Hi folks,
Another exciting day at the ranch
Firstly, the DGU was placed in the frame to ascertain the spacer size. The glass had been made far to large :evil: so the gap was about 2 to 3mm ....sigh. Spacers were made from a soup container - no expense spared here. :roll: Then the Hodgson’s Flexstrip was fitted round the glass rebate. This is a 2mm thick butyl bedding compound. What a pain in the pineapple this is to do. It doesn’t lend itself to going round circles, even ones this big. Because the removable back cover is wider than the butyl, it is difficult to get it set right on the edge. Grrr.
See this beautifully crafted cock up below.
Next the DGU was dropped (carefully) into the frame and the spacers fitted. Boy does this stuff grip ...who needs glazing tape (sorry Dibs :-" ). We then pressed down to fully seat the glass into the butyl . This wasn’t a raging success, due to the coolness of the conservatory; and we wanted to see a clear even seal all round. So :idea: turn on the underfloor heating, turn it up to 20℃ and place the assembly on the floor, and go and have coffee.......Some time later....
We tried pressing it down with more success, but not enough. So there is this vision for anyone strolling past, of two people standing on a glass window holding each other steady and moving round a bit, flexing the knees to give extra downward pressure, move round and repeat this merry dance - a bit like a scene from Zorba the Greek :shock: :lol: :lol:
Having gone round four times, the goop was duly squozed flat all round. The window was now level with the top of the rebate ... phew.
The frame was turned over and the excess goop knifed off ..... oh, if only it was that simple. The bloody stuff sticks to the knife and the glass, and won’t pull off, roll of, or any other ‘off. Having got the worst off, it was tidied up with white spirit and a plastic bag over my thumbnail. It can’t be left too long because the butyl starts to dissolve.
The window now needs securing into the tube, so we marked the tube top and bottom, and measured round to get four positions 45° off axis. These were drilled for 5mm screws.
Then silicone was gunned round the recess of the tube and the window lowered in, not forgetting the orientation. The screws were not fully driven in, as there was some gapping and spacers had to be fitted so that the tube wasn’t pulled out of shape ....there had been some shrinkage over time.
The assembly was flipped over and the squeeze out checked, there was none, which was just right, as we wanted to fill the minimal gap with calk so that it could be painted. I can’t believe that it has gone this well, considering the start. \
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We then flipped the window back over and caulked the inside. Job done bar fitting the hold-in ring ... which I had forgotten to finish painting......doh!
So, tomorrow, the flip side needs painting; the caulking needs painting, and ...oh yes, the tube has developed some parting in places, so they will need re-glueing. The tube has been kicked around a bit. See below the state of play to date.
Hello Charlie,
Having been born without a sport gene :wink: I don’t suffer from the need to stop early
I wish that we were near the home straight. There is still the other end to do, that’s clad the overhang, fit the bargeboards, fit the cladding round the other window, make four doors, finish the roof insulation, fit more insulation in the walls, and then clad all of the inside. And then there is the little matter of running the power all the way across the house and tunnel out to the workshop....hmm, you are right - not much to do......aaaaah.
Regards....Dick.