Installing a new piece of glass

kmmr

Hi,

I have a job I want to do tomorrow, but it is slightly beyond my very beginner DIY Skills!

Basically in the space above my front door there is a small gap (about 10cm high) that is currently filled with a block of wood. In the far past, before a renovation, there was some glass there, but I think since then the whole section of wood has been replaced.

So now there is basically a rectangular box, all smooth on the inside. I want to put a pane of glass in there, but I don't know how to stick it in place. When I look online they always talk about pushing the glass against the frame to put in place, but there is no frame to push against.

I have some beading that I wanted to put around the pane. Should I put that in first to build a sort of frame, and then put the glass against it? And then once the glass is in, put the beading on the other side. Also, should I paint the beading first?

Hope that makes sense!

Thanks all

kmmr

ormus

yes place beading on both sides. undercoat it first if you like.
fix first side in place. then some putty, and then squash glass against the putty. press evenly all around.
a bit more putty on the other side, and fix second set of beading.
press the beading home and pin into place. use putty knife to clean up all the excess putty.

wait till putty dries out (a week?) and give it a final paint.

plumb1_2

ormus wrote: »

yes place beading on both sides. undercoat it first if you like.
fix first side in place. then some putty, and then squash glass against the putty. press evenly all around.
a bit more putty on the other side, and fix second set of beading.
press the beading home and pin into place. use putty knife to clean up all the excess putty.

wait till putty dries out (a week?) and give it a final paint.

You only need putty on the one side you are pressing the glass against. Yep paint the bare wood with a primer/undercoat. And knock 3-5mm off the size of the opening to get the glass size.

kmmr

Thank you very much! A couple of questions

ormus wrote: »

yes place beading on both sides. undercoat it first if you like.
fix first side in place.

Can I use no-more-nails to put it in place?

ormus wrote: »

then some putty, and then squash glass against the putty. press evenly all around.
a bit more putty on the other side, and fix second set of beading.
press the beading home and pin into place.

What do you mean pin it in place. I imagine it's a small nail put in a few places, hard up against the beading to hold in place.

Does the beading need anything more than the putty to hold it in place?

ormus wrote: »

use putty knife to clean up all the excess putty.

Hmm.. putty knife. This may be done with a regular knife/finger!

ormus wrote: »

wait till putty dries out (a week?) and give it a final paint.

DVardysShadow

kmmr wrote: »

1. Can I use no-more-nails to put it in place?
2. What do you mean pin it in place. I imagine it's a small nail put in a few places, hard up against the beading to hold in place.
3. Does the beading need anything more than the putty to hold it in place?
4. Hmm.. putty knife. This may be done with a regular knife/finger!

1. No nails is not recommended for anything by me. Bear in mind the beading will have to take sideways pressure while you press the glass against the putty as well as keep the beading held down. Are you happy to risk your glass popping through?
2. No, pins go through the beading
3. Yes, front and back beading should be pinned
4. Putty knives are the shape they are for a reason and this is definitely the tool for the job. When you DIY, make a judgement about cheapskating on the quality of your tools, but cheapskating on having the right tool is a false economy unless you know the job inside out.

kmmr

pins like this?
pins

I may need to go down and get these anyway, so I will see if they sell a putty knife.

edit: would this do?

Putty_knife

DVardysShadow

The pins look OK - reasonably stout.

Putty knife Unfortunately, the image you linked did not show the end.

kmmr

There is another one for sale there:
knife so unless it looks like this I won't get the homebase one.

Silly question probably, but what do I do with each side of the blade? Or just use the curved side to get a nice even curve in the putty all the way around?

p.s. This DIY malarky gets expensive! I was quoted £40 to install this... so far I am £12 in glass, £1 in putty, £6(ish) for the knife and pins. But the skills are invaluable!

DVardysShadow

That knife does the job.

You should squeeze the glass down on the putty held on the bead on one side and then squeeze the other bead against putty held on the glass on the other side. Then pin down the second bead. Take care to press evenly all around and not snap the glass. Work the putty in your hands before applying to get it pliable, and squeeze down to a fillet about 1or 2mm thick. Use the corner of the bladeto scrape away the surplus.

With regards to cost, it gets cheaper as you accumulate knowhow, tools and materials. But sometimes it is worth paying to get someone in to do a job and watching them.

kmmr

Quick update - well the job is done! We have the glass in, but I realised that the back of the glass isn't really visible, so there won't be proper beading on that side. You can't see it, and it's impossible to get the hammer etc in to put in the pins. Although, having said that, I have put in a couple of pieces without much design just to hold the glass firmly in place as the putty dries. Lets hope it's all still there in a month!

Thanks all

K