Repair of a window about 100 years old



This window was purchased online. It was reported to have had its origin in central Connecticut but was purchased from Pennsylvania. The new owner knew that two pieces were broken. When it arrived more extensive damage was discovered.



The window was poorly fitted into a wood frame that was built to support it.



Much of the lead came had deteriorated with age..



The client accepted the fact that the entire window needed to be rebuilt. I started by creating a "rubbing" for a guide for reconstruction then numbering all the pieces..



After disassembling the window, I soaked all the pieces in a solution of TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) for several days which made cleaning old, hard putty off the pieces much easier.



I was unable to match the two broken pieces with identical glass so I replaced all the background pieces (18 of them) with similar glass so all the pieces matched exactly for color, texture and density. After soldering all the joints and puttying the pieces, I brushed whiting (calcium carbonate) into all the fresh putty and let it set overnight.



While the putty was hardening under the whiting, I reworked and strengthened the frame for a better window fit. After removing excess putty and all the whiting, I reattached a piece of reinforcing rebar that ran vertically down the center of the window then mounted the completed window back into its frame.