Stained Glass Repairs

Jaybee5

Hello all,

I'm currently renovating an Edwardian property which has 4 single glazed original stained glass panels on the front door. Unfortunately, 3 of these are now bowed out with some broken and missing glass. I'm organising a few tradesmen to come and quote for repairing them but has anyone got any advice/experience in terms of costs? Also, are there any questions/guarantees I need to ask about with this type of work?

The panels are approx 1.5ft x 2ft.

Thank you!

DVardysShadow

You need a competent tradesman - look for a small outfit which supplies the coloured glass. If it all needs total reconstruction, it could be quite expensive, but if there are simple fixes, then less so. You may be looking at £300 for simple repairs - don't know about reconstruction and refitting, but it will depend on the complexity of the pattern. Another approach is to get DG panels to match the original pattern - obviously not quite the same thing, but they do look good. I had a 2 panel window complete DG replacement for £340 about 8 years ago.

Jaybee5

Thanks for the quick response. My husband is interested in DG replacements but i'm really hoping to retain the originality as much as possible. I'll keep an open mind until i've had the quotes. I've budgeted £500 (out of the air guess!) so your figures are reassuring.

Debt_Free_Chick

I had one stained glass panel restored many years ago (10+?) and can't remember the cost. Around £150 springs to mind, but this was just a fanlight above a casement bay window. I used a firm who traded in the Kings Heath area of Birmingham, which is predominantly Victorian/Edwardian properties.

To be honest, I really think this type of work is beyond anyone other than a specialist. Your "average" builder, carpenter, joiner etc is most unlikely to have the skills/tools for this - it really is painstaking, careful work.

Worth asking around neighbours and if you have any local independent ironmongers or architechtural salvage yards or antique shops, ask them too. Another good source might be your local church!

You could also try the Directory on SalvoWeb and this directory from Building Conservation.

I guess it depends on the extent to which you want to retain/restore the original and that's a very personal thing. If you're not too fussed about restoration of the original, there are other options.

Amanita_2

Jaybee5 wrote: »

Hello all,

I'm currently renovating an Edwardian property which has 4 single glazed original stained glass panels on the front door. Unfortunately, 3 of these are now bowed out with some broken and missing glass. I'm organising a few tradesmen to come and quote for repairing them but has anyone got any advice/experience in terms of costs? Also, are there any questions/guarantees I need to ask about with this type of work?

The panels are approx 1.5ft x 2ft.

Thank you!

If you are in the least bit handy then it really isn't hard to do yourself. One of the stained glass panels in our front door bowed and cracked over the winter. We did look at getting a pro in to deal with it but my OH decided to have a go himself. There are plenty of directions available on the internet. He has no previous experience at all of stained glass work but is quite practically minded.

Otherwise as this is a very popular "hobby" why don't you ask around and see if there is anyone local who does this? You can ask to see samples of their work to check how good they are.

pboae

OH repaired our stained glass, and he's not at all handy! He just traced the shape of the damaged piece and took it to a glass yard, they cut one to fit and the lead itself is very malleable and it's easy to get the broken piece out and the new one in. With hindsight, it would have been better to take the time to find some antique glass though, as you could tell the repair was modern coloured glass if you looked closely.

In the end, we had all the windows restored and encapsulated inside double glazing, best of both worlds. There's a thread about it here
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1832091

never_enough

People often do stained glass at night classes, so you could always go along & catch a teacher before a class. They may be able to do work, or know someone who does. I know of someone that does it, but she's almost a stained glass artist, although she does renovation work & panels.

Jaybee5

Ok folks - many thanks for all the helpful replies. I've got a stained glass specialist coming round Friday morning so i'll keep you posted. If its stupidly expensive I may look into the DIY options suggested... ...Or get my OH to!

Jaybee5

Just had a quote from one specialist - £160 per panel, so £480 for all 3. I think I'd be able to chip him down to £450 but we weren't far off. Hope this is useful to others.