Indy Total Construction

First you must line the rebate with putty. You can either take a ball of putty in the palm of your hand and squeeze it out between thumb and forefinger using your thumb to press it in; or you can roll the putty into finger- thick sausages and press these into place. Wet your hands before handling putty to prevent it sticking to your fingers. and knead it until it is pliable and any surface oils are thoroughly mixed in.

Next, press the pane into the puttied rebate with the palms of your hands, so that putty oozes out, around and behind the glass. Apply pressure around the edges rather than in the centre of the pane and check that, when you’ve finished. the glass is separated from the frame on the inside by a bed of putty which is 2mm to 3mm (up to ‘Vain) thick.

Now for the unnerving part — nailing the glass in place. It’s best to use glazing sprigs, but you could make do with 19mm (3/4in) panel pins that have had their heads nipped off with pliers. You’ll need at least two per side, spaced no more than 230mm (9in) apart, and you must be sure to drive them squarely into the wood so they don’t pinch and crack the glass. When you’ve finished, just over 6mm (1/4in) of pin should be showing.

The final stage is to fill the rest of the rebate with a triangular fillet of putty that neatly covers the pins. Apply the putty in the same way as when lining the rebate, and use a putty knife or an ordinary filling knife to do the shaping, mitring the corners of the fillet as neatly as possible. Wet the knife blade to prevent the putty sticking to it as you draw it over the fillet.

Clean off the excess putty — including any that oozed out inside the pane earlier — and allow to dry hard before painting.

When you need to reglaze a window that isn’t at ground level, you’ll have to jerk from a ladder. Obviously you’ll have to be organized when working at a height. Tap out most of the glass first from inside — and make sure there’s no one standing below as you do so. Put all the tools and equipment in a bucket which you can hang on a hook attached to the ladder at the top. Don’t try to carry the glass — it’s best to get someone to pass it through the window.

Furniture refinishing includes three basic steps:

• Removing the old finish

• Preparing the surface

• Applying the new finish

Sometimes the old furniture finish doesn’t really need to be stripped off. A good washing with TSP will get the grease off. Then roughen the surface with fine sandpaper or steel wool and coat it with varnish or clear lacquer. Do not apply lacquer over varnish, paint, or enamel. It will remove the finish just as a stripper would.

There is no way to blend a new finish with an old finish. If the furniture is badly worn, you will have to strip the finish off the entire piece. You can do this by scraping or sanding for a long time. Or you can use chemical compounds, which work much faster. Chemical strippers soften and loosen the paint quickly, and when the paint is dissolved they will begin to work on the wood and glue. For this reason, you must apply a neutralizer as soon as the last coat of paint or varnish is soft. Then rinse off both stripper and neutralizer along with the old finish.

Always handle chemical substances such as stripper with great care. Wear rubber gloves and read all instructions carefully before you begin to work.

Apply the new finish with a brush or spray can. Practice on some old wood before you begin. Apply finish evenly. Several light coats are better than one heavy one.

After the furniture is stripped to the original wood, give it time to dry. Then sand to even off the raised grain.

If you want to change the color of the wood, add wood stain. Follow up with varnish or lacquer. Instead you may want to apply paint or enamel. Refer to Units 23, 25, and 26 for more information on painting.

Chemical strippers will remove old paint, varnish or lacquer quickly. Follow instructions carefully. If the stripper needs to be neutralized be sure to do so at the proper time. Handle chemicals with care.

Scrape off loose paint with a putty knife or spray off with a garden hose. After the wood is dry, sand down the raised grain.

Sometimes you can apply a new coat of finish without stripping the piece of furniture. Clean the surface and sand it lightly so the new finish will stick. Apply a new coat of varnish or lacquer. Do not use lacquer over varnish or paint or it will act like a stripper and cause the finish below to soften and bubble up.

Apply the new finish with a brush or spray can. Practice on some old wood before you begin. Apply finish evenly. Several light coats are better than one heavy one.

Many window frames are made of wood. The most common problem with window frames is sticking caused by:

• Paint

• Swelling

• Warping

• Broken sash cords

New paint is a major cause of windows sticking. Sticking of freshly painted windows can be prevented by leaving the window slightly open while painting. As soon as the paint dries, slide the window up and down. Do not wait too long because paint hardens as it ages.

If the window has been painted shut for a while, it will be difficult to open. Use a putty knife to cut through the paint seal. Never pry the window open with a chisel or pry bar.

Even if you use a piece of wood to protect the sill, the window sash will be dented.

Windows that are badly stuck may have to be removed from the frame. The sliding part of the window (sash) is held in place by two strips of wood called stops. Carefully pry up the stops. Remember, you want to use these stops again. A little patience saves buying, cutting, fitting, and painting a new piece of wood. Don’t drive the nails back out through the stop after the stop is off. Use pliers and pull the nails out through the back side of the stop. This will leave a neat little hole.

With the sash out, you may sand or scrape off the excess paint. When the weather is dry, cover any bare wood with a thin coat of paint or fast-drying sealer.

Paint protects wood frames. If moisture soaks the frame, the wood will swell. Never plane a frame that is swollen. Otherwise, when the wood dries, it will be too loose and will rattle in the wind. Instead, rub paraffin, soap, or a stick lubricant on the frame. Warped frames should be planed or sanded. If the wood is warped too much, it must be replaced.

If a sash cord breaks or the weight comes loose, the window will hang crooked, and the window won’t stay up. To fix the cord, pry off the stops. Find the sash weight door and

Usually it is held in place by one or two screws. Reach inside and take out the weight. If the sash cord is still good, the weight probably came untied. Retie it and put everything back together.

If you need a new sash cord, make sure it’s the same thickness as the old one or it won’t run through the pulley. Feed the new cord through and tie one end to the sash and the other end to the weight. The sash cord will stretch, so leave some room under the weight so it won’t hit bottom later and keep the window from opening all the way. Move the window up and down to see if you’ve tied the weight too high or too low. When you’re sure everything works, put it back together again.

When you put the stops back, ignore the old nail holes. Tap the nails in a new place, but, to avoid hammer dents, stop before you hit the frame. Finish driving the nails with a nail set. Cover the nail heads and fill in the old holes with wood putty: After several days, when the putty is dry, touch up with paint.

As a building ages, it settles..Structural settling is another cause for windows jamming. If the windows are being twisted out of line, the entire frame must be removed and reset in the wall.

Wood frame windows are often replaced by aluminum ones. Other new frames are vinyl (plastic) over a wood core.

Casement windows open with a crank that needs a yearly greasing. Because these cranks rust, you will have to keep them clean and painted. Casement windows are usually easier to care for.than wooden frame windows.

Most older houses have wooden window frames. However, most new homes have plastic or aluminum frames.

Remove the window only as a last resort. Carefully remove the stops, then pull the nails out through the back of the stop with pliers.

Painting across the moving parts of a window is a major cause of sticking. Running a putty knife between the stop and the sash will help free the window.

Lubricate all moving surfaces on the window and frame with a hard piece of soap or paraffin to help them slide better.

To repair a sash cord, remove the door in the window frame, reach in, and take out the sash weight.

Tie a knot in one end of the sash cord and fit it into the sash groove. Tie a nail to the other end for weight and feed the cord over the pulley. Raise the window and reach into the opening. Pull out the new cord. Tie it to the sash weight.

Clean casement window cranks at least once a year. Grease the track and oil the crank handle and window hinges.

Older walls and sometimes even new ones will need some repair before finishing. The most common wall repairs include:

• Dents

• Small holes

• Large holes

• Nail pops

• Split tape

You can repair dents by sanding around them, trowling joint compound (spackle) into the dent, and finally smoothing out the area. This is essentially plastering. Once it is dry, you can sand, seal, paint, or wallpaper the patch to match the rest of the wall.

Small holes are repaired like dents. A wad of newspaper behind the hole will prevent the joint compound from falling between the walls.

For large holes, you will have to patch a piece of drywall into place. Remove all loose material from around the hole with a utility knife. Then cut a piece of drywall to fill the hole. If the patch doesn’t rest on solid wood, set a screw in the patch to use as a handle. After the joint compound hardens, remove the screw and plaster the whole patch with joint cement. Then sand the patch to match the rest of the wall.

When the house framing expands or shrinks, nails pop and become visible under the paint or wallpaper. If the nails are tight, just drive them back below the surface with a claw hammer. Plaster the dent with joint compound. If the nails are loose, pull them if it won’t damage the wall, or drive them so deep they won’t come out again. Then drive new nails nearby. Cover the nails with joint cement. Use only drywall nails. Regular nails will rust when covered with joint cement.

Split tape is caused by the house settling. The tape will bulge like a bubble or blister or actually crack. Cut and pull off the loose tape. Remove all the loose tape or it will split again. Then sand the area and spread a thin coat of joint compound over it. With a wide putty knife work the tape into this compound. Plaster over the tape with compound. When it is dry, sand it.

Bathroom and kitchen walls are sometimes covered with ceramic tile. When a tile is cracked, it should be replaced. Start by removing the tile and old grout. You may have to break the tile with a hammer and chisel.

Repair large holes by cutting a piece of drywall to fit the hole. Cement the patch and hold it in place with a handle made from a screw. When it has dried, remove the screw and plaster, sand and finish the whole area.

Sometimes it is necessary to back a hole with newspaper when filling a hole with spackle or patching plaster. A piece of wire screen or plasterboard works well also.

Most wall repair is essentially plastering. On drywall, use drywall cement or spackle to fill the hole. Wood walls are repaired with wood putty.

Nail pops that are tight can simply be driven back in with a hammer and a nail set. Loose nails should be pulled or driven in. Drive a new nail nearby.

Although the tile is usually set in a special cement, it is much easier to glue the replacement tile with white epoxy cement. The wall must be dry. Use a putty knife or cover your finger with a piece of plastic or cellophane and work the epoxy around the tile to match the old grout. Hold the tile in place until the epoxy begins to set.

Clean all cement off the tiles before it hardens.

Wallpaper is difficult to repair. To replace a greasy or torn spot, carefully tear a piece of matching wallpaper from the front of the patch so the backing will be torn away from the edges. Remove the old piece. Match the pattern and paste down the new patch. The seams will always be slightly visible, but the ragged edges will make them less obvious.

Sometimes wallpaper bulges loose in a bubble. Cut a small slit in the bubble and force paste behind it, in order to work the bubble down. The cut is less visible if it is made along a straight line in the wallpaper pattern.

Remove all tape that is loose. Spread joint compound over the area and work new tape down with a putty knife. Then plaster over.

An uneven piece of wallpaper is less noticeable than one that is cut straight. Tearing the backing off the edges will make it even less obvious.

Gluing tiles with white epoxy cement is easier than using grout. The cement must be spread by hand to look like grout. Protect your finger with a piece of plastic.