The Southwest Hills overlooking downtown Portland.

Our client has some early wood Pella Casement Windows that have seen…

…plenty of Portland weather, and it shows. He would like to get some more miles out of them…

…if possible. So we generated a proposal to perform some rot-repair, some trim & fit…

…work, replacing some of the hardware & improving the weatherstripping where we…

…could. We set up a shop in our client’s garage (not shown) to mill our replacement components…

…and to machine the sash as needed.

Tim Afonin goes about his craft with great skill and feats of daring do.

Investing in old wood windows is always a bit less than an exact science as it relates to discerning the condition of the remaining original components.

But it’s thousands and thousands less buckos than replacing them with new wood windows. And our client treats us to lunch to show his appreciation.

One of the many bungalows in north Portland. Not far from overlook park.

Both of these eyebrow windows are showing their age. In particular, the bottom-rails…where all the water cascades down off the glass, testing the limits of the antique putty-glazing.

One of the windows was consequently leaking so much that water was showing up in the ceiling below.

If you enlarge this photo by clicking on it, you may be able to make out some of the water damage on the interior side of the bottom-rail.

And here’s some of the damage as viewed from the exterior.

So the two sash were temporarily removed, the openings boarded-up…

…and the sash taken back to our shop in Tigard. As you can see, the bottom-rail has been painstakingly removed without breaking the glass. How about that?

Brandon putting the finishing touches to the two new bottom-rails.

After which, we jump back to the jobsite where Brandon is shown reinstalling the newly repaired sash.

Picturesque?

Southwest Hills, just north of the Bridlemile neighborhood. Bill Jorgens, of Jorgens Construction (shown) introduces us to a long standing client & friend of his who owns the property in this photo.

Bill’s friend asked him for help in finding someone to help repair a bank of wood windows. The original single-pane windows are there, somewhat hidden just behind the Wisteria vine, or whatever type of vine it is. If you enlarge the photo, you may be able to see it better.

As it so often happens, the painters had been getting ready to paint the house, when they discovered the soft wood in the window assembly.

Months later (in the dead of winter), after much hand-wringing over the exact course of action to be taken…the window assembly is cordoned-off from the rest of the house, and the work is begun.

So yes, we work 12 months of the year. The entire length of the longer southerly facing sill was toast, extending down into the structural wall components below.

And so it was determined that we should replace all twelve of the sash along the longer wall, because the extent of the damage and the costs…

…of repairing them exceeded the cost of replacement. Steve Hilt is fine-tuning the bevel on the bottom of the new sash.

Bruce Hinkenlooper takes one of the new sash for a test drive.

The wall and sill components are repaired, the new sash are installed…

…and now it’s time to call the painters back.

A rather contemporary house located in a fairly exclusive, elevated northeast Portland neighborhood with a nearly 360 degree view.

And despite the elevation, which is subject to both of the Willamette Valley’s prevailing wind-driven weather-conduits (the Gorge & the Coast), these original wood-clad Pozzi windows have been kept in unusually good condition.

The newest owners of this house have employed us to ensure that they stay that way. Money wisely spent.

Phil McNair re-glazing some glass to ensure that the glazing keeps the moisture from getting to the unfinished portions of the wood sash.

Bruce Hinkenlooper sealing all the joints and seams between the various Pozzi aluminum-cladded sash components.

We replaced some broken Truth EntryGard Crank Mechanisms and/or Truth’s Anderberg 201 Series Casement Hinges. It’s not unusual for large casement windows to begin to sag and drag upon the window sill, which in turn…

…causes the crank mechanisms to break when folks attempt to overcome the resistance by trying to crank the handle with more muscle. We know a few tricks to compensate for this dilemma, short of re-installing the entire window assembly.

Some of these “tricks of the trade” we’ve developed are invaluable for this type of work we do. Some of the sash had water-damage, and we were able to replace those components as needed…on site, as Steve Hilt was in the process of doing when this photo was taken.

Most of the silicone, vinyl or neoprene weatherstripping grows brittle over time due to the daily exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. We have the means to replace and upgrade these products as needed, as David Castro demonstrates above.

One of many of the valuable skills we’ve honed over the past several decades, is the expertise by which we can quickly set-up our ad-hoc shops on-site. This makes the process very efficient, and the cost more economical than it might be if we had to take the windows off-site to work on them.

A Portland Tudor in the Grant Park area.

The original sash casement windows are really in great shape for their age, even though a number of them are painted shut and/or the friction-hinges are corroded and barely work and/or the weatherstripping is damaged, ill-fitting or missing.

So we were employed to repair any damage on them, trim them down as needed for the proper clearances relative to the jambs, replace the friction hinges and to weatherstrip them with some of the latest and greatest compression weatherstripping.

We set up a temporary shop on-site as we often do. If it’s raining, and if our client doesn’t have a garage or a porch that we can use for this purpose, we have several tent type covered structures that we can set-up…or even a large self-enclosed trailer that we can work in. We are quite resourceful & practiced at dealing with weather issues in the Northwest.

Some of the windows had need for us to replace loose or missing glazing-putty around the glass, and there may have been a broken pane of glass or two that we replaced for our client.

Tony & Nate going about their craft. You know, there is great satisfaction in being really good at something. It’s fun! And one of our greatest joys as professional craftsmen is taking a door or window that barely worked and then having opportunity to see the look on a client’s face as they operate one of the windows for the first time after we’ve applied our trade to it.

This is a shot of one of the original “friction-hinges” that we replaced. The new ones were a bit thicker, more heavy-duty which necessitated that we modify the mortise or the “plow” on the sash as needed.

As you can see, this particular house has both the traditional rectangular window panes, as well as the diamond-lite muntin-patterns in the various casement sash windows.
Wikipedia identifies Muntins as “…a strip of wood or metal separating and holding panes of glass in a window.”

Muntins are also called “muntin bars”, “glazing bars”, or “sash bars”. Muntins can be found in doors, windows and furniture, typically in western styles of architecture. Muntins divide a single window sash or casement into a grid system of small panes of glass, called “lights” or “lites.”

If you look closely, you may be able to make out the light-brown Silicone Bead weatherstripping that we machined the jambs for & installed in the corner between the “rabbet” and the “stop” portion of the jamb assembly, and against which the window-sash sits when in the closed position. This weatherstripping product is not seen when the window is closed, and it’s a very effective type of weatherstripping.

Sellwood district. The roofs going to be replaced…

…which is a good time for the Eyebrow Dormer Windows to be checked for needed repairs.

Unlike the windows easily scrutinized from the living spaces of a home, it’s easier for these out-of-sight windows…

…to remain out-of-mind as it relates to possible weather damage and/or water leaks.

Both of these window assemblies had advanced maladies related to water damage and water penetration.

So both window assemblies were removed and taken to our shop in Tigard for needed repairs.

All the glass was replaced and putty-glazed back into the newly repaired sash. The sills on both assemblies were also replaced.

A liberal coat of primer.

And then it’s back to the jobsite where both window assemblies are reinstalled and flashed appropriately back into the original rough-openings just before the roofing project gets underway.

Tim Meyers puts the finishing touches of primer on after re-installing both window assemblies.

Just over the county line in Yamhill county on Bald Peak Mountain on Bald Peak Road.

A stately house with scads of original wood awning windows of which we were contracted to tune-up or adjust 14 of them.

Most of them had fitting issues, perhaps related to some swelling, settling or most likely due to too many coats of paint, which is a bit of an oxymoron, because there really is no such thing…

…as too much maintenance when it comes to wood windows in the Willamette Valley. It was pretty clear that these windows had been kept well maintained over the years, so it was probably the paint.

So one of our highly trained crews was sent out to set up an ad hock shop on site, as is one of our well-developed skill-sets.

Whereupon, technicians Steve Hilt & Phil McNair went about the task of repairing and trimming the many awning windows as needed to achieve the best possible fit and operation possible.

Short work was made of figuring out how the stiles and rails came apart, which facilitated what few water-damage repairs needed to be made to the window sash.

One sill was discovered to have some minor water-damage, and so the effected wood was machined (routed) out of the sill, and a fungicide was put into the adjoining original portions of the sill and allowed to soak in and dry.

After which, some sculpt-wood material was mixed-up and applied to the affected area. After which, the window sill was sanded and a coat of primer applied (next photo).

We also replaced a slew of the awning sash crank-operators that had ceased to operate effortlessly. Hardware replacement is a substantial part of our business, and the demand is growing, as our services become better known among our community.

The Helvetia area of north Hillsboro.

Alpaca country…among other things.

As you can see, these wood windows have little protection from the elements.

As you can see from the insignia, there’s little question as to whose product this is.

Herb & Ervin Kolbe’s product from Wausau, Wisconsin. Previously known as Kolbe & Kolbe Windows.

Apparently, they are merely called “Kolbe” now.

As you can see, the installation fell upon a less sunny day. No worries, our technician Phil McNair comes dressed to ward off all weather-related contingences, not to mention any errant deer-hunters.

But a little fog isn’t going to stop Phil McNair from his appointed rounds…or scheduled window installations, as the case may be.

We replaced all five sash in this bay-window assembly after transferring the original hardware to the new windows.

Phil finishes up by carefully sealing up the perimeters of the three center picture sash.

The Riverwood Neighborhood in S.W. Portland on the Willamette River.

Old single-pane Kolbe & Kolbe non-clad wood double-hung windows.

As you can tell by the large overhanging eves (sarcasm) on this house…

…these windows get wet every time it rains.

And on the outside chance you don’t know, it rains from time to time here in the Willamette Valley.

And we were contracted to replace the water-damaged wood components on these sash. Bottom-rails, stiles or muntins.

The window jambs were pretty much fine because they were no doubt original to the house, having the advantage of being coated with lead-paint.

Whereas, the Kolbe & Kolbe window-sash were likely among the early retro-fit replacement windows on the market before the advent of thermal-pane insulated glass. Or that’s our best guess.

As you can see by our temporary structure/shop (previous photos), we have grown rather adept at dealing with and working under any conditions, rain or shine.

It might be said that we are adept at adaptation, as the needs dictate. It has been said more than once or twice, that “problem-solving” is really our stock-in-trade.

Central Oregon Coast.

This is actually the third or fourth time we’ve been employed to caulk our client’s wood-clad Pella windows on this house.

So yes, this is actually the elusive “preventative maintenance” we speak of…

…from time to time in the course of the number of topics related to these projects showcased in our little website portfolio.

Especially this wood-window-repair category.

Every two or three years, these folks have us come down.

Very smart. There is something particularly satisfying about being part…

…of a preventative maintenance program, instead of replacing window…

…assembly components, or having to replace the entire window assemblies. Yes, these are wood-clad windows. Very expensive wood clad windows.

As discussed in some of the other projects in this category, wood-clad windows are not the bullet-proof product we’d like to think they are. Only if they never get wet.