A Window Worth Building Around
One of the things we enjoy most about building a truly custom home is that sometimes the project begins with something that isn’t new at all.
Years ago, one of our clients purchased a stained-glass window from a church that was going to be torn down. She saved it and protected it all these years with a very specific hope: someday, when she built her forever home, that window would become part of it.
Someday has finally arrived.
She is now building that forever home on the river in Clarkesville, Georgia, and the stained-glass window that she has kept for so many years is going to have a prominent place in the house.
More Than Just Installing a Window
The homeowner’s vision is about more than simply finding a wall where the stained glass will fit.
She wants the window positioned so family and visitors can enjoy it as they come down the driveway toward the house. At the same time, she wants it to be just as meaningful from inside the home, where natural light can pass through the glass and bring its colors to life.
That creates an interesting challenge for us as the builder.
The stained glass itself is old and fragile, so it needs to be protected. At the same time, this is a modern home, and we don’t want incorporating a historic window to compromise the home’s comfort or energy efficiency.
We also don’t want the protective solution to diminish the very thing we’re trying to showcase. Adding layers of glass can introduce reflections and glare, potentially changing the appearance of the stained glass from both inside and outside.
So the goal isn’t simply to make it fit.
The goal is to protect the stained glass, preserve the performance of the home’s exterior envelope, allow plenty of natural light through it, minimize unwanted glare, and—most importantly—let the window remain the focal point the homeowner has imagined for so many years.
The First Step: Making a Template
Before we could begin discussing solutions with stained-glass and glazing professionals, we needed something surprisingly simple: an exact representation of the window.
Because of its age, shape and fragile condition, this isn’t a window that we want to move around unnecessarily. So we made a trip to carefully trace its complete outline onto a piece of material that could then be cut into a full-size template.
That template is now being kept at our office.
It gives us the exact dimensions and shape we need to properly design and frame the opening in the new home. Just as importantly, it gives us something we can use when discussing glazing, protection, insulation and installation options with the professionals who are helping us develop the final solution.
Finding the Right Solution
Not every indoor pollutant comes from outside.Many common building materials and household products can release chemicals into the air, particularly when they are new. These include substances known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which can be associated with paints, adhesives, sealants, flooring, cabinetry, composite wood products, finishes, furnishings, and other materials.This does not mean that a healthy home has to be built entirely from unusual or expensive specialty products.It means we should be thoughtful about what we put into it.Where practical, lower-emitting materials and low- or no-VOC products can reduce unnecessary chemical exposure. Just as importantly, proper ventilation helps remove pollutants that inevitably find their way into an occupied home.There is an important connection here to the tighter building envelope we discussed in our Efficiency article. If we are going to do a better job keeping uncontrolled outside air from leaking into a home, we also need to do a better job managing the air that remains inside it.Building tighter and building healthier should go hand in hand.
Following the Window’s Journey
Right now, the stained-glass window remains safely protected in its crate in the basement of the homeowner’s current home.
Soon, the template will help shape an opening in a brand-new house being built specifically to receive it.
And eventually, after being saved from a church scheduled for demolition and carefully protected for all these years, this window will begin another chapter—bringing light and color into the forever home where our client always imagined it would be.
This is the first time Cutler Structures has been asked to incorporate a historic stained-glass window into a new custom home, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.
We’ll continue sharing the story as we work with the stained-glass and glazing professionals, make decisions about the final assembly, frame the opening, install the window and, ultimately, see sunlight coming through it in its new home.
Some details in a custom home are selected during construction.
Others have been waiting for the home to be built around them.
Some details in a custom home are selected during construction while others have been waiting for the home to be built around them. This is one of them. This is what makes my job as a builder fun and even more meaningful. Check back on the progress for this one and I will keep you updated, Oaky Dover
