Weakened and sagging, the bevels are about to fall out of this window in a house in St. Paul, MN.
Studio Hanson is restoring a beveled window for a house in St. Paul. The upper sash and centerpiece of a three part installation of bevels had nearly fallen completely out of its frame. The rounded rectangular section, bordered by 8 long bevels, had sagged in so that the bottom lead line was actually leaning onto the sash thumb latch. Nearly all of the border lead had cracked, but miraculously, none of the glass had broken or fallen.
The thick glass bevels contributed to the window’s survival. In order to repair the sagging section, the window had to be removed, and doing so would be a treacherous maneuver. Due to the fragile state of the window with bevels completely pulled free from their lead channels, there was no way the window would be moved, let alone removed, without collapse. With only a few snips of lead, I opted to carefully lift the center rectangular assembly free from the border glass followed by carefully lifting out each of the border bevels.
Left with only the wooden frame, we were able to work this free without the risk of damage to the glass.
Now, fully repaired, all lead junctions have been re-soldered and the panel has been reframed with zinc. New lead, putty and rebar will sustain this window for another century!
After Thanksgiving, we intend to make minor repairs to matching sidelight windows where the rebar has failed.
Restoration complete and ready for installation.
