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Here are some photos from the field.? This is a castle in France that dates back to 1100 AD.? Note the importance placed on hardware detail and function near 1000 years ago.? Don’t be tempted to take a shortcut on the details that will be the jewelry of your project – it is hard to find the right products to complete a fine restoration or traditionally built home (but you can do it with our help and many other fine product vendors that provide great things for your home!).

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Sometimes a new hinge just isn’t made like the old one – take a look at this situation the new hinges are on the left and the old hinges are on the right.? Take note on how the new deltana hinge has actually pulled and bent from its’ lower leaf.? The old rixon hinge is ready for another 100 years – even the tasteful screw placement is appealing.? Remember in previous entries how we have discussed slotted vs. phillips screws – this is a great chance to see them side by side.

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This hardware was replicated for a client in Texas.? All material is solid brass and will be finished in our shop in nickel to match the existing hardware in the home.

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This is a great example of steel grills that restored for the recently restored Piper Hall in Chicago, Illinois.? Each grill on this period home was fabricated around the individual opening.? It is important during the demo phase of a project to identify items such as grills and hardware that you intend to re-use.? These grills are finished in a soft satin bronze and have a lacquer coating.

This brass floor register was fabricated for a home built in 1892 in Chicago, Illinois.? The opening is a new one that was created for an air return in the main entry hall of the home.? The finish is a burnished brass that was hand waxed.

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The washers to the right are the original finish washers from an 1880′s Victorian.? These finish washers came in various shapes and sizes.? The flat head screw in this application sits perfectly flat in the recess of the washer.? These washers can be re-manufactured for old homes another option is a new stamped finish washer.

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These floor registers were installed in a HowardVan?Doren Shaw home in Lake Forest, Illinois.? The diverter and grill backs were all back painted in a flat black (which is a clean look for this application).? These are iron and were originally plated as well.? Iron grills are very fragile and break easily (we had some welding that was done prior to finishing).

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These are steel grills that have been brass plated for a local client.? The majority of them will go into openings that conceal radiators in windows.? We have lacquer coated these, however they can be hand waxed as well so that they gently patina over time.

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Many grills and registers can be powder coated.? This is a great option for a budget minded home restoration project.? Often in building a new project your HVAC contractor can fabricate your duct-work to work with custom vents or salvage ones.

Preparation is one of the keys in the process of restoring or manufacturing a grill or vent.? Captioned here are some grills that we will be restoring in our shop.? We have tagged each of the grills so that they go back in the same opening.? Often when we restore material like this there are subtle size differences that you will only note when it is time to re-install.? These grills were tagged with tape in the field and with a set of dies in our shop.

The set on the right are from a David Adler apartment in Chicago, Illinois (they were originally silver plated and will be re-silvered) and the set on the left are part of about 40 grills from a home in Winnetka, Illinois … Read More »

This week at Al Bar Wilmette and Wilmette Hardware we will be featuring floor registers / vents and grills.? Because we are all about the details don’t let these hardware details get overlooked in you new home or restoration project.

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The hardware above is for a project in Chicago, Illinois and will be fabricated using the investment casting process.? Finishing will be completed in a soft un-lacquered bronze.? The hardware will be installed on pella doors by a local contractor.