Progress

We have been working non-stop in the basement for days, with minor breaks to go into town to buy more supplies to use in the basement.  I have been doing lots, but finishing nothing.  Until today.  Some things are now officially finished.

  

Lee framed and I spackled, sanded, primed and painted the transom.  Then Lee installed the pieces to hold in the glass and I did the touch up paint.  So now the transom is done.  All done.  No more.

  


I like the way it turned out.  It looks good from both directions.

  

If you would like me to make one for you the answer is no.   You can't afford me.  Although in a year or two I might be persuadable!

When we had the basement framed we included a spot to make a built-in bookcase.  We asked a local cabinetmaker to come bid on it as we are getting very tired of working in the basement to the exclusion of all things.  He brought a book of glorious work and then quoted us a price that was fair, but more than what we wanted to pay.  After building it ourselves, I have had MANY regrets that we didn't bite the bullet and hire him, but we saved hundreds of dollars.  And it is just a white bookcase.  After I fill it with books and some tchotchkes ( Oooh.  A word I had to look up.  No help from spell check.) no one will know.

  

The hardest part of the job was, the walls are not straight.  Some of that is from the framers and some from wood just twisting and turning as it dries.  It kept the baseboards from fitting flush against the walls in a lot of places.  That was fixed by my caulking the whole shebang over several days.  My back still hurts. One end of the bookcase area was an inch deeper than the other end.  We didn't want to build a box to insert in the space,  just some shelves, so that was a bit tricky and we questioned whether we should just tear out the whole thing and build the box.

  

Now we are done and if it isn't perfect, we can fill the shelves and no one, but YOU, will know.  And if you make a comment, you will have to eat leftovers.  And the cats brought me a mouse (deceased) which I did not eat, so it is leftover!

  

So I like it and we done good.

  

We also had to leave a hole in the room under the staircase where we put the toilet.  It is to access plumbing for my jetted tub above the basement.  The framers framed it and the plasterers left it, so now I have to fill it.  Lee cut a board to fit the hole and I had to prime it when priming the transom and the bookcase.  Then paint it.  So now that is done, too.  Three things. YAY!

  

Lee and I have been taking bits of time to go look at antique stores in the hopes of finding something to put in that alcove to cover the wood over the hole. It will also be used to hold supplies, like toilet paper and extra towels.  We found a cupboard that will fit the bill.  I measured carefully at the back of the alcove, and it will fit perfectly there.  But I didn't measure at the front where the door trim is and it wouldn't get past that. 

  

Lee cut a bit off both sides of the overhang on the top and now it fits.  It was 1/2 inch too short to cover the wood over the plumbing access, so Lee cut a strip of wood and attached it to the top at the back.  I sanded everything and filled holes and sanded again.  Then I primed it. 

  

The bathroom is yellow with white trim.  Very yellow, so I mixed a bit of white to tone down the color and yet still match the walls.  I painted the inside white and will line the shelves to look clean and be less likely to snag anything with the rough wood surface. 

  

It turned out pretty good. We may not be cabinet makers, but we are cabinet fixers.   I am going to replace the wooden knobs on the doors with painted ceramic ones.

In fact, Lowe's just called and said the toilet we had to special order is in.  So I will go and look at knobs while Lee is getting the toilet.

The kitchen counter top will be delivered and installed this week, so all the big jobs are done.  I need to go around and do all the touch up painting.  And look for a glass mosaic tile for the backsplash. The carpet will have to wait for a bit.  Not ready to look and make any more decisions for a while.  Then I will need the furniture.  My sister-in-law has agreed to be my designer by buying at estate sales in her area.

Jane?!  What have you got for me?  We're getting close!

Never Satisfied

It was finally time to solder my stained glass window for the transom.  Lee cut me some wood to hold the glass in place.  There are a whole bunch of little pieces and they can shift if not held in place.

   

I used finishing nails to hold the wood tight against the edges of the glass.  Then I brushed a section with the liquid flux.  This is necessary because of all the oil from my hands and other contaminants that might keep the solder from adhering to the copper foil.  If you put on too much it will pop and bubble and throw little bits of solder bubbles and leave holes in the line of solder.

   

I  haven't soldered any glass in quite some time.  Years.  I decided to tack the pieces by putting a blob of solder at some corners and then run a bead of solder along a line of foil.  On the first pass I just wanted to get some solder down.

   

Then I came back to clean up the run and add some more solder where the line was flat.  It is best to have a slightly rounded bead of solder.  You can user the soldering iron to run around the piece and pick up the loose bits of solder that popped away.  You can lay the edge of the iron on a lumpy spot and smooth it out to either side.  This takes practice and I am out of practice.  That is my excuse for taking a loooong time.

   

You can see the finished line of solder on the left and the first run on the right.

When you finish one side you have to flip the piece over.  This is delicate, because the piece is still a bit unstable.  I slid it part way off of the wood table I use for glass work and onto my other hand.  This is a good time to mention that you should wait until it has cooled sufficiently.

   

Lift the piece up and gently lay it down on the soldered side so you can do the next side.  Then start the whole flux, solder process over again.  By this time my back was hurting and I wanted to quit.  But you can't let it sit overnight with the flux on it so I had to get it finished.  I did a pretty good job and the took the MOSTLY finished piece over to the sink to wash it with soap and water.  By this time it is pretty stable, but you could probably bend it if you wanted.  So don't try it.

After I washed the whole thing, both sides, I returned it to the wooden board to wait for another day.  I want to do some touch up soldering when I am fresh.  That will entail more flux and soldering and then I will wash it again.

    

After that it will be time to do the copper patina and start to think about how I will install it.  Painting in the basement starts next week and I don't have to figure all that out until that is all done.

Stained Glass Progress

 

   

I am making progress with the stained glass transom.  I used the pattern that came with the purchased bevel cluster for the focus of the transom.  I drew in the dimensions of the finished window and deducted a bit for the wood trim. 

   

Then it was just a matter of drawing in borders and filling out the remainder of the window with cuts that I knew I could make.  Not too intricate, in other words. 

   

When making long straight cuts, like for the borders, I cut the line with a straight edge.  Than I placed the cut at the edge of the table and snapped it down with the glass pliers.

   

Working with clear glass makes things a lot faster.  I can lay the glass on top of the pattern and mark the cuts with a permanent marker.

   

I make one cut at a time until the piece is the right shape.  After I make the cuts, the marker helps me to see where I have to grind away the excess.
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The bad part about using permanent markers is that my fingertips are now a lovely shade of blue.

      

When making a deep curved cut, you have to take little bites of the glass. 

   

It doesn't like to do it all at one time for some reason.

   

 I did this one in three cuts and then ground the rest away.

   

A glass grinder is a magical thing.  I wouldn't want to attempt a project without one.  It is almost impossible to make perfect cuts every time.  Sometimes the glass breaks in such a way as to leave bumps or divots on the edge.  I usually leave a bit of a margin because it is easier to take away a bit of glass rather than add some!

It is also important to grind all the edges just a bit.  I am going to wrap them all with copper foil.  This is what holds the solder and that is what holds all the wee pieces together.  Sliding your finger along fresh cut glass is not a bloodless sport.  In fact, just holding the glass against the grinder can get tiny cuts on your fingertips, no matter how careful you are. I bleed for my art!


    ;

After I finished all the cuts, I stepped back and looked at it.  Pretty good for an amateur.  I really like the blue.  I decided to add just a touch more blue.  I don't want too much color in the transom as the whole point is to let light into the room.  A wee bit more should be just fine.

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My next step is to wrap each piece with copper foil.