« Our Borough, Ourselves Open House Picks 8/10/07: Six Months Later »
February 1, 2008
Weekend Warrior: Fixing the Skylight
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.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/3727
Comments
It's a great window, and probably not as "cheaply produced" as you think.
Try the following studios:
Albert Stained Glass Studio
57 Front Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201
Phone: 718-625-6464
Art Glass Studio, Inc.
543 Union Street, 3A
Brooklyn, New York 11215
Phone: 718-596-4353
Jersey Art Stained Glass Studio
35-37 Bridge Street
Frenchtown, New Jersey 08825
Phone: 908-996-2223
Fax: 908-996-2327
The Gil Studio, Inc.
55 Washington Street
Suite 601
Brooklyn, New York 11201
Phone: 718-254-9703
Fax: 718 254 9704
Posted by: guest at February 1, 2008 11:00 AM
This must have been nerve wracking.
There is a stained glass place on 5th Avenue around 1st street (don't remember the exact cross streets). All they do is stained glass so I would expect repairing this would be an easy job for them.
Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 1, 2008 11:01 AM
maybe closer to you in Prospect Heights...
Albert Stained Glass
235 St. Marks Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(718) 783-8800
Posted by: Fjorder at February 1, 2008 11:30 AM
Another good stained glass restorer is:
Mary Clerkin Higgins
Clerkin Higgins Stained Glass, Inc.
1205 Manahattan Avenue, Unit 131
Building 1, 3rd Floor
Brooklyn NY 11222
(718) 349-6552
(in Greenpoint).
The "silk screening" you are seeing is very common. Most stained glass is not stained glass, but rather painted glass. Even the Tiffany and Lafarge stuff included a large amount of painted glass.
The failure of the lead cames is also common - since lead is soft, it fatigues over time, resulting in the sagging you saw.
Also, what you are working is a laylight - the waterproofing comes from the skylight, which is up at the roof level. Restoration of the laylight will not stop water infiltration - you want to repair the roof and skylight to protect the laylight.
Posted by: guest at February 1, 2008 12:29 PM
That's a lot of work... well done. Hate to sound like an insurance adjuster, but you should make certain that the electric for the fluorescent ballast is up to code. It looks like it may be just an extension cord.
Good luck with the rest of the project.
Posted by: guest at February 1, 2008 12:39 PM
Congratulations for removing it without breaking it! Clearly not an easy job. It looks beautiful and well worth restoring. The designs were often hand-painted on the back of the glass. I've used Albert (who is indeed on St Marks, btw Vanderbilt and Underhill) but for a much, much simpler job. However I know his studio has restored original Tiffany pieces coz I've seen them there. Btw, I've also seen people install a plain piece of glass UNDER the stained glass panel -- presumably to prevent it falling more than 2 inches or so.
Posted by: guest at February 1, 2008 1:12 PM
Installing plain glass under it, or even clear plexiglas, probably also helps keep in heat, keep out drafts, as that little space above the stained glass isn't likely heated.
Posted by: guest at February 1, 2008 2:55 PM
Stained Glass Store
300 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718) 768-7964
does reasonably priced restoration of stained glass.
Posted by: guest at February 1, 2008 5:58 PM
Eeek! My skylight needs repair also. I noticed a leak tonight.
Posted by: guest at February 1, 2008 7:47 PM
We recently had our stained glass skylight restored by Kelly Glass Studio, 122 Ave C, Manhattan. She etched new glass to replace broken pieces and did a beautiful job.
Posted by: guest at February 1, 2008 9:49 PM
There's a great stained glass supply shop on Franklin Street in Tribeca... They have erratic hours, but I'm sure they can answer most questions.
Tommy G 646-613-1420
Posted by: guest at February 2, 2008 9:20 AM
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.
Posted by: Montrose Morris at February 2, 2008 10:15 AM
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....
Posted by: guest at February 2, 2008 8:22 PM
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?
Posted by: guest at February 2, 2008 8:24 PM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.