The Historic District

I agree with Ron. The wood for the top may have have had some moisture in it. When I made mine, the moisture reading was around 7-8% and we have not seen any twists. An option may be to vent the top. Rather than two solid pieces add metal sheeting and create a framed look. That way the heat has an e...

Paul, I gave your vids a watch, interesting see how others are doing things. I do not use heat to soften the putty but work with the putties hardness and brittleness. I try to get a pointed scraper behind the putty and gently pry against the sash frame. I find I can often get one to two inch chunks...

Thank you - other than a whee bit of water in the basement all was good.

Manalto Sound like you are on your way to restoring the windows. We purchased our 1750's antique home 4 years ago.That is when I found this forum and had a chance to speak with Jade for about and hour. From there I tackled some of our windows. The window casings in our home are original - the sashes...

Suggestion - before any repair work you will want to make sure all of the moisture is gone. Trapped moisture can cause lots of issues in the future if not addressed - deterioration of what plaster is left , as wells, mold are two examples.

My opinion: if the paint on the jambs is solid, I would feather it out and paint over it. Only if there are no issues with the existing adhesion I would not go through the effort especially if I was going to paint. My recommendation would be to use a latex primer and finish because you never know wh...

Zora - You got some great advice.
My windows were the same setup as yours. I added a 3/16 strip on each side of the window. A 1/8th gap on either side for swelling and travel.

I have built three radiator covers, so far - 4 more to go. A learning from the one's that I have built is how to fasten the metal sheets. I have been stapling them in place and it has held up. What I have noticed is a slight sag (1/16") in the metal on the tops. For the next round i will use a thin ...

Sara - you have received good advice.

Another tip: If your gun has heat settings start low and slowly increase the heat until you hit the sweet spot. My experience is the paint melts off in layers. Slow and steady.

Please share progress pics.

Sara - you figured it out perfectly! Typically, only the black wires connect to the switch. When the switch is in the off position it breaks the circuit of the black wire. When it is in the on position it connects the circuit. The earlier post re: the red wire and labeling it for the next person who...