Stupid Window Tricks, Part 2

I'm on a posting frenzy today. I recently posted how I as able to update the look of my windows by removing some old 60's design elements. Well, today I learned a little more about the old windows. There are a couple of latches on the top sash which when released, appear to allow the top sash to be moved in some way. In what way, I wasn't sure until today. I didn't know if they just allowed the glass to drop or to be completely removed for some reason. This afternoon, I had removed one of the screens to get ready to replace the old screening. While the screen was out, I flipped the levers and the whole top sash tilted out. Not for cleaning, but for airflow. Why you'd use that instead of the lower sash (which has the screen) I don't know, but it's still kind of cool. The few windows I've tried so far move easily and were not painted shut, which surprises me to no end. Considering I don't want bugs in the house, I don't think I'll be using this window feature a whole lot.







Not shown in these pictures is the before & after difference after replacing the old screens. The screen frames were a little different than I had worked on before, but it's not like replacing screens is rocket science. The old screens were gunked up and nasty. The new screens (I used metal instead of the cheaper vinyl screen) almost disappear compared to the old ones.

Raise the Roof!

Now that school is out for the year, I've got a friend who's a teacher coming over to give me a hand with my roof. He does roofing & siding jobs in the summer as a way to keep his wife happy with the extra income. Actually, it supports his golf habit. I'm expecting to remove two layers of shingles, which should be fun. I know there are two small leaks to deal with, one in the garage (water slowly drips onto the concrete floor - not a big worry) and one around the chimney (no showing water damage inside, but there is evidence of a leak when you look from in the attic). I'll add a full ridge vent and remove some unneeded vents on the back of the house. I'll also add at least one tube-light (similar to a skylight) to help light the hallway and probably another for the main bathroom. The gutters need to be re-hung as well to make them flow properly, so this is as good a time as any to do that.

I'm willing to bet that the roof has never had shingles removed. Figuring that most shingles have around a 20-25 year life, and the top layer looks to be at least 25 years old, that would account for everything on the roof right now. The top layer is pretty brittle and curling in spots, so I hope it comes off easily...

More 60's Style Bites the Dust

As I was re-doing my daughter's bedroom, I took the time to look more closely at our windows. All windows across the front of the house had an insert in them which was laid out like a wine rack - diagonal mesh, basically. You can see what I mean easily in this winter shot of the front of the house:




We hated that design with a passion, but figured we were stuck with it until we got time & money to replace the windows. As I was looking at the windows in my daughter's room, I noticed some small clips on the inside pane of glass, as well as some slide clips on the ugly insert. Being the super-genius that I am, I figured that if the glass could be removed without breaking the clips, I could remove the ugly. And so it happened. Two clips have broken so far due to being brittle with age, but the inserts are gone! I didn't take a proper "before" picture, as the wife and I were too happy about just being able to remove these damn things. Here's basically what we started with (ignore the ugly paint choice - my daughter is 9 and it was her choice):




A few minutes later and we're left with "normal" windows. Best part is now we don't have to replace the windows just to update the look of the house! There are two windows, however, which have the glass cracked on the outside pane which I'll have to replace and reglaze at some time in the future. Still better than replacing the whole window though. I consider this a 10 minute facelift which removed at least 10 years of age from the house.




On an unrelated note, does the Project Tracker I have on this blog show up properly on people's computers? It works fine for me at home, but at work it doesn't show any detail properly. Maybe due to a firewall??