Turn of the century panel restoration - Prior To Restoration

Panel size is somewhere around 44 inches wide by 21 inches tall.

The client had purchased this turn of the century piece online and after it arrived she realized just how much damage there was to the piece, partly due to the way it was shipped but also due to its age and how it was maintained over the decades. I estimate the age of the piece to be in the range of 120 to 130 years old, this is based off of my knowledge of the construction techniques and the materials used.

The old style "saddle" type rebar's had both separated from their attachment points to the leaded panel and the panel had deflected over time. The combination of the loss of reinforcement, the puttying/cementing deteriorating and the continual "force of gravity" pulling on the panel has resulted in the damage you see prior to my restoration of the piece.

In an effort to stay within a certain budget the client opted to not have a complete re-leading of the panel done, this is where the piece is pulled apart completely and all of the lead came is replaced with new lead came.

Taking much care I reshaped the piece to remove the bowing that had occurred over time and then I replaced the few broken pieces that were so far gone we could not just add lead lines, in addition I replaced the pieces that were missing all together. I was able to find very close matches in glass as I have an extensive stock of glass on hand which includes many out of production sheets of glass.

Then I re-leaded the outside border of glass, replacing that lead to help assure optimal strength in the long term. This is not something I had quoted to the client but decided to do as it was the right thing to do for this piece, I did not charge the client anything more for doing that extra step. I also soldered all of the broken solder joints and lead came work. Lead of this age will "break" when it is deflecting this much and must be repaired or replaced.

Once the panel was put back together and soldered I then redid the putty/cement of the whole panel. This is an important step as it helps to not only assure there is no loose glass that might rattle due to vibration, but more importantly it helps to strengthen the panel.

Lastly I then attached new rebar, a flat steel rebar that is soldered at each intersection of lead it touches. This rebar is then notched into the wood sash.

By restoring this piece it will be available for many future generations to enjoy.