A drive through Richmond gives a tour of an abundance of vintage architectural styles from Greek Revival (circa 1820s-1860) to Italianate (1840-1885) through Georgian & Queen Anne, Federal Beaux Arts and Arts and Craft.  If you listen to Ayn Rand’s first literary success “The Fountainhead” as an audiobook and pretend you’re the idealist Howard Roark as you drive, you will have 32 hours and one minute to contemplate if exterior architectural styles are worth preserving.  Richmond’s rich history showcases the architectural influences just like Howard has to quit his draftsman’s job and work on a steel construction site to learn what steel can do for a building.  The struggles and influences of the evolution of glass making in England and the U.S. forms the look and style of many of the oldest Historic restorations we accomplish.  Our knowledge of wood craftsmanship influences how we bit and build a job to be the longest lasting and most effective use of the material.

The earliest windows are made of crown glass, which was blown onto a crown or hollow globe, flattened and then spun into a flat disk. Even though extremely thin, the glass was durable and many individual panes still live on.  The individual sections of glass which are called “lights”  in the trade can be sourced to give actual historic context to your new build.  The thinnest glass was at the edge of the disk, while the glass at the center was thicker and more opaque.  Take a close look at this high-res photo to notice the irregularities in the historic lights:

Historic Window Glass Light