Ft. Dalles, New Sash and Sill Repair

One of the openings had a pair of sash that were not original and had been cut down at some point. So after making a new sash plane and a detailed drawing of some of the existing sash I set out to build a pair to replace them. The original sash had a very unique (for Oregon) meeting rail joint, it is a dove-tailed mortise and tenon joint. I ran across this joint last year when I was working on some sash from Iowa, see this previous post.

Here is the mortise for the joint.

This is the pair done and fitted to the opening. The folks at the fort were pleased to see this pair go in as it provides light for the gift shop.

This is the pair next to the existing windows.

The last sash that I had to build was a casement sash that had the same proportions as the pair I just discussed. The opening for this casement is in the office but originally it was the woodshed and privy. The opening was covered by a shutter which has long since disappeared. The fort has some old photos showing the shutter opened. I thought that a casement would be appropriate since it opens in the same direction as the old shutter and the building has casement windows in it already.

Here are some photos of the completed casement.

The casement is the one on the right.

The rotten sill. Once I removed the rot about 2/3 of the sill remained intact. My general rule is at 50% rot then replacement of the element should be considered. In some cases I would argue that even if just the smallest amount original material is sound it should be saved. It depends upon the historical significance of the structure.

The sill repaired with a salvaged beam from Aurora Mills and some epoxy.

Golden, Oregon

Golden Church

The ghost town of Golden was founded in the 1860s in a small valley in southern Oregon.  The remaining buildings are now part of a state park and National Historic District .   I was contracted to restore 4 pairs of double hung windows and build one bottom sash from scratch for the church.

One topic of debate was whether or not to paint the windows once completed.  The building was originally painted white, but the siding is currently unpainted.  I considered painting the windows a brownish gray color to blend with the current siding but still preserve the window; I had some reservations concerning the longevity of the new glazing putty if it was left unpainted. After much consultation with our State Historic Preservation Office and an Architectural Consultant, we decided that the windows should be left unpainted and let the repairs weather.We will monitor how the glazing putty performed over time.

Repaired window with new sill