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Remember our weekend warrior reader who created a wine cellar in his Clinton Hill brownstone last month? Well, he’s been at it again, this time tackling a sagging skylight. In his own words…

The skylight is somewhat cheaply made, and not by Michaelangelo. The designs on the glass pieces appear to have been silk-screened. But I think it looks pretty nice, particularly with the oval plaster work, and it’s original to the house (1870s, Clinton Hill). It’s 30 inches wide and 55 inches long…We had a leak, as you can see in lower right. And I’m sure it wasn’t the first leak over the past 140 years. And, upon a closer look, it became clear that the skylight was falling apart, sagging badly and in serious danger of raining down the stairs in tiny, irreparable shards. But how to get it down without breaking it?

When I crawled up into the cockloft, I discovered that the previous owner of the house thought he could improve upon actual sunlight with a flourescent fixture….I imagine the skylight also would look a little nicer with a little cleaning (you can’t make them out, but there are at least six dead bees and a thick coating of grime, here) but I was actually really scared to touch the thing at all.

Initial plan was to slip a piece of quarter-inch plywood beneath frame, screw the frame to it, and then lower it through the hole. But the husband correctly pointed out that this A) would be a huge pain in the ass, and B) the glass had sagged so much that placing the skylight on a flat piece of wood would probably bust out pieces of it.

So I slipped an old, strong shower curtain under the glass, pulled it taut, and stapled it all around. Did the same thing on the top. And lowered it through the hole to husband, waiting on tall ladder, without any damage. Now to get it restored!

Two questions: (1) Does anybody know where these clearly mass-produced approximations of stained glass came from? (2) Can anybody recommend a place for stained-glass repair? Thanks.


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Oh, and finally, to the poster who schooled me on the diff between skylight and laylight– thanks for that. The leak, as it happens, wasn’t coming from the skylight, but from the hatch a few feet up-roof. Fixed it with that nice black tarry stuff.

    However, to any of you who have these laylights, please take a look at them for the kind of damage mine suffered–these babies are old. If they break while in place, the glass will fall far enough into your stairs and break badly enough that you might never be able to fix it. Better to take it down and stabilize it until you can afford a visit to the glass joint, no?

  2. Original weekend warrior here– thanks, all, for the great information. Montrose (whose namesake I only recently realized while doing some research at the Bklyn historical society–nice choice, sir!), I agree with you that the construction of the plaster oval was half of what made this interesting enough for Brownstoner.

    I also agree with you that I like this sort of post. That’s why I write ’em, hoping that others will continue to share their smaller projects–even if they don;’t have time to do a complete, permanent reno blog. I love it also when Mr. B solicits bathroom renos, kitchen renos, hell, closet renos.

    Mr., B, how about soliciting renos of bars/butler’s pantries, and other booze-related accoutrements?

    Oh, and 12:39, fear not: The flourescent fixture has been removed due to insufferable tackiness and won’t be returning. If I were going to illuminate my “laylight,” as I now know it’s call (thanks!), I would use a warmer light, I would install it to code, and I would put it on a switch or timer so it doesn’t burn 24/7/365….

  3. Wow, that is absolutely gorgeous, no matter how they did it. A lot of painted glass is more beautiful than plain stained glass. 12:29 was very correct on all points. You recieved lots of good information, and I hope you can get it restored and remounted. It will be one of the most talked about features of your home. Congratulations.

    It was also interesting to see how the niche for the laylight was created, from above in the crawlspace. Very interesting.

    Please, Mr. B. – more of this sort of thing, less reporting on every new condo project in Brooklyn. A healthy mix is what made the site interesting to all.