Oculus in the New York Times today!

The New York Times features an article today on window preservation, mentioning the  summit I'm attending this week in Kentucky.  Here's the link if you'd like to read the article, which, in its conclusion, includes some of my thoughts on why preserving windows is important to the integrity of a structure.

News From The Summit

"There is nothing difficult about making old windows energy efficient.  It is work but we know exactly how to do it."  -- Amy McAuley
Testing at the Summit proves it.  More on this later...

National Window Preservation Standards

So the event we have all been waiting for is happening this summer.  At the end of July the Window Preservation Summit will be held at the Pine Mountain Settlement School in Kentucky.  I have been lucky enough to be invited as an advisor for documentation.  It is a real honor to be asked to come and participate.
The website for the event is here.  Some of the preliminary standards will be posted in the forum area so that feedback can be gathered from around the country.  If you have something to share concerning window preservation standards then feel free to chime in.
One of the most important things that will happen is the energy testing of storm windows and weatherization methods.

Services Available from Oculus

Since The Greenest Building has been released nationally on PBS stations I have received some inquiries about what kinds of services are offered by Oculus.  For U.S. clients I can:

• Build sash for pre-industrial structures and ship to anywhere in the nation.
• Travel to your project and provide window and door project consultation services.
• Provide complete window assessment services.

Please feel free to contact me with further questions about services specific to your project. 

The Greenest Building Movie!

The documentary film that I participated in is having its world premier at the end of January.  On January 31 the film will debut at the Gerding Theater.  If you are in the Portland area then please consider coming to view this most timely and important piece of work.  Here is a link for the tickets.

If you are not in the Portland area don't fret-the film will be screening in the following cities: Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago, and Savannah.
If going to the movies is not your thing then you can also catch the film in April and May on PBS.  I will post the exact times and dates when they come available.

Also, the film has a new  website so you can also go directly there to find out more information.

I hope everyone gets a chance to see this film.  Preservationists need to work hand in hand to tackle this important subject.
Together we are strong, divided we are weak.

Oculus in the News

Oculus was recently interviewed by Preservation Magazine. You can find the article in the September/October issue of Preservation. Here is a link to the magazine's website.

On a similar note, the documentary that I worked on 2 years ago (here is the post) is slated to be released in the spring of 2011. Funding for the project put it off longer than expected. Here is the link to the film website. The exact date will be posted there.

Enjoy.

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.