Revamping an old window

I mentioned that my inspiration for my laundry closet came from the Show & Tell blog, which I spotted originally on Pinterest.com. My closet is no where near as large as the laundry room pictured there but it was the inspiration for the pedestal with laundry basket storage underneath that Scott made and I also really liked the old door on the wall with a wreath. I don't happen to have an old door laying around, but I do have an old window. In my scaled-down version of this laundry area, I think that the window will be perfect. I even have some old honeysuckle vine out in the garage that I plan to use to make a wispy wreath.

I see a lot of people showing off their old windows so I thought I focus on telling you what I do to clean them up. This particular old window is one that I purchased at Heritage Architectural Supply, a place that specializes in pieces and parts of old buildings. You will pay more for mantles, corbels, doors and windows at a salvage place such as this than you would at a garage sale, but it is pretty much guaranteed instant gratification. About 13 years ago, when I was doing stained glass, I bought several old windows to put newly made stained glass panels in. This one I always liked so I didn't use it for a project to sell. It was just collecting dust in the garage, so I'm happy to finally give it new life.

As you can see, this window was missing one pane of glass. I could have tried to replace it, but instead I decided to remove all the glass and make the frame just a little lighter weight for hanging. I don't want the glare from the lights on the glass and I don't want them looking dusty from the lint that would likely collect on it over time. Because it is kind of a tight squeeze over the washer and dryer, once this is in place it will stay there for a good long while.

There are a couple precautions you need to consider when removing glass from an old frame. First, obviously, you don't want to get cut. The other consideration is lead. I can pretty much guarantee you that if your window looks like mine, it was painted with lead-based paint. Because of that, take some time to research safe handling of lead-painted items. Do not grab a palm sander and start sanding away at the finish without learning about the dangers of breathing in lead dust. I'm not an expert by any means, but I do take lead poisoning seriously.

To remove the glass I used:
cardboard box
gloves
old rag
hammer
standard head screwdriver
Closed-toed shoes and safety glasses would be a good idea
Damp disposable rag
Matte finish polyurethane spray

The safest way to remove the glass is to break it over a disposable cardboard box. Do this in an area where your family won't be walking barefoot as there may be glass shards that don't land in the box. Place the frame over the box and lay an old rag over the top of the glass. Give the glass a good whack in one of the corners. Chances are good that it will shatter, a few pieces will drop but some huge razor sharp shards will remain, especially if the glazing around the edges is still pretty strong. You'll need to wear gloves so you can gently break all the glass out of the window.

Any small shards that remain will need to be broken out using the screwdriver. Tap it along the groove on all sides to get any remaining pieces dislodged. You may find glazier's points, small metal tips that were used to hold the glass next to the wood. Knock these out with the tip of the screwdriver. These are sharp, just like the glass, so it is important to wear heavy gloves at all times.

Those little metal wedges are glazier's points.

After the glass is removed, use a damp disposable rag to wipe down the frame. This will remove any dust and cobwebs as well as tiny bits of glass that might remain. Being damp, the rag is less likely to disturb any lead in the paint of the window, but just in case throw the rag away when you are done. At this time you can paint your window with latex primer and paint or else seal the surface with a matte finish polyurethane. It is important to finish it as you want to seal in any lead so that it doesn't shed any lead-laced dust inside your home. I went the clear poly route because I love the chippy wood that has accents of a spice and pale aqua.

This is how it looks above the washer and dryer now, topped with some honeysuckle vine that was loosely wired into a wreath:

Here's a close up of that glorious chippy texture.

By the way, the wall color in the laundry closet is Pittsburgh Paint's Big Cypress. I decided on that color before I pulled the window frame out of the dusty corner in the garage. I was amazed at just how close a match the color is, I wasn't trying to match. But once I saw it, I used the grayish aqua color on the frame to help inspire the spare bathroom, which is the room immediately to the left of the laundry closet. That color also happens to be just a shade or two lighter than the shower curtain that is going in the spare bathroom. I love it when things randomly come together like that!