Over the years I have replaced my fair share of broken window panes. Some were caused by wayward baseballs and others came courtesy of a stone that had gotten caught up in the lawn mower blades. Thankfully, replacing window panes is not all that hard to do. Here’s how:
Window Glass Repair Supplies
In order to complete this project you will need a bottle of linseed oil, a paint brush, a pair of safety goggles, a putty knife, turpentine, a hand held hair dryer and a pair of heavy gloves. You’ll also need fine grit sandpaper, a container of glazing compound, a tape measure, glazier’s points and a new piece of window pane.
Preparing the Window Frame
Start by donning your safety goggles and heavy gloves. Remove all of the old glass. Measure the thickness, width and length of the glass. In order to get a perfect fit, you’ll need to know all three. I also recommend that you don’t assume that the window frame is the same on all sides. In my experience, older window frames may have one side that has slightly different measurements than the other. Once you know the measurements, you may purchase the glass from your local glass shop or home improvement store.
Continue by using a hand held hair dryer and a putty knife to remove the old compound from the window’s frame. The heat from the hair dryer will help to loosen up the old compound. This is important to do because you’ll need a clean and level surface when you go to install the new pane of glass. Afterwards, lightly sandpaper the inside of the frame in order to roughen up the edges a bit. I have found that the rough edges make the glazing compound adhere better to the wood.
Once you are done with that task, treat the window frame with a thin coat of linseed oil. The linseed oil tends to preserve the wood as well as prevent the glazing compound from soaking into it. I have had instances where I skipped the linseed oil step and the wood was so dry that it soaked up the glazing compound. As a result, the glass didn’t sit right in the frame and I had to do it all over again.
Installing the Window Glass
Once the linseed oil dries, run a bead of glazing compound around the inside of the wood frame. Proceed by gently lowering the new pane of glass into the window frame. It should rest on top of the glazing compound. Then, using a putty knife, insert the glazier’s points into the frame. They will help to keep the glass pane in place.
After the glazier’s points have been installed, you’ll need to apply a second layer of glazing compound. As this will be the final layer of glazing compound applied, you’ll also want to smoothen out the edges. I’d suggest using a putty knife that has been lightly coated with turpentine for this task. Based on my experience, the turpentine will keep the glazing compound from sticking to the putty knife during the smoothing process. Allow the glazing compound to dry completely before attempting to reinstall the window. That is all there is to it.
Killeen Gonzalez has a history of completing home improvement projects with her family.
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