Everything takes a long time, or, the saga of the glass
Posted by K Thu, 05 Oct 2006 02:11:00 GMT
We’ve been doing stuff, in that stop-and-start manner that I guess everyone falls into, since I have come to realize some things about remodeling and DIY:
1. Things will probably take two times longer than you think (if you are lucky).
2. Things will probably cost two times more than you think (possibly more).
3. Things will usually require two trips to the hardware store. At least. And if you aren’t careful, one will be a panicked run for x, y, and z, while something is completely dismantled in your house.
It’s inevitable around here that I read up on fixing something and start to fix it, only to realize that the thing isn’t what I thought it was/doesn’t need to be fixed the way I planned for and/or there is something else I need to fix said thing.
Case in point: the glass in the front door windows. Even though our neighbors found the paper towels charming, I wanted to replace the clear glass with frosted glass, not only for light and privacy but also because the glass that was in the windows was not set any more, and fell down in the window, so that there was a nice crack at the tops of two of them where air blew in. This wasn’t going to be good come winter.
Anyway, I read up endlessly on glass glazing and tried for weeks to get psyched up for it. I went to Frager’s and got cut glass, putty, points, and a glazing tool. I was ready to go.
Finally, last weekend I decided to do it. However, upon more fiddling and Matt’s insistence, I realized that the windows DID come apart (the one I had tried upon initial investigation didn’t easily and I thought they were screwed and glued together, instead of just screwed) and that the window glass was kind of glued and sandwiched in between two frames, instead of being properly glazed in. Also, the window glass was a lot bigger than what I had gotten cut.
Attempts to properly glaze the glass in were given up quickly since the channels around the glass could have been filled up with acres of putty, so a trip back to Frager’s was in order, for more glass, some sort of superstrong glue to hold the glass in place, and a bunch of other things (Wall Dogs, a stud finder, weatherstripping, more porch paint, etc) that are on our endless and perpetual list of Things We Need To Fix Things In The House.
Then we came home, I took all the door windows apart, cleaned them up, glued the new glass in, almost had a heart attack when I thought the foam insulation I put in the channels was taking the frost off the glass (the first window got some foam on it as the foam expanded), and we put them back in. Done. In the end, less scary than glazing real glass (which I still have to attempt with the back transoms), but more annoying in that it took a lot of false starts. Also, that crack filler/insulation that comes in a can is a ripoff since it says in tiny print on the back that it will self-seal in an hour or two and that the can should be considered a one-time-use-only thing. Lame.
Anyway, that’s one story. We also got a fence, but that was someone else’s doing so we just stood around and looked dumb.
Other projects in the works or recently completed:
- Ding Dong the Old Doorbell Is Dead (and replaced with a new one that works exactly like the old one, some wacky manual thing, but it sounds like a doorbell and not some broken xylophone)
- Let’s Paint the Porch Battleship Gray Once We Get All The Nasty Astroturf Up
- Wacky New House Numbers Are Fun
- The Odyssey of the Medicine Cabinet
- Even If The Walls Are Primer White, You Can Still Hang Art
- Planting Your Yard the Random Way
Soon to be started:
- Welcome to Transom-vania (I will put this off forever because it is still scary, glazing glass)
- First Paint (I got paint for the office room last night…the first paint decision made and one I am sure I will regret although I may never get to actual painting because there is so much prep to deal with)
- Operation Fiery New Furnace
- figuring out where to get some remnant stone cut for the stupid bathroom bench and dealing with the shower glass, finally
- hanging shelves in the kitchen and closets now that we have the stud finder
I will have to post some pics sometime.
