Badboulder's First Window Mosaic

My craft/guest room captures early morning rays through two large windows and a full view door. The early morning summer rays are so intense that we use black drapes to help sleepers avoid a 5 am wake-up call from the sun. Smaller south facing windows provide natural light without heating the room too much. David custom made these long, narrow windows--not any easy job.

In December of 08 Badboulder experienced a winter storm that brought some 80 mph wind gusts along with rain, sleet and snow. We had never witnessed a mountain storm of that magnitude but saw another less than a month later in January of 2010. This fierce storm uprooted three ancient pine trees in a nearby neighbor's yard. Alas,it also slightly cracked one of our long narrow windows.

Over time the small crack spanned the width of the window. Fortunately only the interior pane suffered. Window replacement would be a bear and distracts from more important jobs, thus I've been given carte blanc mosaic privileges.

Initially I thought subtle, clear or pearlized jewels might be in line but they just highlighted the problem.

Trips to Hobby Lobby(the divorce incubation store) and three Michael's store resulted in the materials needed to make an Asian inspired mosaic on the windows. Hobby Lobby sells adhesive leading for faux stained glass projects. I'm using this for branches. After some searching through Michael's jewelery-making aisles I found some black leaf-shaped gems. I'm using Aleene's glass and bead glue to adhere the gems to the glass.

I traced the shape of the window crack onto white paper with a carpenter's lead pencil, then darkened the line with black crayon. First I arranged the "leaf" beads in a weeping downward pattern that is perhaps a bit more of an Asian look. Eventually, I decided those leaves needed to be stretching for the sunlight and tilted them upward.

I'll reverse this design and create a similar pattern for the opposing window. The window in between will get a more upright branch of leaves.

My intent is to solve the problem with decorative mosaics that becomes part of the decor. Hope this looks better than duck tape.

The old "necessity is the mother of invention" adage has provided another fun, DIY Badboulder project. Just what I need on these cold, snowy and ice-covered days!

P.S. This became another of those work in progress projects. Off to the big city to buy glue--mine had pretty much solidified. Actually I'm off for a girls' night out but like all Yarnellians I always buy necessities as opportunity avails. Should I ever have an audience with a queen, a president or the pope I would probably multitask and buy a loaf of healthy bread or some other essential on my way home. Just a fact not a whine--I love life up here!

FROM THE KNOTHOLE: Well, here we go again, looking through the windows of Badboulder into her very soul. And what do we see? Badboulderlady, of course. And that, folks, is about as close as we will get to Badboulder's soul. When I asked Badboulderlady, deep down in her soul, who she would rather visit with, the president, the queen, or the pope, I was a bit surprised by her response. I presumed that she might want to take on the pope and help him see the world from a different point of view. Keep in mind that we are from Arizona where a prominent Catholic Hospital was recently sanctioned, i.e., stripped of its Catholic status by the local bishop for performing an abortion to save the mother's life. Or the queen who really needs to get over this business of being offended when the curtsy or the bow is omitted. Nope, Badboulderlady would choose neither the pope nor the queen. She chose the president. Why, because of the three, his office is the most prestigious.

a parting shot from bbman: 5 cents: the price of a coke when i was in high school; 22 cents: the price of a gallon of gasoline when i was in college; priceless: receiving a box of jello parfait dessert and a manual egg beater from my mother while in the middle of the jungle in vietnam in 1969.

Windows of Badboulder

Perhaps the greatest money-saving feature of Badboulder's main house are the windows that David installed. He constructed fifty-five of our home's seventy-two windows. Nineteen of the twenty-six small windows are clerestories which brings in natural light. They are seventeen by fourteen inches, placed closely under the roof line which helps prevent heat buildup. The other seven small windows are long and narrow to provide light and privacy. He made these windows from glass that was professionally cut which is much less pricey than custom made windows.

An impossible task for these two do-it-yourselfers was to build a home with huge expanses of glass. This installation requires cranes and large crews. However, we wanted to bring in the abundant light and views that AZ offers. David did the requisite reading, researching of products and found a way for us to have some glass without jeopardizing structural requirements.

The real money saver was the use of recycled sliding glass door panels to construct fourteen large windows. We bought twenty-eight panels in order to create fourteen duel paned windows. The panels are either three by eight or four by eight feet which are installed slightly above floor level--youngest two of our four kids are thirty-five so we're not too worried about that low placement.

We found the glass door panels at Habitat for Humanity stores and Stardust. Close inspection of these doors is necessary as many are scratched. Paint spots can easily be removed. Wear your grubbies when buying these panels; all are dirty. Most panels can be purchased for $10 to $20 and there was a glut, probably due to homeowners updating to duel paned or French doors.

David removed all the framing, usually aluminum, which was given to charitable organizations recycling for profit. My job was the cleanup--the glass sides that were glazed together had to be spotless. I used old satin petticoats for a final polishing to remove all lint. I also painted the jambs that separate the two panels; the jambs aren't very visible but do need to be finished. The glazing tape purchased online was a key element in the process.

I have some favorites among the windows: one is very close to a large boulder perfect for lizard watching and the others offer views untouched by man.

In addition to all these windows, nine of Badboulder 's doors are glass fronted, sliding or French. This means one hundred sixty-two sides of glass to clean. This also means that you will never visit us and find all simultaneously clean.

When our electrician commented on our extensive use of glass in the house, David deemed them "poor man's windows"--quite accurate and afraid it stuck. I love our poor man's windows.

FROM THE KNOTHOLE: I have heard it said that eyes are windows to the soul. If that is true, then perhaps it is also true that windows offer a view to the soul of a house. And, if that be true, then it can be said that the Badboulder house bares its soul to the world. In preparation for installing the panes and panels of glass, I affixed 3/4 inch light gauge metal jambs in each window with the jambs facing inward. To hold the windows in place and to provide a thermal break, I used UV resistant glazing tape slightly wider than the jamb, 1/8th inch thick, and sticky on both sides. By facing the jambs toward the interior, I was able to install the windows from the interior, which was much easier and safer than building a working platform on the outside at each window location. Since the jambs face the inside, there is no wooden, vinyl, or metal window frame exposed to the exterior.

a parting shot from bbman: it's hard to be cool when your fly is wide open. Capt. Norman Childs, US Army, Commander, Company D, 2-7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, Vietnam, 1969