Reseda Windows & Doors for Older Homes
Restored windows and doors for older Reseda homes sealed with spring bronze weatherstrip, which holds its tension in heat long after foam and rubber give out.
Spring bronze weatherstrip is the seal we choose for original wood windows and doors in an older Reseda house. On an inland wall that takes long hours of sun, foam and rubber strips harden, crack and flatten. A folded bronze strip tacked into the jamb holds its tension through that heat for a very long time, and it disappears from view once the sash is closed, so a restored window keeps its old face.
Setting bronze in a working sash
In a double-hung frame the strip runs up each side jamb, its flange pressing against the sash edge as the sash slides past. The meeting rails get a hooked pair that interlock when the lock is turned, and the bottom rail closes onto a strip tacked across the sill. Doors take the same metal at the hinge and latch jambs, with an adjustable sweep below. Tension is set by bending the flange: too much and the sash binds, too little and air passes. Each one is tuned until the sash lifts easily and shuts snug.
Putty, paint and hardware
The wood around the bronze still needs care. Sashes are reglazed with linseed oil putty, which stays supple and takes an oil primer well, and the paint is carried just onto the glass so rain cannot reach the putty edge. Where a sash is past saving, its replacement carries insulated low-e glass in a frame sized to the old opening. Solid brass locks and lifts resist pitting beside the bronze, so restored and new windows share one set of hardware and look like they belong together.
Windows & Doors in Reseda: common questions
Wood that is firm with tight corner joints is restored: loose paint stripped, glass reset in new putty, cords renewed and bronze fitted. If a sash has split along its joints or the sill is soft end to end, that opening gets a matched unit so the wall still reads as one set.
We take the sash height, the widths of the rails and stiles and the grille pattern off the originals and order replacements to match. Painting new and restored units the same color lets them sit together without standing out, and exterior casing in good repair is left in place.
LADBS handles permits in Reseda, a City of Los Angeles neighborhood. Fitting bronze, reglazing and rehanging an original sash in its own frame is maintenance that generally needs no permit. Once a unit is replaced, its energy label is reviewed, and changing an opening brings the framing into it. We confirm with LADBS which openings are covered and file for them.
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