AdammsGallery

Roundel Quatrefoil Leaded Glass Windows

                                                                        
                                                                    
                                                                                                                                 

The quatrefoil shape was most popular during the Gothic and renaissance eras. The word quatrefoil means four leaves and is specifically referring to the four-leaf clover. The shape was predominantly used in churches above the Gothic arch. Today we use the quatrefoil shape in Mediterranean, and Spanish architecture.                                                                                                                          

Quite often you will see stained, beveled, and clear leaded glass designs in the quatrefoil shape. We were fortunate to be contracted to fabricate and install two 42" diameter windows using roundel glass. The home was a beautiful home in Malibu, California. The two windows were in a bar, music room, and were in Cantera Stone frames. Inside the frames was a steel set of double casement windows with clear glass. We removed these by cutting the steel and compressing the frame.

We usually use roundels made with Lambert Glass from Germany. However, with the Covid problem Lambert has ceased producing roundels, and they have no immediate plan to continue. We were referred to Monarch Glass Studio in Kansas City. Monarch makes custom roundels that are marvelous. They will make virtually any color, shade or tint you can think  of, and in any size. Tyler at Monarch was a great help.

                                                                                                           

Our customer wanted to use very pale colors to try to match roundel windows he had seen in the Doge's house Venice, Italy. Monarch supplied the colored roundels, which we mixed with clear. We used 7/32" H round lead, and the background glass was clear Wissmach seedy glass. We used two 3/8 steel reinforcing bars on each window. We bent the bars to conform to the lead lines.

                                                                                                                     

The installation was not straight forward. the Cantera stone was set from the inside with four separate pieces and the same on the inside. While the house was not that old the pieces either were not set squarely originally or they had slipped over the years. As a result the opening on the inside was different from the outside. Even after taking exact measurements and making  a template there were corrections we had to make. In addition the two windows themselves had different measurements. With no molding we used Dowsil 795 on the outside and Color Fast Flexible Grout on the interior to match the stucco walls. 

                                                                                                                                     

The final installation was magnificent. The subtle colors filtered in the light and the green plants and trees outside worked very well with the feeling the window and the room. 

The University of Southern California -Doheny Library- Leaded Glass Window Restoration

    

Two years ago we restored the front windows of the Doheny Library at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The Doheny library was built in 1931 by Edward Doheny. Edward Doheny was the first person to discover and produce oil in Los Angeles. At one point he was the richest man in America. The library was built to memorialize his son Edward (Ned) L. Doheny Jr. who was killed in 1929. The library was built at a cost of $ 1.1 million.

                                             
     A major portion of this years project is The Los Angeles Times reference Room. The room as 23 leaded glass windows that are approximately 3' wide and 16' tall. They are comprised of 4 section each in a steel frame. The glass as all hand blown German glass.Originally the glass was a pale amber color, but over time the glass changed color because of a magnesium imbalance. This causes the glass to turn a rose color which with the underlying amber shows as beige. It is actually a very pretty color.

                                            
   This same effect of color change can be seen in what has been called "Desert Glass". Desert glass refers to clear glass bottles that when stored on roof tops in the desert (typically Arizona, or Southern California) turns rose or purple over time. It is sometimes called "sun colored amethyst glass".

                    
     The windows are in poor condition with cracks in the lead came, dried up glazing, broken pieces, and sagging. They needed total restoration. We worked with K.C. Restoration on this project just as we did two years ago when we restored the front windows. We have also worked with K.C. on the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, and the Tower Theater among others. K.C. removed, and installed the windows. We soaked the windows in vats of water to loosen the old putty, and contain the old putty dust(which contains asbestos). In this case it also made removing the old solar/UV film that had been applied to the glass much easier.

                                                       
         After the bath we disassembled the windows, cleaned the glass, and leaded them up with new lead came. Staying with the original lead choice, we used 5/8" H flat lead on the border and 1/2" H flat lead in the body. We added them up, soldered the joints and used Atlas "Wonder"putty to glaze.

                                
          The reinforcing bars are solid brass rods with a flared end the flared ends are set behind the steel sash styles to lock in the windows. As with most pre 1930's windows the bars are attached to the windows with copper wire. We used 16 gauge bare copper wire that was soldered to the joints of the windows and then twisted around the bars.

                                        

                                             The windows are installed in steel frames with screw in steel moldings.

                                                                      
                                                                   Exterior sealant still needs some cleaning up
                                                                       Now on to the rest of the windows

 

Leaking Leaded Glass Windows

Leaking  Leaded Glass Windows If you have older leaded or stained glass windows you may be experiencing leaks. You may see this as droplets forming on the lead came, and dripping down the window, or as a pool of water at the window sill. Remember that water flows down hill, so if you see water anyplace on the window or sill it is most likely coming from a place higher up. After the rain stops and the water dries you will see water marks where the water has dripped. DO NOT CLEAN these off. The dried spots will help us determine where the leaks actually are.     Leaks may be from dried out a flaking putty, or they may be from broken, or missing lead came. On older windows(65-100 years old), the smog and acid rains have disintegrated the heart of the lead came, and in many cases it just falls apart. Also improper repairs lead to weakened windows and cause leaks. If the leaks are caused from dried out and missing glazing putty we reglaze by forcing the new putty into the lead came between the glass and the lead. The right type of putty will last for many years. The correct putty is metal sash putty. It is either black or grey in color, and is oil based. It should not be thinned with paint thinner, or turpentine. This will only dilute it too much, and cause it to dry out and flake. Do not use white putty. It is meant for wooden sash. Also, by all means, DO NOT USE SILICON. Silicon may seal temporarily, but it will make a mess, and only increase the cost of a repair because it has to be cleaned off before a proper repair can be successful.                             Broken Came      If your window is very old and the lead came has gaps, or holes your window probably needs to be removed and releaded. In this case we rebuild your window with your old glass and new lead came. We will also replace any broken, or badly etched(water stained) glass. To reglaze the window we try to clean out as much old dried out putty as we can. Then we force the new putty into the lead channel. After the window is reglazed the putty needs to set up, so we need a few clear days. Otherwise the new putty stands a chance of being washed out in a heavy rain. On a large window it may take two or three applications before the reglazing is successful. Of course if we totally restore your window you will have a quality window that will last many, many years. IF YOU NEED US WE ARE READY !Adamm's Stained Glass   1426 4th St. Santa Monica, CA 90401  310 451 9390  [email protected]

Triple Pivot Casement Beveled a & Leaded Glass Windows

Beveled Glass Installation

 

      It has been about one year since one of our long time customers approached us about making a set of triple beveled glass casement windows with a center pivot on each. After much back and forth we finalized a relatively simple rectilinear beveled design.

The difficult part was installing the triple casement. Once again I enlisted the help of the best Handyman, and installer I know, Don Van Cura. Don is in my Networking group Wildfire Networking. I wouldn't do any difficult installation without him. I was able to find a perfect all brass, ball bearing, pivot hinge, from Architectual Resource Center  http://brasswindowhardware.com/and the installation of them appeared to be pretty straight forward.

 

                  window before

 

            We understood how the hinge worked, but it took some time before we agreed how to install them.  The owner of the company that sold the hinges didn't have any help with our particular type of installation. We didn't  have the option of removing the jamb to set the top hinge. We ended up removing the ball bearing on the top hinge, and that gave us the extra room for clearance, and didn't affect the ease of pivot since the weight was on the bottom bearing. We set the hinge into the sash. With the ball bearing hinge the pivot was very smooth.

     We first set the center sash,

                                                                                      cutting detail

  

              routing mortise                                  hinge set

and then trimmed the right sash as we needed. Finally we set the left sash. This was an interior set of windows. It was a divider between the master bath and bedroom.

                                                    mortise in sill

   

         bottom hinge set      mortising top hinge          Don with windows installed

 

     After we finished the installation the owner had the sash stained and finished. A very nice and interesting project.