Gulf Island Building.

BigJim

Keith I can just see those huge wooden beams in my mind's eye, that just hurts. That would be some really fine recovered wood for sure.

One of the old homes my crew and I restored that was built in 1822 had two wooden beams they used for the front and rear ceils of the main part of the house. These two beams were around 14X14 inches and forty feet long and were cypress. The front beam was no more than 8 inches off the ground and was not the least bit of rot in it and that was amazing to me.

I am sure these beams would pale in comparison to the red wood beams but for down this way that is a fair size wooden beam unless you get into railroad beams.

That is one heck of a lot of difference in rain fall and for such a short distance. I don't know what our average rain fall is here.

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cocobolo

The reason that Tofino gets all that rain is because it is on the far side of Vancouver Island, right on the Pacific Ocean. In straight line it's not that far from us.

cocobolo

Way back in post 1782 I was asking for help with how to cut this glass.

I went to the local glass shop where we have dealt before, and they explained firstly that they cannot guarantee any cuts on customers existing glass.

I explained carefully exactly how the sandblasting was and so on. In fact, I took a piece of glass over there so they could assess it first hand.

In their store, they had some gorgeous window walls (office partitions floor to ceiling) with etched designs...orca's of all things...absolutely magnificent.

The gal in charge said they wouldn't even attempt to cut etched glass, which really doesn't chew much glass out at all. In fact, when you run your finger down the etched side, you can't feel any difference in thickness at all.

So, for that reason, plus the fact that this is old glass, they were unable to risk cutting it. We both agreed that a bridge saw was the best answer.

By the strangest of coincidences, Canadian Tire just happened to have such a gadget on sale at nearly 50% off.

Last Friday, while we were going over to town on the boat, I told the missus that I had another idea where we could use 5 more sheets of this glass. OK, off we truck to the demo store again and get five more sheets. Only this time, missus does some bargaining with the owner.

Originally, they had just 12 sheets. We bought 5 the first time, and 5 the second time. And I did mention that maybe...just maybe...we should get the last two while we were there. We didn't. Turned out to be a big mistake.

On Sunday, while I was working outside, I managed to knock one sheet over and prove just how brittle it was. Right away, wife number 2 suggested that it might be a really good idea if I were to hike my derriere back to the demo store and grab those last two sheets.

This I did yesterday. And that's when I went to the glass store.

Today, after bringing home my third wet saw, I was able to cut some of this glass.

Now, the glass is 18" x 48", some sheets are narrower, but all share the 18" dimension. When I picked up the new bridge saw, the only question I had was "How wide a piece of glass will it cut?" Answer: 18 1/2".

That was close!

Here's the saw.

cocobolo

Hit the wrong button again...

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cocobolo

There's not a whole lot of room left over when the glass is in place...

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cocobolo

I was a little nervous, to say the least, when I cut the first piece. But it all went well. The pieces for the 13 windows in the living room are cut to width, but they still need a small amount trimmed off the top, around 7/8" or so.

I will do that tomorrow, and wife number 2 will clean each piece as it comes off the table.

Earlier this evening, I cut up all the cedar which will be used to line the outside of the window frames. 52 pieces of it!

Windows all cut here...

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jlhaslip

they will look awesome...

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BigJim

Keith, that IS some pretty glass, I agree they will make a bunch of beautiful windows. I appreciate you posting about cutting the glass with a wet saw, I didn't know if it were possible or not. Now that I know it can be cut I will do a little cutting myself.

I can see why Vancouver gets more rain now. Is Vancouver Island a huge place? I see it is kinda long and not quite as wide. It looks like it would be tough for a big truck rig to get to Vancouver Island, I bet it takes some figuring to figure a route to there.

I like your new saw, I bet you will find many more uses for that big one.

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Jim

gma2rjc

The glass is very pretty. I can't imagine being able to make 13 windows and frames, let alone installing them.

This may be a dumb question, but can you use that saw to cut tile?

Barb

cocobolo

Thanks jl, it won't quite be the same as originally planned, but at least it's something I can get in place quickly.

All these things that take several weeks each are taking a serious toll on the time clock.

I expect to have the first few in today just to see what it will all look like.

cocobolo

When the wife & I spotted this glass, we both liked it right away, and we immediately knew where it could be used.

Glass cutting with a wet saw seems to be easy on thicker glass, I don't know about the thinner stuff. Although they do make a Ring Saw which is designed to cut thin glass into any shape you like.

The trick with the glass I'm cutting now seems to be to go very slowly, particularly when you are exiting the cut.

Vancouver Island is a fair size...the capital city of the province (Victoria) is at the southern tip of the island.

Getting any size truck over is no trouble at all...the ferries here all carry dozens of full size semi's every trip.

cocobolo

I don't have to worry about making frames as such, because I will be using the house framing for that.

The glass is cut to fit into the opening, then I add the red cedar all round which is cut to fit snugly in each of the openings. That actually holds the glass in place. So it looks like a finished window.

Yes, you can definitely cut tile with it!

BigJim

Thanks buddy, I appreciate the information. The ferries must be huge to handle that kind of weight.

We can't wait to see your windows complete, I know they will look fantastic.

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Jim

jlhaslip

http://www.pbase.com/kstapleton

Bc ferries: check out those pictures.

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BigJim

Gooooood gravy, most of those bad boys look bigger than football fields. One thing is for sure, you don't have a shortage of ferries. I can see how they can easily carry the big trucks and anything else. I don't know why I had in my mind a couple of ferries and no where the size of these fellows. Thanks JL I appreciate you sharing the pictures with us.

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Jim