Storm Windows Installed Just In Time for the Storm

Over the last several days, R and I finished installing the last of the storm windows. Several storm windows needed glass, several requiring gluing, and all needed their thick coat of paint removed. Just scraping the glass to remove all the paint spray and sloppy painting took me hours of work. But now we have another barrier against the winter winds.

R took time out to clean out the gutters while he had the ladder out to install the storm windows on the second story. He tied himself to the chimney and then later on brought his duelly truck around front and tied the rope to it rather than the chimney. Hopefully this will be the last time we have to clean the gutters as all new gutters will have gutter caps installed when we replace the old gutters.
Speaking of wind....it is almost 11PM on Friday night and it is 70 degrees but extremely windy. Today R and I worked in the rain replacing a missing downspout and were pleasantly surprised that we were not freezing to death.

The plan tomorrow is either to pick up leaves or remove an A/C unit that was placed in the wall by cutting a permanent hole in the wall. We have central air so the window/wall unit is no longer needed nor wanted.

Here is a photo of the ugly useless A/C unit. He also removed the last of the old antenna wire that was attached to the outside of the house along with numerous old clips, hooks, and bent nails that held said antenna wire in place.
Future plans call for that newer style window above the A/C unit to be replaced with small French doors and a small Juliet balcony. This room is our master suite and we are hoping to increase cross ventilation. This is the east side and the west side has two small windows in dormers. The north side has a fireplace and the south wall is an interior wall so we could really use an increase in window space. I am sure these were small double hung windows at one time.

Once the A/C unit is removed and replaced with sheathing and shingles I will probably resume my stripping of the trim in the foyer, vestibule, and dining room. In between that we will have visits from the chimney guy to install caps in the three chimneys, a visit from the furnace guy for a tune up on the two furnaces, and a visit from the gutter guy to install new gutters on the front of the house.

Two More Wooden Storm Windows + Curb Side Treasure

I thought I had located all the wooden storm windows but I was wrong. R asked me if I "got the two upstairs in the loft?" So I went up there and lo and behold there were two more, one for the powder room on the first floor and one for the window in the staircase. Yea!!! two more to strip.

One was without problems. The powder room storm was in great condition and looks to only have a couple of coats of paint on the inside but of course the usual 1/8th of an inch of paint on the outside. The other storm has a broken pane and the bottom stile was loose and some what deteriorated. I used Gorilla glue and a bar clamp to fix the loose stile problem. I'll take a closer look at the wood after I unclamp the storm window.

Today was what fall weather is suppose to be like it and was one of the few days we have had that has been in the 60 degree range. A couple more like this and I think I could get all storms stripped and glazed.

Now on the the curbside treasure. I found this one myself as I was driving over to B & G's house. This chair will work perfect in my kitchen as a desk chair once I paint it satin black and cover the seat with a black and white toile fabric or maybe a black and white buffalo check. Currently I am gluing a crack back together. No doubt this is why the owner toss it.

Wooden Storm Windows

I noticed what appeared to be more wooden storm windows while walking around the outside of the barn looking at R's window work. In one of the windows was what appeared to be the corner of a wooden storm window. I found not one but two windows.

The living room has 6 large double hung windows. When we purchased the house there were 5 windows with storms windows. I found the missing storm window in the barn minus it's glass panes.

The last 3 days have been spent removing between 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch thick paint from both sides of the storm windows. I have two completely stripped. This is one of the living room storms. There are 4 storms this size and 2 that are even larger.

I like the looks of wooden storm windows but these are far too heavy to install every year. Small bungalow windows are one thing but these are too heavy to hold up in the air to install. I know there are companies who make wooden storm windows that have interchangeable panes/screens that can be changed from inside the house. That sounds like a better solution for our second story windows and these large first floor windows. But until then, these will have to suffice.The hardware is in bad shape. Some storm windows are missing their hangers and the ones that have their hangers look like this......I was able to remove the majority of the paint by boiling the hangers in water with a little dish soap and using a utility knife to lift off the thick sheets of paint. I'll use spray primer on them and then white spray paint since the storms and trim will be white.

More than likely I will not have time to paint these storm windows before the winter. I still need to replace a lot of the missing glazing and time is running out. In a perfect world I would prime, paint, and glaze before installing but with this crazy weather I'll have to settle on just being happy with having the storms installed.

Let's rock!!!

This past weekend while moving this......

We found this....

I'm sure more pieces will show up after it rains. From what I can tell, it appears to be several broken milk bottles (1 round, 1 square), a small tonic bottle, and a lot of miscellaneous pieces ranging from white to dark green.

No, we did not get the hostas planted BUT we did a lot of dirt moving and moved another large rock out to the hosta garden. Roger informed me that the rock he is currently ratcheting out of the ground must be placed somewhere close by "because it is #$%@*&# heavy to move very far". So I decided to take pity on him and we are only moving it about 30 feet...........uphill. This rock is in the lowest part of the property, so even if we moved it 30 inches, it would still be 30 inches uphill. Notice how I say "we"? See I figure if I include him when I say "we" planted roses etc., then I can be included when he moves rocks. It's only fair...right????

The weather is really starting to turn cold here. Today was a rather mild day but misty. I think we will be lucky to get a couple more outdoor days before we move indoors for the winter. I have been slowing working on stripping the sashes, re glazing, priming and painting. I am looking into replacing the current wooden storms with new wooden storms. Adam Architectural have wooden storms but the bottom portion has the screen permanently installed. I really want storm windows where the bottom portion is changeable between a screen and glass. This month's issue of Old House Journal has a article about wooden storms and lists several other sources for wooden storms. When you own a 2 story house, changing out wooden storms twice a year is not practical or safe. I know you bungalow people would be aghast but from a practical standpoint it's a no go. When maintaining a nearly 4000 sq ft home, you have to decide between practical and being historically correct. Some things weren't practical and that's is why we are now repairing and replacing rotted, painted shut, and non functioning windows. I'm trying to break that cycle and find a happy median between the two. Plus, I live in an area of high end homes. Certain things are expected of a home in this area. I am always amused by people who are anal about being historically correct but their 1850's farm house has heat, central air, 2+ fully functional bathrooms, and a laundry room with washer and dryer. One can't have it both ways. You're either historically correct or you are remodeling your home in an historic style. These homes fell into disarray for a reason. They were hard to maintain. Historically, old homes had knob and tube wiring and lead paint, are we suppose to use these also? Of course not. In today's fast pace lifestyle there is little time to maintain your home, let alone change out your home's storm windows twice a year. I work 6 days a week, minimum 10 hours a day with an hour commute both ways and my husband has the same schedule just different times. Changing out storm windows twice a year is not going to happen, especially since it is a two person job and we are only in the same place 1 day a week. And on that day....we move rocks. LOL

When we move back inside for the winter the first project is a return to the kitchen ceiling. We are half way through removing 1 layer of drywall, 1 inch thick plaster and wire mesh, and in some places old insulation and just plain grossness. We have encountered some old knob and tube which we are keeping our fingers cross is nonfunctional and just remnants left over from the PO rewiring. Then we'll rewire and add extra lighting. Over the years I have purchased some vintage light fixtures to use in the kitchen. Currently there is only 1 ceiling light. I plan to add 2 more and if I can find the correct light maybe one over the sink. Just the thought of all that dust gives me a sinus headache.