Madeline and Judith have been working away on site, but where’s Riley been? What’s this mystery man’s secret? Alright…he’s been out shopping. Woodshop-ing, that is. He’s been crafting the window systems for Myers’ Home with his own two hands!
What, Where, Why?
The team hasn’t just picked up this big task for the fun of it though. Designing and building the window system introduces a slew of advantages into the Studio’s home-building philosophy.
In rural areas like those studied by Myers’ Home team, the most common windows are not durable. The cheap vinyl and plastic warps over time and the window becomes useless for ventilation. They also are often filled with window AC units that reduce interior light and make passive ventilation near nonexistent.
The Studio decided to tackle this challenge of durability and home efficiency so the team first studied the essential functions of a window in this context and boiled it down to: light, passive ventilation, and active ventilation. They decided the best tools for each of these elements and worked to fit them together into one window unit. By separating each component, particularly active ventilation from the others, light and passive ventilation are preserved.
Windows are also typically installed in the rough openings of the home. In this case, installing three separate components makes the process more difficult. The team designed a dimensioned box that holds all three pieces precisely. This unit is then moved into the opening and leveled as one piece.
Riley Makes a Jig
First, Riley had to find a way to streamline the process. A “jig” is the most effective way to move forward here. Jigs are tools of a sort, they hold other tools, or pieces, in place so that they can be worked. Often they are a negative of a piece one is trying to build.
In the case of Myers’ Home windows, Riley set up a system in this line of thinking. He built low tables, drafted the window frames on the tops, routed holds for clamps, and assembled each window section atop them.
A Mill-ion to One
Once the jigs are complete and workstations ready to go, Riley can begin the first step before assembly: milling. The team chose quality pine boards for the base box of the window units. Cypress trim will make up the interior and exterior trim and the exterior lid to the box. The pine arrived slightly larger than necessary dimensions, so to the planer it goes. After a few passes the boards are ready to be assembled into the dimensionally stable frame for the three components.
Boxes and Squares
With all this freshly milled wood, Riley began scribing his dimensions and cutting the pine pieces to length. He moved these to his assembly space in the Red Barn where he begins laminating and screwing them into a solid unit.
measuring and scribing boards 
cutting to length 
predrilling holes 
gluing reinforces screw connections 
screwing the box together
Put a Lid On It!
The team designed the window unit as three pieces: the core box, the lid the shuts it, and the trim that covers seams. Once the box is complete, Riley uses the same jigs to assemble those lids. They are made of cypress, which is more weather-resistant for the lid on the window exterior.
The milling process is much the same, he continued to scribe and cut to size, this time on the chop saw rather than a sled on the table saw. After this though, some changes happen in the process. He used the table router to route small drip edges on each sill, another level of weather protection. And, as the pieces are so thing and would be prone to splitting, Riley employed pocket screws in the assembly of the window lids. This requires another jig and predrilling of each component.
routing drip edges 
pre-drilling for pocket screws 
pocket screw dimensioning
These pieces all move to the jigs and are ready for assembly. Once lined up and in place, the glue is placed, the whole things is clamped, and pocket screws are driven. It sits to dry for a day.
lining everything up 
pre-gluing 
post-glue and clamp 
post-screw install
How About a Trim?
The last piece of the layered window system is the trim. Riley lays these pieces out much the same as the lid and assembles with screws and lamination. The difference in this piece of the window unit is its future-proofing. The box is independent and the lid and trim are tightly attached to one another. Then these two pieces are simply screwed together, sturdily.
meeting of trim details 
center flange trim detail
When Riley attaches the lid, the screws are left visible and unpainted. This means that over time, when the trim of the window weathers or rots, the piece can be replaced with something else by the owner, keeping the rest of the window secure.
Steps to Site
Riley had a few finishing steps before the units move to site are installing operable windows, weather sealed taping, and priming and painting. All of was is done in the shop and Red Barn as well. The team’s plan was the finish just about everything that could be done in-shop. Designating the majority of window production as pre-fabrication allows the entire unit to be transported in nearly its final state.
installed operable 
tape window 
prime frame
On-site, the box is popped into the rough opening and leveled with shims. Then the team lined up the lid and screwed it on tightly. This leaves installing the fixed glass and wall-in conditioning unit, both simple and straightforward tasks.
Pre-Fab Pays Off
The team carefully transported all six operable window units to site and have been steadily installing and weatherproofing each one. In help install the high attic units, the TMBV team has lent their boom lift!
the north unit, ready for AC 
Riley adding backer rod to the system 
just before installing fixed glass
In addition to the operable window units, Riley fabricated four fixed window units for the living space, kitchen sink, stair landing, and bathroom.
shower window 
stair window 
kitchen window 
living space windows
News of Newbern
The team has already started installing siding on the exterior and working through finishes inside. It’s been exciting to see so much visible progress lately! They’ve also been getting some extra helping hands from the new 5th-year teams. Keep those eyes peeled for blogs from them and the 3rd-year students.
And a ridiculously loud congratulations to these three teammates over at Rev. Walker’s Home. They finished their project and hosted a housewarming party for Reggie. This team could not be more proud of their hard work and grateful for their friendship. These folks cannot wait to see what they do next, the sky is the limit. Over and out.
Rev. Walker’s Housewarming Party
