Even though this particular project involved new Vinyl Windows as the scaffold towers suggest, we were also called upon to replace some failed insulated glass in a skylight.

Although replacing failed glass is the most common skylight repair we find our company performing, we also do flashing repairs and glazing-repairs.

We also replace crank-mechanisms or remote control hardware replacement and repairs as well. You might be surprised if you knew how many different manufacturers make skylights.

Many of which have gone out of business, and many of which have changed how they are manufactured. The point being that almost every one of them are fabricated and assembled differently.

Commercial buildings account for a substantial percentage of our work.
Yes, this is a residential-category, but I thought we’d keep all the solarium projects together, since we don’t get called upon to do that many commercial solariums.

We install and repair Solariums, Skylights, Windows, Doors, Storefronts, Failed Glass, Aluminum-Glass Doors and Hollow-Metal Steel Doors…

…not to mention adjusting, repairing or replacing all the brands and types of commercial Hardware known to modern man.

I believe the problem here was that the property management company was growing tired of sending folks out to slather on another layer of caulking every time a leak developed.

So they hired us to remove the glass, clean off 20 years or so of caulking from the glass and the frame components and then reglaze the glass back into the jambs.

Another Revamped Solarium.

A stately, well-appointed, low-frills home in Lake Oswego.

O.K., the remodeled family room behind the garage, with the vaulted ceiling and the four skylights to offset some of the darkness of living amongst so much foliage might be considered by some to be a bit of a frill.

The two center non-operable skylights are showing obvious water-damage.

If you enlarge the photo above by clicking on it, you may be able to see the light reflecting upon the water that was eking out of the crevasses the day we were there inspecting the damage…

…as it had been raining the night before. These Velux skylights are top notch skylights. No doubt considered by most in the business, including us, as being among the best that money can buy.

So one obvious question might be to ask “what went wrong?” And the answer is that any glass in any window, door, solarium or skylight that is exposed to frequent moisture in climates such as ours, should be re-glazed every five years or so.

There is much that could be said about this, but we won’t go into that here and now. You might note that although it looked as though only the two center skylights had water damage, once we removed the adjoining, interconnecting flashing…

…it was quickly discovered that the two flanking, operable skylights had also sustained some water damage. It just couldn’t be seen until some disassembly had been accomplished.

So two more skylights were ordered as we finished up this first phase. Our client said that they had never opened the two operable skylights, and thus instructed us to order “non-operable” versions for the replacements.

And so it was that we returned at a later date and replaced the other two as well.

Main entryway. Dark and somewhat less than inviting. This was a little unusual for two reasons. The additional light desired was for an exterior space, and also it was an architectural afterthought.

Notice the additional light beneath the eves in this second photo. We’ve seen skylights used this way as part of the original architectural design of an entryway on a house, but not too many remodels.

The rough-openings are prepared.

And the nonoperable skylights are installed.

The openings are trimmed out with finish materials and moldings.
Remember the Mediterranean themed architecture that was so prevalent back in the 1980s?

All the wood paneling, the heavy beams, the dimensionally large, dark-stained trim, dark doors and woodwork overkill? It seemed to us as though the pendulum swung the other direction in the 90’s, with many folks asking; “what were we thinking?” We want more light!

Another of the ever popular contemporary home designs set up in the N.W. Hills above the Pittock Mansion.

Is it just me, or are there a lot of architects who feel that folks might like to feel like they are outdoors while naked in the bath?

No, I’m kidding. I know it’s all about the light and the view which these structures allow.

I love the creative things folks do with Solariums, Skylights, Solar Tubes and strategically placed windows. As discussed elsewhere on these portfolio pages…the use of light can have a dramatic effect upon us.

This is not the only time Jared’s Rock Climbing and Repelling Skills have come in handy.

There just are those times when neither roof-jacks, ladder-jacks, scaffold, pump-jacks nor a man lift fit the bill.

A generous dose of skill and expertise…

…and the solarium is as good as new, and possibly even better.

A home-made, wood framed, uniquely shaped non-operable skylight.

Located up behind Lake Oswego High School, if I recall correctly.

Obviously, the glazing system on this Skylight had seen better days.

No great mystery here as to how water was gaining access to the interior.

The client elected to forgo upgrading the glass from single-pane to insulated, so we just reglazed the original glass. This has nothing to do with skylights, but if you click on the photo, you might be able to see the view these folks have of Mount Hood in the distance.

I was not around to take photos when the custom metal flashing we had made was installed down the middle and around the perimeter.

A solarium or, as some would call it, a Sunroom on the back of a house in Tigard. Our client wants to put his house on the market, but…

…thinks it best if the radiused insulated glass units that have failed are replaced before allowing prospective buyers in to view the home.

So we hatched a plan to try something we had never before tried. Our plan involved removing the original “bent-glass,” as it’s called in…

…the industry, and temporarily securing the solarium from the elements. We then took the three insulated units back to our…

…warehouse, whereupon we disassembled the insulated units down to individual panes of glass and took to trying to remove the…

…oxidized consequence of the seal-failure of insulated glass. Frankly, I am not certain what causes the oxidation upon the glass that sometimes happens when moisture is allowed to get in-between the panes. Perhaps a chemical reaction to the aluminum spacer-bars or perhaps a gassing-off that occurs when the desiccant inside the spacer-bars gets wet. We tried everything we could think of or find advertised for oxidation removal.

In the previous photo, our technician Brandon is applying Jewelers ruse with a buffing wheel on the end of a die-grinder, which was the last of about a dozen products that were advertised or recommended by folks we know in the industry as being good for oxidation removal. I can now tell you from experience that nothing even remotely worked. So a template was made and an order was placed with California Glass Bending.

Thousands of dollars later, we had three brand new insulated glass units to install back into our client’s solarium structure. No, we did not pass our “research and development” costs onto our client. They were significant to say the least, but in my experience, most valuable educations are.

I like to think that our desire to learn and to grow in our field of expertise is among several characteristics promoted in our company that tend to set us apart from some of, if not most of the competition.

Although there is no way for us to know for certain, we do seem to enjoy an ever increasing amount of favorable feedback from our clients. If something can be done in the field of door & windows, we likely do it. And then some. Water leak remediation is but one example of our problem-solving inclinations opening up ever increasing markets for us.

Just one of the many Mountain Park homes that capitalize upon the stunning views from Mt. Sylvania.
In this case, it’s a view from the master bathroom.

Quite the aesthetic for your bathing or showering experience. All the expensive glass shower-stall walls & the fiberglass tub are well cared for and protected while we work.

This happened to be one of the few home owners who didn’t wait until they had a leak, to upgrade the flashing and have the glass glazing upgraded.

They also took our recommendation that they let us upgrade their glass with the latest 366-Low-E Insulated Glass.

This is an example wherein the entire assembly is completely removed. Not only the glass, but also the aluminum structure as well. This facilitated our being able to remove the original flashing components that were tied into the moisture barrier beneath the roofing.

This in turn required that we remove some of the roofing as needed and tied in some of the latest flashing membrane materials into the original moisture-barrier. So you may be able to understand how this can end up being considerably more work than the original installation.

All the new custom-made flashing & and adjoining custom gutter/flashing structure were made to our specifications…

…by Schmeer Sheet Metal (www.schmeersheetmetal.com).
The original aluminum-frame components are re-installed & the new glass glazed into place.

Roofing materials are replaced as needed.

The finished product.

Literally…better than when it was new.

On Blue Lake, just East of the Airport.

We were told that we were the third contractor employed to attempt to get this (top) solarium installed and flashed correctly.

Blue Lake, as viewed from the master bedroom.

One of many signs of the water intrusion.

The glass wall extends beyond the master-bedroom into the master bathroom.

One of the challenges we faced, had to do with working over the top of a lower solarium structure. See the last photo showing the scaffold array.

We temporarily removed and carefully stored all the glass.

Working in the month of December necessitated the temporary erection of a plywood and tarp covered structure to protect the interior of the house.

Besides reglazing all of the glass, we also temporarily lifted the structure to facilitate the installation of a proper “Sill-Pan.” This was the key component to solving the water intrusion problem.

The scaffold array.

A relatively small residential solarium.

Not only are solariums prone to developing leaks, but a number of them lack proper flashing.

With a very predictable outcome.

We work 12 months of the year, so dealing with inclement weather is no big deal.

We temporarily supported and lifted the assembly to allow us to repair the wall below the structure…

As well as allowing us to insert a sill-pan under the vertical portion of the structure.