a handful and knead it with your hand. This will warm up the glazing compound and make it easier to work with. After a few minuets you should start to feel it “loosening” up or “relaxing.” When it is warm and piable you can put a small bead of it along the flat of the sash where the glass will rest. be sure to have a continuous bead all the way around the opening.

Gently set the glass into the putty. With a slight but firm pressure and a little side to side vibration, the glass should bed right down int to the putty forcing the excess toward the inside ( lower ) part of the sash. Don’t worry about this at the moment, the putty will easily be scraped off with a knive when we are through.

Once the glass is nicely beded  into the putty you can install the glasers points to hold it in place. There are two type. One gets “Pushed” into place with a putty knife, the other with a small gun. Either generally works fine.

Depending on the size of the glass you may only need one point in the center of each of the four sides of the glass.

Now that the glass is held firmly in place we will install the balance of the glasing compound around the outside of the glass. I normally press a good bead around the whole pane and then go back in one smooth motion, pull the putty knife around the glass keeping slight pressure on the knife holding it against the glass at the same time holding it against the wood mutin bar and dragging it creating a nice angular bead around the pane. This takes a little practice, but it is the fun part of reglazing a window.

Thats it. When you are done with all the panes you are ready for painting and re- installing the sash into the jamb.

Tags: How to

This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Do-It-Yourself. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.