Weatherstripping for double hung wood windows

I've noticed that there are only a few detailed videos that explain traditional wood window weatherstripping.  I've read about a number of different options for weatherizing around the sashes and reducing air infiltration, including interlocking weatherstripping, spring bronze, bulb gaskets, vinyl jambliners, and felt-pile weatherstripping, to name a few. My instinct is to shy away …

Fascinating window casings from Russia

I love seeing exterior window cases that adhere to classical designs. I'm sure most American readers are familiar with the general layout of traditional window casings, so I'm excited to also share some window casing designs from Russian-speaking parts of the world. I'm not sure exactly how it's pronounced, but in English an ornamental window …

Do these traditional wood windows need replacement?

Just wanted to share a somewhat-sad video I stumbled upon on YouTube today. It's a 2017 video from Pella titled "Protect Your Home from Window Rot - Pella Wood Windows are Now Backed by a limited lifetime warranty". I'm trying to learn more about replacement window failure, so I figured this video would be interesting. …

Finger-guided rip cuts with a circular saw

Two recent videos from WWM's Steve Quillian have highlighted the use of finger-guided rip cuts with a circular saw. This trick allows for narrow rip cuts without setting up any actual guides or jigs, so long as the cut is within about one inch wide. (I've never tried this cut myself so this width range …

The levels of restoration skill by Steve Quillian

Steve Quillian posted a video today on the Wood Window Makeover facebook page discussing his thoughts on the various "levels" of window restoration knowledge. He breaks things down into six levels of increasing ability. Here they are with the Brazilian jiu-jitsu belt equivalents (getting back on the mat is a 2018 goal of mine). Level …

First attempt at tooling putty

Got my Sarco Type M putty to install my cut glass into my practice window. I figured I would try first on a single glass pane to make sure I could get the work done right before doing all six panes. I also received a Red Devil PD-1 point driver off eBay. I drove points …

Cutting glass: second try successful

I'm glad that I took a step back from my first attempt at glass cutting a few days ago. I think that I set myself up for failure, without knowing it. First, I spent some time learning more about the glass cutting tool I got from HD. The tool has a ball on one end …

Cutting glass: First attempt

Stopped by Home Depot this evening to pick up some sash glass. The openings for each of the glass pieces is about 9.5" wide by 11.5" tall. The store had 10" by 12" by 3/32" glass panes. I figured that these 10x12 panes would be perfect for my sash and generate little waste. I set …

Priming sash

(Pictures below!)

First sash stripped

I finally stripped the paint off an entire sash. This was just a training sash-- a friend saves old windows from the trash and let me take one to practice restoring. It didn't have any glass, but was in near perfect structural condition (no rot or missing parts) and had a few layers of old …