Sunday, December 2, 2012

Moar Windows!

The plans call for plexiglass to save $, I decided it was a worthwhile investment to get glass, its not that much more expensive. I ordered 7 panels of 1/4" tempered glass for a total of $605 including delivery and taxes. This was the single largest expenditure of the project, more than wood or electrical, but I think its worth it. I went to a glass wholesaler in LA, 55Glass, with my plans and measurements. They were really helpful.

It turned out that 16 of the 8' furring strips wasn't enough, but I managed to get the largest windows framed and installed with this lot. I installed the inside and outside window frames completely, making sure the spacing was right. Once everything was drilled in and the screws had been seated once, I removed the outside half of each frame and waited for delivery.

Unfortunately, the delivery guy had to bring the "big" truck since the large pane on the front is 72"x80". I was hoping he would be driving the smaller truck, which could have pulled right up to the front of the studio. As it was, delivery is during the day and hubby is at work, so it was me and the guy lugging this giant pane to the back yard. Next time (!), I'll wear gloves, it wasn't sharp, but its heavy and bit into my hand anyway.

I had planned to use his help to install the larger pieces: As soon as he arrived, I laid a bead of clear silicone caulk around the large window frame, and when we carried it back, we just tilted it right into the frame and I let the caulk hold it for a few minutes while I reattached the top outside part of the frame. Same process for the large side pane while the delivery guy went and got the glass by himself (show off).
Look, windows!
The side pane was a little trickier, because in all the hula action of the roof the whole building managed to lean itself to the front by about half an inch, so the sides aren't square anymore. I had this pane cut slightly small to accommodate this issue. Its ugly, but the error is hidden behind the window framing, so you can't see it. Don't tell anyone.

Once the glass was in, it was somewhat difficult to tighten the screws on the frames by hand, there was no room for the drill, and the screwdriver slipped out too much in the tiny space. I ended up using a small hand ratchet with an extender once the frames were in place—(I covered the ratchet with painters tape so it didn't knock against the glass so hard.)

We're ripping some more furring strips today, but framing the rest of the windows might have to wait till it stops raining.








Still need to install these five windows, will add to this as I go:




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