Fixing leaded windows

[Glenn Booth]

Evening all,

I'm looking for suggestions on how to fix a small leaded window that is in the top half of a wooden stable-type kitchen door.

This door has obviously been around the block, and bears the scars of various different bits of door furniture. The leaded pane is the best bit - very pretty, but it's been soldered and fixed at some point, and the previous repairs have split, so the panes now rattle and let the wind in. There are nine panes in all, eight on the edges, about 4*3 inches each, with an oval etched pane in the centre.

Since it's attractive, I'd rather not bodge it with sealant or anything similar. Is there a 'right' way to go about this?

It's a really nice door, but do all stable doors change shape and size whenever the wind changes direction? This one sticks when it rains, and leaks like a teabag in the dry.

Ta muchly,

Glenn.

[Weatherlawyer]

It sounds like you need to get on some sort of leaded light maintainance course. If the light is intact and just slightly buckled, get some soft putty on it front and back.

If it is too far gone you might have to take he light out to repair. It's a difficult job to repair in situ what ever you do so take it out and store it in ply or something whilst you replace it temporarily with ordinary glass.

If you want to have a go at it, number each piece with a felt pen and try and locate some of the lead beading that is used in making them.

can't offer any advice on the door without several good pictures of it.

You could start by measuring the doors and frame opening on wet and on dry days; check the diagonals as well; check if the hinges are thickly covered in paint and/or damaged and see if the frame has worked loose on its fixings.

When the door is closed, how close is the face to the rebate? Any gaps? If it isn't shutting tight or if it just minimally shy, you will have to house the hinge nearest the gap to take the door over a fraction.

But then you might have problems with the join.

[Andy Dingley]

Solder it if possible, strip it and re-lead it if necessary. Working in situ is easiest if it's just soldering, you might want to take the panel out if it's a rebuild. Which to do depends on the state the rest of the lead is in. Chances are that the cames have opened up and the glass is loose, but re-soldering the failed joints, some judicious closing up of the cames and then re-cementing will usually give most panels a few years more life.

If you're handy at soldering, and you can find the right iron (probably gas heated, or else a 150W+ stained glass iron), then you can probably do a solder repair yourself. A rebuild is a bit much for a first attempt though, unless you find a course (it's an easy first project). Tempsford glass sell all the bits mail order.

When soldered (either fix or re-build), you should cement it. If you don't cement an external panel properly, you'll have rattles again in no time.

Alternatively get a stained glass repairer to fix it - often cheaper than buying the tooling. Leaded glass work is pretty cheap - cheaper than copper or zinc work. Look in the usual places, particularly ask at local architectural salvage yards.

[Guy King]

The message from "Weatherlawyer" contains these words:

One of the problems with leaded windows, particularly those made up from small panes is that the woodwork can't use the stiffness of the glass to help it resist drooping on the diagonals.

[manatbandq]

Glass is never an exact fit in the opening, so by this reckoning all doors are doomed to droop a few mm.

MBQ

[Guy King]

The message from [e-mail] contains these words:

And indeed they often do, particularly when they're old and the tenons have shrunk.

[Glenn Booth]

Hi,

[snip]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I reckon I might leave this one to somebody who knows what they are doing this time around!

It turns out that both door and wooden frame are slightly warped (in opposite directions, naturally!) and the window is going to need a fair bit of work. I'm not even sure if the leading would survive being removed from the frame, and I don't think it will be simple to do in situ.

I'll see what a pro has to say, and take it from there.

Thanks again.

Glenn.