Welcome to the LD+R Blog! Here we plan to showcase special projects, explain our process, explore the history of architectural stained glass in San Francisco, and other odds and ends. For our inaugural post we are writing about our favorite project to date: the 10th Avenue house. This house is a beautiful Craftsman circa 1911 in the Inner Richmond District located in the NW corner of San Francisco. Our project included three windows featuring minimalistic natural motifs as typical of the Edwardian era. Please tap through the gallery below as you read along.

In situ, the windows' exteriors were covered in overspray from a previous housepainter. Who knows how long the windows' translucence was obscured by old paint? In the first couple photos you can see the difference once the windows were dismantled and the glass cleaned of old paint. The quality of the antique glass, now revealed, is stunning with beautiful texture and depth of color. One particular challenge came with cleaning the clear crackle glass as environmental grime as well as the original artists' putty were embedded in the fine decorative cracks. But with a lot of elbow grease we were also able to take the clear glass back to the day it was produced.

Some of the glass pieces were fully cracked and you might assume we'd outrightly replace those pieces. But that is not the standard restoration method. In fact, it is preferred to retain the original glass and make repairs with modest lead lines which you can find if you look closely at the photos.

Once the windows were rebuilt we puttied and added a patina to the lead. But first to avoid adulterating the crackle glass all over again we applied an adhesive matte. That's the green material you see in the photo. This took a lot of effort but was well worth it.

Windows of this size require bracing to ensure their structural integrity. Typically this is achieved with straight metal bars. However at one point the bracing would have intersected the windows' floral shields, causing shadows across the predominant design elements. To avoid this we bent the bars so they followed the shields' organic curvature. If we didn't tell you about them, you wouldn't know they were there.

After so much work we re-installed the newly restored windows in their beautiful Craftsman home, where they'd previously resided for more than 100 years. It was an especially sunny San Francisco day which gave the windows extra sparkle and fire. 

This is the type of project where we get our greatest satisfaction and not only in the work itself. The satisfaction is also in knowing that we are restoring the work of a talented artisan from long ago while helping ensure it lives on for another 100 years. Please contact us if you have a window that could use new life.

© 2018 Lucas Stained Glass Design + Restoration