I have encountered custom build true divided light wood windows. The windows are leaking at the mutins that are holding the glass in the window. The windows do not have a putty glazing but use wood stops around the individual glass panes. The glass panes are installed from the interior side of the window with the stops on the interior side of the windows.
Would it have been better to have installed the glass from the exterior side of the windows with the wood stops on the exterior side of the window as we would do with putty glazing?
Replies
Installing the stops on the outside would just encourage rot.
Glazing is used on the exterior for a reason, a good seal. In the case of some Exterior divided light doors I’ve hung, the glass is set into a sealant, more sealant and then stops applied. The squeeze out is trimmed after it’s set up.
Yeah thats all weird, and its definitely going to get worse quickly, the wood won’t last long outside without standard glazing unless its a good exterior species and steeply beveled to shed water quickly.
If it was me, I would yank the stops and point and glaze the windows on the interior side (since its november and they won’t be dry until june 2020), and after a week indoors prime and paint then flip the windows completely around so glazing is outside.
If these windows aren’t painted, you’re in a different situation, as the stops would have been used since glazing isn’t wood colored, if thats the case, see if the glass was set into brown caulk, silicone, or a double-sided adhesive weatherstrip. Sounds likely they weren’t, I make custom windows frequently and use the adhesive weatherstripping when assembling wood windows that aren’t getting paint.
It doesn't seem that they could leak air around the muntins unless the interior stops have deteriorated or somehow loosened. I have seen this happen when high humidity indoors leads to lots of condensation so the windows begin to rot as if they were exposed to the exterior.
Removing and caulking behind, or replacing, the interior stops is the best way forward if you aim to keep the window sash.