50's house detectives wanted.
ma...@karman.demon.co.uk
worth of paint I have found that the tops of all the doors except the
exterior one have a "window" above them.
They have all been boarded up in the past and painted/papered or
artexed over.
I have removed some of the covers and the ones I have had a sheet of
plywood where I would have expected there to be glass.
Should these be "glassed" and if so what sort of glass ?
Clear/frosted etc. ?
Whilst not wanting a 50's throwback I would like to restore these to
how they should be. It's not something I could guess at as it's about
16 years before my time as it were.
Any help appreciated.
Mark S.
Dave Plowman
<ma...@karman.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> Whilst stripping the four panel pine doors of hardboard and 46 years
> worth of paint I have found that the tops of all the doors except the
> exterior one have a "window" above them.
Known, IIRC, as a 'borrowed light'
> They have all been boarded up in the past and painted/papered or
> artexed over.
> I have removed some of the covers and the ones I have had a sheet of
> plywood where I would have expected there to be glass.
> Should these be "glassed" and if so what sort of glass ?
> Clear/frosted etc. ?
The ones I remember were clear.
--
* The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard *
Dave Plowman dave....@argonet.co.uk London SW 12
RIP Acorn
Andy Hall
<ma...@karman.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3c267e32...@news.demon.co.uk...
These are known as borrowed lights if fixed, or storey lights if they open
partly downwards as a flap for extra ventilation.
Typically stippled, frosted or wavy glass, although I've seen plain as well
(except on bathrooms :-) )
I have a couple of these in my (newer) house. One good idea if they are
bedrooms is to fit glass but then to make an additional small frame to
receive a detachable wood panel. One of my kids would never sleep unless
the room was pitch black and this arrangement worked well.
.andy
Philip Dodd
uk> wrote:
>Whilst stripping the four panel pine doors of hardboard and 46 years
>worth of paint I have found that the tops of all the doors except the
>exterior one have a "window" above them.
Possibly the boarding-up was original. I was around in the 1950s and there
were some grim things done, such as glass "painted" to give a "see-through
opaque" look. Vertically fluted glass was a likelihood - but it is very
difficult to cut...
I'd be inclined to put in plain glass sheets, and then paint some designs on
them, along the lines of a sunset with alternating clear and coloured
"rays"...get the idea ? That type of effect was more from the "Art Deco" era
symbolic of the 1920s and 1930s, but a heck of a lot more attractive than much
of the design of the 1950s.
If you go in for painting, from memory one of the "Art Attack" range of
childrens' artist kits at W.H. Smiths etc has paints intended for glass
painting.
I know more people who've boarded up glass lights than have uncovered them - a
landing light put on during the night wakes everyone up, and teeneage
daughters especially get worried about their privacy with lights above the
doors...
If you've got gas appliances in the rooms, you might find that the regs
require an escape route for fumes and unlighted gas escaping into the rooms.
A house I bought in 1982 had glass lights above the doors, with gaps around
the sides and tops of the glazing for that very reason...
Philip Dodd
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alan goss
Any glass you want to use would do. They used clear, opaque or if you
were posh leaded. I've only got two of these lights in my present
house (built 1890) but one I lived in in the 60's was a beauty.
Coloured leaded lights above all doors.
--
Alan G
Fight for a fairer tax system
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alan.goss/Index.html
ma...@karman.demon.co.uk
Thanks for all the pointers guys.
I'm going for frosted glass and fashion some hinged or removable
covers, not that I've anyone else to worry about waking up but for any
"guests". ;-)
Mark S.
Andy Hall
"Philip Dodd" <phil...@NOSPAMfreeuk.com> wrote in message
news:slrna2en6b....@phildodd.freeuk.com...
> I know more people who've boarded up glass lights than have uncovered
them - a
> landing light put on during the night wakes everyone up, and teeneage
> daughters especially get worried about their privacy with lights above the
> doors...
>
... teenage sons are even worse.... :-)
.andy
Andy Hall
<ma...@karman.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3c279f92...@news.demon.co.uk...
OK, so here's a thought for you, Mark, from what I'm doing with a couple of
mine.
In the new year I'm getting the door frames and doors of all of the upstairs
rooms replaced in hardwood
to match the downstairs that were done a year ago.
Those that currently have storey frames with fixed obscure glass in the top
will have openable lights at the top with glass and a removable wooden
panel. The opening pieces will hinge at the bottom and there will be
stays allowing them to open to up to about 30-45 degrees. This should
cover all the bases including extra ventilation in the summer.
.andy