Project of this weekend was dressing up the windows we had installed last weekend. We ordered the windows in wood unpainted or stained so we could do it our selves and make sure the stain matched the rest of the house.
First step was taping off the window edges, during which I have perfected my taping technique to a perfect art. We are talking edges that meet perfectly in the corner with no gaps in-between. This is opposed to my usual modus operandi of ripping of hundreds of tiny bits off to have the tape meet and overlap exactly in the corners, and ending up with messy pieces that fall off and are stuck everywhere. The trick, I found, is to lay the tape along the edge and up to the corner. Then placing a putty knife in the corner cutting it into an oblique angle, you can rip the tape along the edge. You should rip from the corner inward.
The weather is unseasonably warm right now, so we knew this was a project we needed to get done as soon as possible. We removed the windows from the frames, and stained them to match all of the trim. It was a bit of a rush job since the windows needed to be put back in before we went to bed, so the stain didn’t get to set as long as it should before we applied the polyurethane, but it worked out.
Taking the tape off, we started out using cotton rounds and alcohol to remove the left behind tape gunk, but then I switched to nail polish remover (acetone), which worked quicker with a lot less elbow grease.
There was one mishap taking one of the double hungs out and the catch on the tension cord that lets the window go up and down was broken. No word yet on if there is a warranty or replacement part. We are completely bummed because they are brand new and it is the one in our bedroom.
Either way they are looking really great and add a lot of character to the house.
Tags: double hung window, stain, taping, windows