So my crash course in window reglazing is:

1. Remove window stops
2. Remove inner sash
3. Remove parting bead
4. Remove outer sash

Okay, so far so good. At least this time the parting bead wasn't nailed in. Now for the harder parts.

5. Scrape out old putty/compound.

STOP! Did you say scrape out old putty? Try chissel, sand and beg & plead the putty to come out.

It turns out that part of the putty holding my windows in are doing a mighty fine job. Too bad that the parts that need to be scraped out are hanging on well enough that I managed to crack the glass in the bottom sash. So now I am on the hunt for replacement glass which when dealing with a 75 year old house is easier said than done. Sure I could just order a new piece of glass but then it wouldn't have that cool "old" look to it. So I am on the hunt for "wavy glass". If anyone knows of a local shop in Milwaukee or even Chicago that carries this stuff (without having to be pried out of old windows...as I have already proven that I'm not so good at that) please let me know.

It also doesn't look like glazing putty or compound was used in these windows. Instead it looks more like wood putty or filler. You know the kind that dries really hard. Once again my simple project looks like it will take five times as long to complete as I originally thought.

Well, I finally did get the glass out and scraped and sanded out the rest of the putty holding it in. (I love me Dremel tool for this task.) While I was at it I stripped the paint off the exterior side of the sash. The interior side is stained and it definitely could use restoration but right now my goal is to get the windows reglazed. I learned my lesson about letting one project get sidetracked into a hundred other (not so smaller) projects with the, still unfinished, office.

Once the Whohead is done with her snack we have to run to the hardware store so I can get some oil based primer. We aren't really sure what colors we are going to wind up painting the outside of the house but I can't just put the windows back in unprotected...so for the meantime they will get a good coating of white primer and then reglaze the glass back into the sash. I think that between the primer and the storm windows there shouldn't be a problem over the winter. I'll also need to pick up some spring bronze weather stripping as this will also help reduce winter heating bills. As a matter of fact...I expect the new weather stripping to be a larger factor in heat retention that the glazing simply because the windows don't currently have weather stripping at all.

L has said that he will help with the windows this weekend, so I am hoping to get one that I took down in the office as well as this new one that was removed in the living room finished and back up. Then I can plan to do one (or if I get really ambitious 2) a week until all 11 on the front of the house are finished.