New Sash Cord

I finished putting the window together last night.

If the window wasn't 40 inches wide, you could open it with one finger.  That's a testament to the way they were built originally (including the proper sash weights), not the way they've been maintained over the years.

I still have a little work to to to get the bottom sash to close completely.  Looks like the last time the window was apart, somebody didn't get the weather strip along the bottom installed in quite the right place...

Broken Sash Ribbon

One of the windows in the Music Room has a broken sash ribbon.  After doing some research, I've discovered that these metal ribbons were used in place of cord on higher-end windows of the period.  It's amazing that these have lasted over 115 years...

One had broken previously  and been replaced by some stranded metal cable.  Ugh.

Some of the window stop screws were stripped so they nailed the window stops in place.  Double ughh.

They were blind as a bat and missed the nail (see hammer indentation next to the nail hole in the top photo - putty knife blade is against the nail and under the hammer mark).  Triple ughhh.

They used gigantic nails (bottom photo).  There's a special place in my heart for these people  ;-(

Because I can't find sash ribbon any more, I'll have to use sash cord.  And, of course, I over-estimated the weight of the windows and bought the wrong sash cord - it's too large for the pulley.  So I'm heading back to the hardware store.

That's OK though, I drilled & doweled the old holes for the stop-screws and the glue needs time to dry.

The Music Room

My next project is the Music Room. The slideshow will get updated with new photos as things progress. Right now it contains the (almost) before pictures - there are a few things we've already done.  Originally there was no ceiling fixture in this room; we had the electrician wire for one and move the chandelier in here from the main hall. You can also see some sample paint colors on the wall. And, of course, we had the floors refinished when we first moved in. Mostly, this room just needs paint, but there are a few other things as well...

Those with a sharp eye will notice that the walls at either end of the room are curved. According to a local architect, Gilbert did it for acoustical reasons.

This is the room where callers were brought to wait for the lady of the house (assuming she was receiving visitors). We're going to decorate it in line with it's original purpose, so this room will have a much different feel to it than the more masculine Library.