My father put tiny windows at the top of all north-facing walls in the cabin (the bathroom is shown here). I won't go into the explanation of why he did this (theoretically it makes sense), but these little openings have been a hassle for years. Because the walls are adobe, the sill is about 1 foot deep. Not only does a window have to be placed on the inside, but also the outside of the wall.
For years, I've put off the dealing with the windows because 1) I didn't know what to do with them, 2) tiny custom windows are expensive and, 3) I was hoping I could figure out a way to open the widows. After years of stuffing the openings with insulation and layers of hardware cloth, I've had it. Rodents love these windows and use them as doorways, but the main problem is spiders and insects. I love the little guys, but I don't like the resulting cobwebs/beetle leg/dust bomb combos that result
For years, I've put off the dealing with the windows because 1) I didn't know what to do with them, 2) tiny custom windows are expensive and, 3) I was hoping I could figure out a way to open the widows. After years of stuffing the openings with insulation and layers of hardware cloth, I've had it. Rodents love these windows and use them as doorways, but the main problem is spiders and insects. I love the little guys, but I don't like the resulting cobwebs/beetle leg/dust bomb combos that result
So, what to do when you're cheap and in a pinch? Use what you have and be creative.
I love the look of tudor style windows with rondels of glass. Along those lines, I've seen some amazing stained glass done with bottle bottoms and glass plates and I thought I could do something similar. Rondels are expensive, but bottles are free and readily available. Shown at left are some wine bottles that Paul ad I cut (see previous post) for this project. I was concerned about the thickness of the glass, but what the heck, give it a try and see what happens.
By the way, I am not an expert at stained glass. I've dabbled in it, but I am very much an amateur. If you want to try something like this, start simple, have all the appropriate safety equipment and don't expect perfection in the beginning.
In this window, I wanted to combine glass nuggets (from any craft store) with the green glass. The first step was covering all the glass edges with copper foil tape, then arranging the glass pieces on a board, pinning them in place, and last, soldering. Shown at left is the arrangement of glass pieces on the board. As usual with my projects, I deviated from normal procedures: here, I was not creating a perfectly flat window to be inserted into a frame. I won't describe the installation process in detail, but my main concern throughout was maintaining the correct dimensions of the window opening.
At left, I'm holding the window after all the pieces have been tacked together with solder (the silver bead-looking things) on the wrong (outdoor) side. Shown here is the front side which has not yet been soldered. There is still a lot of copper visible and all of that is covered with solder in the next steps. At this point, the window (about 12" square) is quite heavy just from glass alone.
Shown here is the front (indoor) of the window after soldering is complete. Okay, it looks pretty sloppy, but this doesn't concern me because the window is 8' up and no-one is going to be looking at it up close. Because I didn't cut glass to fit between the bottle bottoms, a lot of solder had to be used to fill the spaces. This is a heavy window! At this point in the process, many stained glass artists would treat the solder to darken it. The process uses some nasty chemicals, takes more some more time, and didn't think it would add much to the final appearance of the window.
The installation required two frames attached to the window opening itself. One about 3" inside the sill and another flush to the edge. The stained glass panel fit between the two with some rubber weatherstripping along the edges for an airtight seal. The window itself is set back 3/4" from the face of the wall.
The view shown here is with the bathroom light off and the sun shining in. The little yellow light at the bottom is a set of beer bottles stuck into the adobe wall when it was built (another artistic addition from my father) in the 70's. I like the way the glass from the two types of windows complement one another.
The next windows (two in the kitchen) will be made out of clear glass bottles.
The view shown here is with the bathroom light off and the sun shining in. The little yellow light at the bottom is a set of beer bottles stuck into the adobe wall when it was built (another artistic addition from my father) in the 70's. I like the way the glass from the two types of windows complement one another.
The next windows (two in the kitchen) will be made out of clear glass bottles.
Stay tuned!