Door Glass

[James Gregory]

I have an exterior balcony door with a single pane glass panel. I need to remove the glass, but there are no removable quarter round stops. It looks like the stiles and rails were profiled, the glass set in, and the door glued up. Ridiculous to say the least. So I was thinking of routing out what should have been a quarter round, and adding a quarter round after I'm done. Does this look doable without breaking the glass? And when I bed the glass back in, should I put down caulk or putty, lay the glass in, then put the quarter round on, or what? Thanks.

[Jerry Miner]

Doable?--Yes. I've done this before. I don't know why anyone would build a glass panel door this way, but some do.

Very careful routing, stopping just shy of full depth, then cutting the last little bit with a knife is what worked for me.

I like to bed in glazing compound, not caulk or silicone, so the glass is removable later.

Use stainless pins to install the quarter round.

[James Gregory]

Thanks. As for glazing compound, I've seen the latex window glazing in the tube, and the glazing putty in the tub. Which one of those types do you recommend that will last longer? And do you bed it in as far as possible - seems like you could squeeze it all out if you push too far?? And are you talking stainless brads or what when you say to install with stainless pins?

[Tom M King]

If you are talking about the DAP glazing products, the kind in the caulking tubes is much better for longevity, but the trouble with it is that it shrinks a lot as it dries. The DAP glazing in a can I won't use for anything. I've never seen it used anywhere that it lasted more than 7-10 years. I have some done with the caulking that are still good since whenever they came out with it. Check out my Glazing page on my website.

If you need it glazed so you can paint it in a hurry, use Aqua Glaze. I don't like it as well as I do the DAP in tubes, but that DAP needs to be put on thick, and requires several weeks waiting time before final trimming, or it might shrink enough to pull away from the wood. Aqua Glaze does get hard after a while, whereas the DAP in tubes always stays soft.

Whatever you use, prime the wood where it needs to bond to with oil based primer.

I use the cheapest Latex exterior caulking for bedding. Allow it to dry, trim off excess, and be sure to cover it with the exterior paint. You can still get it off easily years later, if needed. You can use the glazing for bedding, but that cheap latex caulking is easier to squeeze down thinner.

[Jerry Miner]

Since you're using quarter-round, you only need to bed the glass, not "glaze" in the traditional sense. You won't push it all out-- you'll only fill gaps. Any sealant will do it. Some people like silicone, some like latex caulk, some use glazing putty (Sarco multi-glaze, Aqua Glaze or Dap 33, ...).

Either 18ga. brads or 22 ga. pins would work. I like SS because it doesn't rust and bleed

[Tom M King]

Jerry's right. The thing I like about the cheap latex caulking is that it doesn't stick to anything good enough to be hard to get off, it cleans up with water while still soft, easy to trim after it cures, but still makes a good enough gasket when protected by the exterior paint. I use a sharp chisel for trimming the bedding, rather than a single edge razor blade.

I'm sure others have reasoning for what they like.

[James Gregory]

I'm digesting all the responses from you guys, and am thinking that since I'm not glazing like you said, just bedding followed by quarter round, that maybe I can just use some Dynaflex 230 to bed it (my favorite caulk). No caulk on the quarter round since it will be on the interior side. Just wondering if the Dynaflex skins too quickly to work for this.

[Tom M King]

I like to put the bedding in place, let it dry, and then trim it. Better quality caulkings have a much stronger bond, and you need to clean it up before it sets completely. It'll work, and for one door probably can't be but so bad. I'm usually doing all the windows in a house, so that asks for different things.

[James Gregory]

Thanks for that. By the way, since after bedding I will be using quarter round stops, do I need to use glazing points at all? Or are they used only when conventionally glazing with no stops?

[Jerry Miner]

You don't need points if you're using a stop. 230 will work, but I would clean it up before it sets. You should have enough time for this if you're not out in 90 degree weather.

[James Gregory]

My glass is about 22 wide x 67 tall single pane. Not overly heavy, but when I bed it in, should I favor it downward so the bottom sits directly on the ledge of the rabbet? If not, and no setting blocks are used, then it seems it could sag later if the glazing compound is not firm and adhesive enough.

[Jerry Miner]

Yes. You might consider standing the door up, maybe leaning against a wall so the weight of the glass bears onto the bottom rail of the door. Setting blocks are helpful for positioning the glass and can be made from bits of rubber or wood or ...

[James Gregory]

Thanks Jerry.

[James Gregory]

Thanks Jerry.

[Tom M King]

On the old houses I work on, we're always dealing with single pane glass. Any finish on the inside of such windows, or doors, needs to be an exterior finish. At least around here, water is going to condense on the inside surface of the glass sometimes, and will quickly ruin interior paint, or any other kind of interior finish.

I would use the little synthetic rubber setting blocks on the bottom.