Window progress

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2009

The windows are coming along. I wish I could say they are almost finished but there is still much to do. I will be making the frames that hold the windows and go into the house openings next. Then comes the hinging. After that there is more wood trim  goes onto the windows. There is a vertical piece that covers the join on the casement windows. There is a drip molding to fabricate that glues onto the lower edge of the windows and door. That drip detail keeps rain from getting into a house. After that is hardware, knobs, locks and such. Shutters will be made later and installed after most of the exterior work on the dollhouse is finished.

You will see on some of the windows that are not painted there are bits of blue showing. I paint inside all of the grooves I made to hold the glass. The blue color in there helps disguise the thickness of the glass. In addition the back side of the muntin strips that glue to the glass are also painted. You would be able to see the bare wood if they were not painted. Painting is done with a watered down, very thin coat of flat, exterior house paint. I run the corner edge of a piece of glass through the groove to act as a scraper to remove any excess paint. The grooves are painted before I glue the window frames together.

I have decided to cut new walls for the dollhouse out of the thicker foam cored EasyBoard. It is about 7/16 thick although they call it 1/2". I want window sills and 1/4" is just not going to give me that look. Having the windows and doors all framed up makes it easy to create the openings to the exact size. Two steps forward one step back, oh well it will get done one of these days.

I am looking forward to getting this part of the job done so I can get those walls up and start the timber and stucco work. Working with tweezers to put in tiny bits of muntins and then detailing them with a scalpel is not my favorite task. But I am not done with it yet, looking at the sets of windows next to  the door I realize I need to take the muntins off the door and change it from a 6 lite grid to a 9 lite so the proportions all work together.

My original thought was to do some leaded glass windows but for some reason I decided not to. I do have two types of windows with different muntin patterns that might have been salvaged and installed at a different time. On a centuries old cottage replacement windows would be the normal look.

Even on more modern houses I have owned and renovated I have seen three sets of window changes on a cottage  that was only 80 years old. There were the original wood framed, plus some single paned aluminum and also some double paned vinyl windows. All the exterior doors were different types too. Another house I owned was built with salvaged windows the original builder thought were charming.