"Restoring damaged exterior wood"

dtc · Post by **dtc** » Sat Sep 08, 2012 12:10 pm

We have recently restored all the exterior wood on the Dobkins house.
It took a number of years to complete the work but we are very happy with the results. My wife and I tackled all of the work ourselves. I needed her assistance on bringing doors down, (many of which are 11ft.in length) removing their wood stops, removal of the 1/4 inch plate glass and of course after completing them to re-install them. I'm comfortable working with wood...for I build classical guitars as a hobby so I was comfortable using scrappers, chisels etc.
These 3 pics illustrate some of the various work that was done.

Pic 1. This is the exterior side of an inside mounted screen door.
They were in excellent condition. All the joints were solid as the day they were built.

Pic 2. A pair of doors from the windowall with new bottom rails.

Pic 3. Cleaning up a joint with a chisel...getting ready to glue up the new rail and partial stile.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sat Sep 08, 2012 1:19 pm

1

2

3

classic form · Post by **classic form** » Sat Sep 08, 2012 1:35 pm

More please...and more details. For me this is the best part of the forum. In fact, this is what led me to this forum in the first place...looking for restoration tips and information.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sat Sep 08, 2012 2:12 pm

Here are additional photos that dtc has shared with us in the past:

175

177

179

180

19

dtc · Post by **dtc** » Sat Sep 08, 2012 2:56 pm

Thanks for posting the pics SDR.

Pic 4. Depicts opening a mitered corner window. Note the small rusted finishing nail. I installed stainless steal screws and wood plugs cut from the new bottom rail.

Pic 5. Clamping a Dutchman to the original existing stile and top rail. We removed only areas of the doors that suffered from rot, and failed mortise & tenon joints.

Pic 6. Although I look totally baffled and confused (my normal look) I did manage to get it back together. Each pair of doors I brought down created an opening that was 4 by 11 or 12 ft. As you can imagine plastic was essential to keeping out the elements, critters and insects.

Pic 7. Re-installing screws in the continuous hinge. Yes they are slotted and not Phillips. Contrary to common belief that I am anal I did not try to align all the slots in a vertical or horizontal orientation.

Pic 8. South facing facade finished.

dtc · Post by **dtc** » Sat Sep 08, 2012 3:23 pm

Notes on the mitered corner window.
It should be noted that the bottom rail no longer sits on the terrace concrete mat. I inserted a sacrificial piece of mahogany coated in epoxy that the bottom rails rest upon. From time to time the building sealant will need to be removed at the junction of bottom rail and concrete mat. If moisture is a problem it should only attack the sacrificial piece of wood, not the rail.
All joints are glued with the West System.
I Re-glazed the 1/4 inch plate with clear silicone.
Both mitered window rails screwed and plugged.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sat Sep 08, 2012 5:00 pm

Thanks, dtc. Lots of good work.

I assume you applied the standard wood glass stop to the doors and windows. How are they fastened ?

SDR

dtc · Post by **dtc** » Sat Sep 08, 2012 5:42 pm

Pic 8. Casement windows. One set scraped and sanded, waiting for Sikkens.
The other is waiting to have its opaque stain removed.

Pic 9. One door being glued up... while the new rail awaits being married with the door next to it. (leaning against the retaining wall.)

Pic 10. Another opening waiting for its doors.

SDR, The wood stops are nailed in with stainless steel brads. The edge of the stop which comes in contact with the glass receives silicone. Of course the rabbit of the frame receives silicone building sealant before the glass is installed.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sat Sep 08, 2012 5:43 pm

dtc tells me that the stops are applied with stainless brads. More pics:

26a, Pic 10

27a, Pic 8

38a, Pic 9

Education Professor · Post by **Education Professor** » Sat Sep 08, 2012 8:15 pm

dtc,

Thank you for sharing the photos. Your craftsmanship, attention to detail, and stewardship are first-rate.

EP

dtc · Post by **dtc** » Sun Sep 09, 2012 11:46 am

All the mahogany at Dobkins was specified as Red Philippine. It is in fact Merranti, a cousin to true mahogany. However, we had some difficulty acquiring that species... most lumber yards near us stock Honduras only. We ended up finding a source at Condon's lumber in White Plains NY. It is a valuable resource that stocks numerous species and quantities.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sun Sep 09, 2012 1:06 pm

I'm quite surprised to hear that. I've used Meranti on one project -- before learning that it's an endangered specie that was being illegally harvested and sold, c. ten years ago. It was appreciably harder and heavier than any mahogany I've encountered -- though the strong red color is a nice match to Honduras mahogany.

This deck (shown wetted, which of course maximizes the color) is the project I mention:

classic form · Post by **classic form** » Sun Sep 09, 2012 3:04 pm

So...silicon being used in the frame that the glass gets set into (rabbit), then silicon on the wood piece that holds the glass in place (wood stops).

Lead was spec'd for this purpose when our house was built and it has since begun to fail. All of the windows here use a rabbit and wood stops (something I'm sure Chadwick picked up during his time with Wright).

Is there a problem with water finding its way between the wood stops and glass and being held there by the silicon or did you apply enough silicon to "squeeze out" thus keeping the water out? Also, if the glass needs to be replaced down the road how permanant is the silicon?

I've also read many discussions regarding finishes here...what sikkens product did you end up using?

I wish i possesed your woodworking skills...I'd be more inclined to just jump in.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sun Sep 09, 2012 3:17 pm

(It should be rabbet [alt., rebate]. Rabbit is the animal.)

In the worst case, silicone adhesive would be capable of preventing removal of a glass stop without damage to the wood. In that case, the stop would be called a sacrificial piece. But the water seal would be good. With 1/4" glass, one could expect never to have to replace a pane due to breakage -- I should think.

SDR

Laurie Virr · Post by **Laurie Virr** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:36 am

Why use silicone, when polyurethane will do a better job? Glass in automobiles is subject to structural stresses not generally experienced in houses, and is also required to resist water penetration. No automobile manufacturer of any eminence would countenance the use of silicone. For them it is polyurethane.