Our first build - a vardo

[dales133]

If i may be so bold as to offer some advice... i would be inclined to rebate the hinges into the window frame and edge of the sash.
It will look far better and should give last longer.
You can now get easy fit hinges where one leaf fits into the other eliminating the need to mortise the hinges.

I think I may do that. I was also looking at piano hinges, but that would be a better solution. I'm not happy with them, they look so awkward! Since I have two more windows to put on, I want to get it right! thanks for the idea, I'm going to give that a try --

Your welcome .
This is what you want to look for
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=easy ... cVNmD4I%3D.
Notice the direction of the countersinks and the way one shuts into the other.
Far easier for you than chiseling the rebates,not an easy task to pick up right away

[KCStudly]

Very nice details. The dutch door is looking really good, and the lead windows fit the part well.

On the hinges, I had the same thought to mortise them in, but you might also consider painting faux hinges over them to give them more of a wrought iron barn hinge look. Another option would be to round the corners and maybe even scallop out a small swale in the long edge just to give them a little more shape before you mortise them; a little more work to mortise, but cheaper than buying new ones.

[OP827]

If i may be so bold as to offer some advice... i would be inclined to rebate the hinges into the window frame and edge of the sash.
It will look far better and should give last longer.
You can now get easy fit hinges where one leaf fits into the other eliminating the need to mortise the hinges.

I think I may do that. I was also looking at piano hinges, but that would be a better solution. I'm not happy with them, they look so awkward! Since I have two more windows to put on, I want to get it right! thanks for the idea, I'm going to give that a try --

I agree that hiding the hinges in the gap is going to be much better. Your carpentry work looks great , I wonder what do you teach in school... if I may ask? Do you also plan to have some sort of gutter above these hinges and window to protect from water?

[lgatlin]

I agree that hiding the hinges in the gap is going to be much better. Your carpentry work looks great , I wonder what do you teach in school... if I may ask? Do you also plan to have some sort of gutter above these hinges and window to protect from water?

Thanks -- we've done a ton of work on our house(s), so I've learned quite a bit. Also helps that I do have an arts background -- I teach art education at the university level. My fine arts background is in painting -- so that's the part I am really looking forward to! BTW, here's my house blog - you can see some of the work we've done remodeling -- http://toughkittypuffs.blogspot.com I'm putting the vardo stuff on also, it's primarily to let our grown kids /family know what we're working on.

So today I did a primer coat of paint on the body, and we got half the roof insulated before it got too dark to work any longer. The air compressor died and so a lot of the fussy nailing work I was going to do has to wait until tomorrow when we go pick up a new one. While we're out, I'm going to pick up some of those hinges, I am anxious to see how they work.

As far as the back window, I still have to create a kind of roof and that will include a bit of an overhang over the top of the window. I am going to use some of the beadboard, but I needed to wait until I have all the other essential beadboard done to see what I have left over. We're trying to get this done as frugally as possible, so all the trim we've put up has been cut from cheapo 1x2 wood, ripped on the table saw.

Hopefully we have some more progress to share after the weekend!

[dales133]

Cool
Youll probably get away with 2 or 3 hinges on a window that size

[lgatlin]

Thanks for the hinge suggestion, I got those changed out and I'm much happier with it now. I also got the window roof built and the overhang and trim all done -- and I've spent the past two days painting and painting....and painting.

Here's the overall view -- still many things we're working on, but everything's got 2 coats of paint so far, I'll probably add another before I'm through.

Although I like the color, it's only a base color, there will be copious amounts of painted design on top. The trim is black and it looks a bit "goth" right now, but there will be ivory colored patterning on the black trim, which will lessen the goth look considerably. This isn't helping:

he's going to get some gold highlights later, and the window above it will have a lot of decoration as well. But I 'm happy with how cohesive it looks now.

I've still got to caulk and paint the underside of the porch roof. I'm going to add a arch to cover the ends after we get the roof laid.
So we added some tyvek "house wrap" to the inside, but in a rather non-traditional way: we do a lot of ebay selling, and we had a stack of the priority envelopes laying around. My husband cut them open, and used them to "wallpaper" the inside. we also added rigid foam insulation, which makes the whole shebang feel much more structurally firm. We also added layers of insulation to the roof, and hopefully we put the skin on the roof tomorrow.

So, it's coming along. We're enjoying the long weekend to work, although part of Monday will be spent moving all our tools out of the garage and into a safe space in the yard --- we have roofers coming on Tuesday and our garage is going to be a mess!

[dales133]

on the hinges,glad i could help.
Wow on the paint ,what a transformation.
This is a design i never would envision for myself unless i built a tiny house... )witch may be on the cards one day) but after seeing yours ive grown much fonder of the shape.
You should be verry proud of your workmanship its an ambitious project and your exicuting it superbly... hinges look miles better

[PKCSPT]

I like the color

[OP827]

Cannot wait to see how the all decor comes together, it is going to be a piece of art, already is!
Maybe some tiny touch of gold paint as it plays good with black and green, or would it be "over the top"? You are an artist.

Oops, sorry, I just have read you are already using the gold touch! What can I say here.. the great minds think alike, maybe?!

[S. Heisley]

It's looking awesome already!

[lgatlin]

Well, we're getting a new roof on our house, so we had to move the vardo to the backyard and pack up the tools to keep the crud out for a few days. So I am working on a couple of decorative bits. The first thing I did was make a little sun and moon for over the back window -- found a clip art of a sun/moon, drew it out on some plywood and wood scraps, cut it out with my jigsaw, then sanded the bits.

Then I painted them, glued/screwed the pieces together, and finished with about 4-5 coats of marine varnish and a top coat of spray to to be sure they're sealed against the weather. Then I used a combination of titebond and construction adhesive to mount them on the roof to the window, and nailed the heck out of them, too.

I've got ideas for stenciling the border (along with pretty much every inch of the whole thing), and yep, gonna add lots of gold. I'm thinking especially along the bottom edge, the black really made it disappear, but I've got some ideas for that area to accent it.


The other thing I did was paint the doors red -- really, really red as it turns out! But I will be giving them a wash of black to give them an "antique" look -- and then I've got some ideas for painting in the panels and around the edges. So here they are before, I'll post other pics after...


We did get half the roof plywood curved and attached before we had to pack up shop, it went easier than we thought, so by the next post, we might actually have that closer to finished. Also got the two stained glass windows fitted and just need to pick up a couple more hinges to install them. We cut the insulation for the walls, and I also got the window installed by the door, but I guess I forgot to get a picture of that. Oh well, next time!

Thanks for the encouragement and kind comments, we are having so much fun! I am really anxious to get this shell done so we can start focusing on the interior -- and figuring out how to do the wiring, which is our next big milestone after the roof ---

[OP827]

Reminds me Stardust movie, love the art!

[dales133]

You realy do some nice detail work.

Looks great

[S. Heisley]

Beautiful artwork!

[rebapuck]

A vardo fits your design sense perfectly. Good choice.