Frequently Asked Questions
Leadlight Vs Stained Glass
In the United States they use the term Stained Glass to describe both Leadlighting and Stained Glass as well as using it often for copperfoiled panels as well and this has led to much confusion in the terminology. In the rest of the world
A Leadlight window is made of pieces of shaped coloured and textured glass encased in lead cames and joined to together to create beautiful panels that are often installed in windows and skylights.
A Stained Glass window is made up of one or many pieces of clear glass that has been painted with a metal/ferrous oxide and then fired in a kiln to make it semi-permanent.
A piece of stained glass may be used in a leadlight window, often in church windows the center piece is a intricate stained glass image surrounded by regular leadlight pieces, this causes further confusion to many people.
At Leadlight By Ettore we do not currently create stained glass pieces but we have been trained in preserving stained glass pieces and repairing the encasing leadlights. Where the stained glass piece is still intact we are able to restore the panel to it’s former glory, where the stained glass piece needs to be replicated we can work with other craftsman to organise this as part of the job if necessary.
We also have some modern techniques that are used in our glass arts studio that can create some stunning similar effects or even add some dimension to the pieces including glass enamels, frit painting and fusing.
In Situ Repair Vs Offsite Repair
In leadlighting repairing a panel without removing it is referred to as a glaziers repair. It is done by cutting the lead cames, removing and then replacing the broken glass and repairing the lead, while we are able to do this kind of repair in theory we rarely do it as it compromises the integrity of the entire window, and often where there is a single broken piece that you can see there are other pieces with hairline fractures in the glass that break on repair or not long after the repair.
Depending on the condition of the panel and the location of the break, we don’t have to redo the entire window even when removing and reinstalling a window but as it often recommended you should re-lead your windows every 15-25 years for external panels and every 20-30 years for internal panels depending on the panels condition it is often best to take the opportunity to re-lead and re-enforce where needed, as well as deep clean and restore the glass. Also due to availability of old glass, while we do have an extensive range of old and aged glass available, replacing a single piece can be difficult to match the rest of the panel and as glass ages as it is exposed to weather even the same glass can look remarkably different.
Do You Service My Area?
We can ship panels world-wide for installation but generally we service Victoria. Our main catchment area is within Castlemaine, Daylesford, Ballan, Sunbury, Kilmore to Heathcote, we frequently travel all over victoria to repair leadlight windows.
We offer free quick onsite quotes for the Macedon Ranges and Hepburn Shire, as well as doing regular runs to quote in Ballarat, Sunbury, Geelong, Melton, and Melbourne. Some of the other shires we often cover are Macedon Ranges, Hepburn Shire, Sunbury, Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Melbourne, Melton, Hume, Brimbank, Moreland, Darebin, Yarra, Boroondara, and Stonnington.
Do You Offer Free Quotes for Leadlight Repairs?
Yes, we offer free quotes on all jobs, where we are not able to come to site to quote you can email us dimensions as well pictures of the panel and we can give either an exact or rough quote depending on the detail we can see in the picture. If it is for the repair of a cabinet or internal door you can also make an appointment to our studio for an on the spot quote.
Do You Offer Free Quotes for Leadlight Commissions?
Yes, please get in touch and your initial meeting is completely free, we will go over your design options and help you find a style that will suit your home. For more information please get in touch with us.
Can You Help Me Design A Custom Design?
Yes, we don’t work from a group of standard panels, each panel we make is a custom design just for you. So we can help you design a new panel from scratch or to fit in with existing panels in your home. Over the years we have created panel designs from photographs, sketches and family keepsakes as well as from more traditional sources such as our large reference library of books and traditional styles.
We repair and design a large variety of styles of leadlighting in our studio including Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco, Australiana, Mid-Century Modern, Ecumenical as well as Contemporary designs.
Can You Repair My Cabinet or Lamp?
Absolutely, we can repair both copper foil and leadlight cabinets and lamps as well as replace plain glass cabinet doors with custom designs as long as we can get the rebate needed to install them. We are able to repair both 2d copperfoil panels as well as domed 3d designs. We regularly repair what is referred to as Tiffany Lamps, a style of copperfoiled lamps as well as more modern Pool / Billards Table light shades that are perfect to complete your man cave. We can also repair foiled jewellery boxes and other copperfoiled homewares.
Does Leadlight Meet My ‘BAL Rating’
If you live in Victoria you may have to build to a BAL (Bushfire Attack Level) Rating, this requires that a piece of Toughen Glass be the external pane of glass. In this case we will install the leadlight on the interior of it making it Double Glazed. The Effect achieved through this method makes the clear pane barely noticeable and actually extends the life of your leadlight as it is not exposed to the elements.
Does Leadlight Meet My ‘Energy Efficiency Rating’
If you live in Victorian due to the Energy Efficiency Rating you may need to install double glazed units, these units have argon gas between 2 panes of toughen glass. We can install the leadlight on the interior of it making it Triple Glazed. We leave an air gap but do not fill the space with argon gas and a piece of leadlight with a piece of toughen glass doesn’t count as double glazing for the rating. From the outside the leadlight is still an attractive feature and it actually extends the life of your leadlight as it is not exposed to the elements.