Hopefully this is the correct forum to post this in. I have an older home that was built by the prior owner that used salvaged windows and doors. They are beautiful units, large leaded glass sidelights (approx 16″ x 72″) with what appears to be a retrofitted fixed thermal glass pane between (36″x72″). My problem is this: the installation poorly executed, and suffers from water infiltration. The sills and lower jambs are rotting, as well as the casing. My gut tells me I need to completely removed and repair, which is fine. What I would like to do is retain the sidelights in a modern install (clad exterior). So, first off, any suggestions on a manufacturer to work with that would place the sidelights in a custom built unit (I have no illusions that this will cost big)? Secondly, I am capable (hopefully) of building the units myself but am not finding much info on the topic. I have searched the back issues for articles on building units, but would appreciate any advice/source info the community has. Thanks.
Pat
Replies
How bad is the rot? There are epoxy products that you can mix and fill in after scraping out any rotted wood. I would look into something like this prior to paying for custom units or fabbing them myself, unless I wanted to. Check out http://www.abatron.com/ as an example. Good stuff and there are others as well.
Growing shelf mould bad.I'm familiar with the products your talking about, and that may provide a partial solution, assumming the jambs and sill are not too far gone.Another reason we are looking at replacement is to get the ability to open them for ventilation. They are on the west face of the house, prevailing wind direction. Currently we have no windows (on the first floor)on the west face that can be opened.Thanks for the input.Pat