I previously wrote about being inspired to update my own front door, after the fun of making a bespoke glass panel for clients.
Yesterday was the big installation day. As this was an afterthought, and not devised when the door was being installed originally, it already has a double glazed window, and this new piece of glass has to be stuck to the outside of this. I’d done a little research into different types of glass glues – epoxy, UV activated, etc. I had a few considerations, and possible pitfalls to think about. This panel will have to be weatherproof, and I wanted to ensure as far as possible that it would be free of air bubbles, and therefore the potential of condensation. It has to be very strong, and totally invisible after drying – as my glass is transparent and any sediment or yellowing will be visible. I finally decided to go with TEC7, which is a range of bonding materials available from hardware stores everywhere.
TEC7 (Clear) takes 24 hours to fully bond, and I decided the easiest way to do this would be to totally remove the top half of my door from the frame and lay it flat. So yesterday morning, with some help, we removed the half-door and laid it out on the kitchen table! Luckily we’d chosen a glorious day to do this job.
After much discussion, we decided to apply the glue all around the perimeter of the window. The panel I’d made was a neat fit, so once placed, it would not be possible to manipulate it. After dropping the coloured fused glass panel in place, we applied another row of glue all around the perimeter, and smoothed it in. Then it was a case of weighing down the panel with a few cookbooks, and waiting.
Late last night, just before bed, we re-hung the door.
And this morning, I was delighted to see the result. It’s never easy to capture the beauty of glass in photographs, but I’ve done my best. Again, I’m lucky that today is a gorgeous, sunny day, so the sunlight is glistening off and through the coloured glass. I’ve included photos showing the door outside, the window as seen from inside, with the sun bursting through, and with the half-door open. The eagle-eyed might spot one of the hens pecking around in the garden!
If you think you might like a bespoke glass panel for your door, or feature window, why not get in touch.
