Using Steam to Remove Old Glazing and Glass

Rebuilding and refinishing a sash starts with getting the glass out. This steam cabinet makes quick work of getting the glass safely out of the way so you can finish stripping the moulding profiles and make necessary wood repairs. Plans are available at oldewindowrestorer.com/steamcabinet

[@karlysorenson]

I love this video. But the "little glass holder" is FABULOUS! Thanks

[@philipweeks8510]

I had just 2 small sash's to do so I used a contractors garbage bag to put the windows in . Purchased a kettle at the local thrift store $5.00. I removed the switch that shuts off the kettle when it reaches boiling point so now will stay boiling continuously. Put everything in the bag and 1/2 later the putty was soft enough to remove the pressed glass panes. Worked great. Thanks for the video.

[@WoodWindowMakeover]

Dude for real? That’s awesome!

[@eberntson]

Thank you for this tutorial. I have 8 windows (16 sashes) to do on an old cottage. This will help a great deal. I just need to build the box and find a steamer. Will watch more videos on this subject if you have them.

[@mikephelan5940]

I’ve tried it and failed without steam and just ended up with broken glass. This is the only way to go. Steam chamber took me a couple days even with the nice instructions but I learned a lot just making it. Mostly about how a proper workspace can save you so much time and energy! My little clothes steamer was pathetic so I hooked up to my dryer vent and add sopping wet towels and high heat. Temperature doesn’t exceed 120F unfortunately but lots of steam. Because of the high airflow the chamber doesn’t need to be well sealed, gives a constant flow of warm steam. Just take your time try to use minimal pressure to remove the glazing putty and glazing points. Agree about how ugly new windows are. I have over 10 windows to go, now it’s totally doable!!! Thank you!!!!!

[@WoodWindowMakeover]

Very welcome. I went for years without steam and got really good at removing glass without breaking it. It still go steamless when it’s small batches. It’s all technique, how you hold and handle the tools. When you’ve broken as much glass as I have over the years you learn to hear what the glass is saying to you. I’m glad you figured out a way to make it work for you. I know how frustrating it can be.

[@Crooks103]

So glad to find your channel. Great videos

[@kooale]

Thanks dude, helpful!

[@WoodWindowMakeover]

Awesome to hear. Thanks for letting me know

[@hartsymk1]

In ten years of carpentry and joinery i have never had anyone tell me this tip for removing old putty, best thing i was told was use a heat gun and something to protect the glass from the heat

[@bobhaddock957]

HOW LONG DID YOU LEAVE THE SASH IN THE STEAMER FOR ?

[@WoodWindowMakeover]

Oh yeah. That would have been helpful to say! Typically between 30 minutes and an hour. The more stubborn the glazing, the longer you'll end up leaving it in the steamer. Once you get it out, you have to work quickly because of the sash cools down too much the glazing will stiffen back up and you'll have to put it back in the steamer. And that's ok.

[@RussShute]

I have a few Windows with a varnish on the inside any idea how to get the glazign out with out desgtoryign the varnish. I have a stean box simlier to yous that works great on the glazign putty. and also bubble the paint really well also.

[@wboquist]

Your technique looks like a huge improvement over a heat gun. But, I wondered as I watched whether or not the steam would weaken the glue joints in the sash. Evidently, it doesn't, or you would not recommend. But, I am still curious - do you know of a date at which moisture-proof glue came into use? I am thinking that windows of great antiquity might be more vulnerable to glue failure than newer ones. Thanks.

[@WoodWindowMakeover]

Actually I’ve never come across an older sash that used glue. They are all pegged either with dowels or steel pins. I think the idea of using glue, now that it’s as available as it is, is a common misconception. I don’t use glue in any of my window making. The idea has always been to give the next person the opportunity to take it apart and fix it if possible. Impossible with glue in most cases. Glue In the joint also traps water and promotes rot, something they someone with the idea of perpetuality in mind would have eliminated long ago. Today if a maker is using glue it’s often because there’s something to hide. If the joinery is as it should be, glue should be irrelevant.

[@wboquist]

@@WoodWindowMakeover Thanks for the insight. I always assumed that they used hide glue or something similar. I learned something tonight.

[@Control-Freak]

I am a hand tool nerd and have made several windows. After making a new window for a friend in the historic district I live in I took a class by Roy Underhill. Anyway, this is correct, traditional windows don't use glue. This also makes it possible to remove a component to replace it with a new one. I have a sash plane made in the 1800's to make this fun!

[@5280ryan]

Thanks!!

[@americanmotorsam-caz524]

In repainting these windows that are steamed - How long do you wait to re-glaze and prime?

[@WoodWindowMakeover]

Rule of thumb is to let them dry out for 24 hours or so. If you try to do anything too soon, the wood will be stringy from the steam. It only takes a few screw ups to figure out a lot of what you can get away with.

[@BearwoodBrown]

great thinking ,,Surprized, especially volume work, what about using a wall paper stripping tool to put small holes in the frame and steam it again ?? man that paint came off nice ,, i ve never seen those small pins, they must be hell to use,, I ve been in ENGLAND to long,, we got the something similar except we have a bit of tiny angle steel for a place to push

[@Ratplague707]

Do you have any tricks for getting the glass out of the kerf that's cut in the lower sash? I have some large single-lite windows and I'm having a hell of a time getting the glass out of the lower sashes

[@WoodWindowMakeover]

One thing I do is set the sash on edge so that the glass is dangling from above and use gravity to assist.

[@markst.gaudens-ez1mu]

Hello Steve, great video. I'm a caretaker in California for an estate built in 1884. Our next project is to restore 90 something double hung windows. I used your steam box idea, but cannot get the internal temp over 100 degrees. I noticed you said how HOT the windows were when you took them out. Im using an older Jiffy fabric steamer as the vapor source. Any ideas on increasing the internal temp? It is pretty cold here outside ( 42 degrees) and might be part of temp problem. Thanks for your input. Mark

[@WoodWindowMakeover]

I’d start by making sure your box is tight, and then I’d consider getting a new, commercial grade jiffy steamer. The bigger the better. Mine works great, independent of the weather. Granted I haven’t ever used it out in the snow…

[@westsidewil]

What model Jiffy steamer do you have? 4000?

[@db.db12345]

Thank you so much ! but now I have to build my own steamer before my wife trash the sash..

[@WoodWindowMakeover]

Get on it then!

[@veryvirgo9051]

Good video. But in the interest of clarity, whenever you say "glazing," I think you mean 'putty.' The glazing is the glass.

[@WoodWindowMakeover]

Thanks for clarifying. Whenever I say glazing, it’s shorthand for glazing compound. Technically speaking, the glazing is the glass, but for us, glazing is the glazing compound, glass is the glass. Wavy glass is glass. We wouldn’t say wavy glazing. That would be confusing.

[@mikephelan5940]

@@WoodWindowMakeover yes this was very confusing to me too initially having never heard the term glazing before. I assumed glazing meant glass, but glass is referred to as glass, even I can remember that 😊

[@valeffect9]

Yeah cuz EVERYBODY has one of those steamers at their home... Come on give a more practical way to do it...smh

[@WoodWindowMakeover]

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[@WoodWindowMakeover]

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[@andreareidt1634]

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