June 28, Project updates

Marty & Ben reported in on their skeletal tower window install. “We have good news and bad news.” We’d expected the window installs to be one of the tougher projects we’ve done…but it’s proving to have even further complications. The tower was originally built in a salt water location in 1905, then disassembled, transported and reassembled in Michigan in 1933-34. The window sash we could save was in rough shape. It made making accurate recreations difficult. The wood windows are held in with metal stops which makes them unforgiving. Everything has to come up two stories by ladder, then up spiral stairs. The good news is that they are moving forward getting the outer stops out, using a grinder & wire brush to clean up the metal and have identified the modifications needed to get the top sash to fit properly. Here’s what these will look like when installed. A fine, but likely frustrating, day’s work!

Meanwhile, Jim and Ben reported they had gotten the basement external door installed. We now have a functional door unlike what we started with below: