Repairing Wood Sash Windows

I am very excited to discover a tutorial on repairing old wooden windows! I picked up the latest issue of Old House Journal at a great bookstore in Whitehorse, Mac's Fireweed Books. (It's worth a visit if you are in the Yukon: Mac's Books)

The magazine contains an article by John Leeke on window repair. The web edition of the magazine also contains a video tutorial. You can find it at:

Old House Online - Wood Window Repair

One of our windows was damaged last summer during tree removal, and I have not had the chance to research what steps are necessary in order to fix it. The single pane of glass was broken when a small piece of the tree trunk bounced off the ground and hit the window. It is a sideways sliding window with original leaded glass panes.

I think we will also be repairing several of the original windows as we restore the Little Blue House, as some of them are stuck. The sash windows that slide vertically are stuck closed due to the fact that the house has settled on an angle, and the windows are not straight in their frames anymore. In addition, there are probably many layers of (lead) paint on the frames. We will wait to repair these windows, until after the foundation is repaired in July. After that, the LBH will be straighter, so we can start working our way up!

Wood Sash Windows in Parlour

The kitchen windows function very well, considering their age (about 115 years old). These window frames are not painted, and they slide sideway or open on hinges.

We will keep single panes in all of the original windows, and if I can find some leaded glass to replace the broken pane, it would be great. I love the wavy look of the old glass; it bends the light in the most beautiful way. They might not be the most energy-efficient windows around, but perhaps we can consider a seasonal winter treatment on the inside of the windows, to keep out draughts...

I will be sure to post pictures once we start working on the window repair. It's still too cold to even consider it...

From the Archives!

The Little Blue House, as I've mentioned before, was built around 1898 during the Gold Rush. It was originally located in Discovery, which is now a ghost town. Discovery is 7 kilometres away from Atlin, and there isn't much left there. Discovery is not a protected historical site, and as such, its buildings and artifacts have dwindled away since the frantic years of the Gold Rush.

In a previous post, I talked a little bit about the history of the LBH:

Gold Rush Beginnings

We think that the house was moved to Atlin sometime after the last of 3 great fires destroyed much of the town. The photograph of the LBH, below, was likely taken after it was moved to its current location. I wonder who these occupants were? This was perhaps taken around 1920, and it looks like a young family sitting on the front steps of their new home.

I love the idea of recycling an entire house! It was abandoned in Discovery, at that time a ghost town already, so why not move it to a place where people needed homes?

Perhaps someday I shall find out who these original Atlin occupants were. Eva, the madam, came along a bit later, with her shady ladies and seamstress shop...

The Little Blue House, After Relocation to Atlin

Now our chapter is one more in the legacy of bringing new life into an old house. This is the best form of recycling ever.

The Old Cafe

We have a neighbour, who is located across the street and over a couple of lots from the Little Blue House. I should say neighbours, actually, because the sole occupants of the house are bats. Our kids are fascinated with this two-storey building, with its boarded-up windows and mysterious facade.

We often go for walks in Atlin, as it's full of such fascinating and mysterious Gold Rush era structures. According to Diane Solie Smith's book, A Guide to Atlin's Historic Buildings, this one has been a "cafe, a bakery, and sometimes there were rooms to rent upstairs. On the shady side, it was occasionally an outlet for bootleg liquor."

In Atlin, it seems, there is always a shady side. Or, perhaps, our small corner of town was simply the shady area... (There is another purpose-built brothel just around the corner from our LBH, which is a former brothel itself.)

The cafe was built in the mid-1920s by a fellow from New Zealand. The cafe was owned later on by a Norwegian named Kris Johnsen, an avid cross-country skier. According to Smith, "His rental rooms upstairs were immaculately clean and ready for overnight guests. However, when someone needed a place to stay, Kris most often declined the business."

The theory behind this unwillingness to rent out the beautiful rooms is that he did not wish to disturb their tidiness!

The building still has a For Sale sign on it, and it has been that way for decades. Despite several serious offers, the old cafe was never sold. Kris still owned the building when he passed away in his mid-90s.

The old cafe now leans to one side, and stares forward stoically, with its windows broken. Children peek through the gaps to see inside the darkened cafe. Remnants of the building's former purpose litter the floor, along with broken glass and cobwebs.

A Child Peeks Inside the Old Cafe

Atlin Walk

The Little Blue House, Viewed from the Old Cafe

On summer evenings, bats may be seen, swooping and diving for bugs. They appear to be the new residents of the Old Cafe, keeping watch over the place... at least during the night. Shady indeed.

Where is the LBH?

I should finally divulge the location of our little town. I have been hesitant to do so, fearing (hopefully, without just cause) that crazy internet hackers and criminals would descend on the Little Blue House to harass or otherwise cause mischief to our dear LBH. I imagine that is not the case, and after much careful consideration, I have decided that you (who are reading this post now) are not a crazy internet hacker or criminal mastermind. Mwooo ha ha ha HAAAA!

You aren't, are you?

Many readers who are visiting this blog have found it using the link on the Old Houses website, under restoration stories. Our LBH is the third listing from the top, which is wonderful. Those readers will already know the name of this small town. That is a fantastic website, by the way, so I shall include a link to it here:

Old Houses - Restoration Stories

So, without further delay, I will tell you where the LBH is located.

The Little Blue House is located in Atlin, BC, Canada, which is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Atlin is sometimes referred to as "Little Switzerland," and it is with good reason. I will most definitely blog about Atlin in the near future.

One of the reasons I wished to tell you the name of this town, is so that I may give proper credit in the future for some of the historical facts about Atlin. In another post, perhaps my next one, I would like to describe one of the homes near the LBH, which is abandoned. Much of that story I have learned from reading Diane Solie Smith's book, A Guide to Atlin's Historical Buildings. It was published by the Atlin Historical Society in 2003.

As far as I know, the only place where one can buy this book is from the Atlin Museum, open seasonally. The Atlin Museum is pictured below. I believe it was constructed in 1902, and it was Atlin's first real school house. It was moved from its original location in later years and it is now a Travel Info Centre and a great little museum.

I am looking forward to telling you about Atlin! Happy reading.

Follow My Board on Pinterest!

I thought it might be interesting to start brainstorming, and gathering ideas regarding the restoration of the Little Blue House. There is a wealth of information online on this subject, and it is challenging to organize all of it.

To that end, I've started a board on Pinterest entitled, "Victorian Home Restoration."

You can visit the board at:

Victorian Home Restoration on Pinterest

I have tried to put the "Pin It" button here on my blog, too, but I have obviously not figured it out correctly... I am figuring this stuff out as I go along.

I hope you like my bulletin board! I promise to write more here soon.

What I'm Reading

Happy 2013! I cannot believe that it's nearly the end of January. I haven't written a post in well over a month... We are planning the gradual restoration of the Little Blue House. I met with a contractor in late fall regarding the home's foundation. (I described the issues with the foundation in a previous post - see Our Home's Feet.)

We plan to do as much of the groundwork as we can, prior to the contractor starting work on the foundation in July. He is going to bring the house back to a level position and, in addition, he will add insulation to the floor. Currently, the floor (like the walls) is not insulated.

I have been reading two books, which are proving to be really informative. We have some time to research and school ourselves up on Victorian houses, prior to starting the groundwork in the late spring. We will have to wait until the ground thaws before we can really do anything. It's currently frozen solid...

Here is the first book, by Kit Wedd. It is a nice, large size with some good photos and drawings. I am finding it to be a great primer on Victorian houses.

The second book is by Alan Johnson, and it contains more specific information on how to restore houses (ie. foundations, roofs, floors, staircase, porches, etc.). I wish to become more informed on these subjects, not being a handy person myself... At least I will know what the contractor is talking about, and perhaps we can make better informed decisions this way...

In any case, it's enjoyable reading, and as it's too cold to work on the house, it seems to be a practical way to prepare ourselves. I think our plan has always been to start with the foundation of the LBH. Then we can move upwards from there, right? If she's not standing up straight, how can we restore her to her once beautiful self?

Merry Christmas!!

We wish you a very Merry Christmas!

I promise to write more about the Little Blue House in the early new year. We have not been doing any work on restoring the tiny Victorian house lately. It has been far too cold! And Christmas preparations and work keep getting in the way...

All the best, and Happy Holidays!