When I lowered the ceiling height of The Artist’s Studio, I had originally thought to fill in the lower portion of the original side windows. After a dry fitting of the roof in place, however, I decided I liked the odd shaped windows. A happy accident. :]
Of course, there are no readymade windows in this particular shape, so I would have to improvise. I had extra Houseworks 8-light windows, and they fit well in the existing hole. These are the same windows I’ll be using for the skylights. I marked where the window should be cut, leaving a little give for proper fitting.
I used my scroll saw to cut along the lines and removed the interior pieces. I was able to cut both clerestory windows from one 8-light window.
I tested the fit. You can see the pieces of strip wood I cut to fill in the groove in the ceiling over the window opening. This groove is what allows the roof board to attach to the walls. They aren’t glued yet, which is good since I need to adjust this one. :D
The removed interior pieces left cutouts in the outer frame. I used strip wood to make patches.
A little spackling added will give a smooth surface under the paint.
The acrylic sheet allows you to cut any shape or size window. These particular windows don’t come with acrylic inserts. I’ll leave the protective film on until I’m ready to install the windows.
I tested the fit again.
All good! :]
Once the eaves were finished, it was time to complete the windows and install them. I tested the fit with the eaves in place to see if any adjustments needed to be made. A little sanding, and the fit was snug.
I cut 1/4″ strip wood to seal the top of the outer window and glued it in place. I cut another piece of 1/4″ strip wood to seal the top of the inner portion and glued it in place, making sure the acrylic could still slip out easily.
I checked the fit again…good. The reason for the overhang on the inside is that with the added siding on the exterior, the window is slightly inset when put in place.
I added 1/16″ strip wood around the interior portion to make up the rest of the difference.
I painted the new parts then put the window inserts back in before gluing the windows in place, making sure they were snug against the eaves.
On the inside, I added plain bass wood trim sealed with varnish to finish the edges of the ceiling.
I cut interior trim for the clerestory windows and painted it Warm White.
I also cut the front opening interior trim and painted it Warm White.
Trim takes a long time to finish, but it adds so much.
