We could perhaps write a book regarding the evolution of the wood window industry and it’s wrangling with the issue of designing windows.

For example, there’s the issue of trying to make a window sash with insulated glass look like it has multi-panes, or what they call “divided-lites.”

They began with “true-divided-lites” a little over two decades ago, but the muntins necessary to house and cover the spacer-bars that separate and hold the panes together…

…necessitated muntin dimensions that were too much of a departure from the classic 7/8″ muntin. I suspect that architects rejected them in mass.

And thus was born the “Simulated-Divided-Lite” feature in windows & doors.
It has been my experience to observe that this feature has for the most part, gone…

…unnoticed by the general property owning populace, because I am continually having to explain why it is a bit more difficult to replace…

…failed or broken glass with “Simulated-Divided-Lite” glass with the muntins that have been adhered semi-permanently to the glass.

Such as these Eagle brand wood clad windows have in this northwest Portland Condo building.

Learning to order the glass correctly with the corresponding simulated spacer-bars that align internally with the simulated…

…muntins, and learning how to correctly re-adhere the simulated muntins to the glass has become a skill-set in and of itself.

An old commercial building on N.W. Naito Parkway with a broken window that has been boarded up.

The building has been converted into a parking garage for the condos built nearby.

Not only is the glass broken, but the painted aluminum framing components that glazed the glass in place to the frame are missing.

Finding the missing components would take a miracle because there are so many different aluminum window manufactures, many of whom are no longer in business. But with a little two-part welding glue and an ounce of creativity…

…we fabricate an aftermarket glazing component comprised of wood-sticking that is…

…then clad with aluminum, all of which is held fast with the two-part glue.

Whoever has to replace the glass next time may be cursing at us when they try to remove what has become a not-so -removable framing component…

…but they probably won’t lose them either.
We mask off the aluminum angle just before painting them to match the original aluminum framing.

Yes, it’s that veritable eatery in southwest Portland…

…right off an on-ramp onto the Hawthorne Bridge.

A classic window shape among window shapes…

…in a brick structure that almost seems a historical remnant among a more sterile postmodern world of architecture.

And therein may lie some of this establishments attraction and charm as a respite from the hustle and bustle for the lunch or dinner crowd escaping that Spartan vibe they left back at the stereotypical modern office.

Here they can enjoy the warmth of unparalleled service and attention to detail as they gaze out upon the Willamette River through a foggy window.

A FOGGY WINDOW? Well that’s enough to ruin anybody’s appetite. O.K., listen…we’re just employing a little creative license and fun here with the prose.

The only truly serious aspect of this little story (from our perspective) is the care and expertise we bring to the table whenever we are called upon to ply our trade.

Historical windows or doors, or those with the latest and greatest technologies and the newest materials. We do it all. All Brands – All Makes – All Models – All Types.

If you give us a try, it’ll likely become clear to you that we are among the most experienced door & window technicians in the trades.

More river front condos above the shops along the southwest Willamette river bank.

We’ve been replacing the glass in the aluminum windows on the east facing side of the building for years now.

Today we’re going to be working around the corner, on what ostensibly translates into the southwest side where you can view the turnaround below.

The building is “wedge” shaped down on this end, so we’re not really exactly parallel with the other side.

We take the time to explain that because we know that inquisitive minds want to know these things. Either that, or we’re struggling to…

…come up with a compelling storyline that explains the sequence of photos displayed here…

…related to this work we do. We should be writing about all things related to the subject of “fenestration”…

…because it is actually the “TEXT” on these pages that bolsters the Search-Engine-Optimization characteristics…

…that we are mindfully and intentionally trying to employ on our website at the same time as we are showcasing the scope of services we offer.

But it also occurs to us that making our portfolio a little educational and entertaining may also have some value. By the way…”Fenestration” means openings in the walls of a structure. The word comes from the Latin word fenestra (“window”).

A large picture window with failed glass that must be removed from the exterior. Among all the condos along the river in S.W. Portland, for whom we have replaced failed glass, this particular opening proved among the most challenging. That is actually a sixth story opening.

And the reason is due to a completely enclosed courtyard. Only a steel pedestrian gate allows access…so there was no way to get a man-lift up to the opening. Add to that, a balcony over a story high, directly below the opening. The balcony pretty much nixed the use of scaffold.

The weapon of choice that is left for us to use are what are called “Pump-Jacks.” Brandon & Jared assemble the armaments and prepare for the attack.

High above from a lofty perch, Steve Hilt patiently awaits his role in this symphony of finely tuned advances upon our objective.

Ropes are tied to the ends of the pump jacks, and Steve pulls while Brandon and Corey push and guide the lower portions six floors below. You can barely make them out there at the bottom if you enlarge the photo.

One by one, the jacks are positioned up on the balcony below. Steve holds them while they are fastened to the exterior wall.

An hour or so later, Steve and Jared are pumping their way up the exterior wall to reach the sixth floor opening.

The glass is carefully removed to the exterior and set upon the pump-jack plank. You may be able to view it better if you enlarge the photo by clicking on it.

With Brandon’s help from the interior, the glass unit is rotated so that the narrower dimension is positioned vertically…

…to allow us to slide the insulated glass unit through the opening to the interior, after which we do everything in reverse with the new glass unit which we were able to bring up via the service elevator.

In 1888 the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon purchased 100 acres in the West Hills and established Mount Calvary Cemetery.

It is the second-oldest Catholic cemetery in Multnomah County, and was the third cemetery built in the West Hills – “Wikipedia.” You may be thinking “that’s not a window, that’s a door.” But technically it’s a window in a door. So we have this project shown under both commercial repair categories.

Judging from the relatively good condition of the door and the severe exposure it is exposed to, not to mention the frequent weather conditions up on Skyline…

…Blvd., it is safe to say that this door is not 125 years old. Nonetheless, the single-pane zinc-camed glass lite in this out-swinging wood door is showing signs of the…

…weaknesses related to single-pane camed art-glass and also the realities related to out-swinging doors. As you may notice, a door is almost the size of a Cessna 150…

…airplane wing. Couple that to the infamous winds associated with Skyline Blvd., and it’s not hard to imagine how many times this door has been yanked from someone’s hand as they opened it up.

As the two previous photos suggest, there were a number of broken panes and broken soldering joints on this art-glass lite.
The photo above shows the new length of zinc caming…

…which David Schlicker Art-Glass replaced as he effected the needed repairs upon our having temporarily removed the lite from the door and delivered it to his shop at 4610 S.E. Division St..

See www.davidschlicker.com.
Upon David finishing the repairs, we picked it up, removed the temporary board we installed in its place and re-glazed it to the door.

Glazing glass and glass handling is one of the many peripheral door and window related skills that we’ve thankfully been given the opportunity to hone over the course of several decades.

We are frequently asked what causes glass to fail (fog up). The short answer to that question is that the sealed glass unit becomes unsealed…

…allowing humid air to get inside, in-between the double-panes of glass, and then that humidity condensates to the glass when the temperature falls.

There also seems to be some sort of oxidizing of the aluminum-spacer bar when exposed to extended periods of moisture that maybe off-gases and etches the glass panes.

The Original Bavarian Sausage Delicatessen in Tigard (Metzger).

We are always thankful for the opportunity to expand our repertoire of experience in our little market niche.

In this case, the opportunity came in the form of our client having the insulated glass in two of their refrigerated showcases fog-up. Seal failure.

Thus obscuring the goods, which of course, is…not so good.

We would be lying if we told you that going into uncharted waters such as this does not come with a degree of apprehension.

How is the glass glazed into these cases? How much of the case must be disassembled in order to remove the glass? How far does the glass tuck back past the daylight opening?

But whatever apprehension we experience is usually offset and tempered by a well-earned sense of confidence in our pool of experience and our well-honed problem solving skills.

On a side note…changing the subject matter a bit…would to be to mention that the original glass in these units was triple-glazed glass, meaning three panes of glass sealed together, instead of two.

Although we understand the supposed logic behind this product (two insulating chambers instead of only one)…we are inclined to cast a suspicious eye upon the legitimacy of this product. To us it smacks of fancy marketing, the opportunity to jack up the price packaged with a healthy dose of planned obsolescence.

Double-pane glass has already created a whole new TRADE in the past 3 or 4 decades. The trade? “Replacing failed (fogged) glass.” Does it not seem logical to conclude that triple-pane units “double the odds” of seal failure? So buyer beware! We replaced these units with standard “Double-Pane” insulated glass. And yes…we are among those who profit greatly from the failed glass replacement business, so yes, we are biting the hand that feeds us.