Fitting a Square Window in a Curved Hole
It was love at first site for me and my house. I paid no attention to how the dormer windows looked from the outside. I didn’t find it odd that the break between the two window sashes fell just inches beneath the solid structure that filled the top of the window.
During demo the rear large dormer window fell out and it revealed that the solid piece at the top was just a sheet of tin someone had cut in the shape of the curved opening and painted. It was done to conceal the square window behind it. Clearly the original dormer windows were curved per the moulding on the outside. But why 
was the moulding on the inside, which was clearly old wood, squared?
One explanation I was given by a window company is that the house probably had a fire in the upstairs (true, probably multiple in its life) that did not impact the outside structure; only the inside. To repair they built walls in front of the damage, which included altering the inside framing from curved windows to square. The house had square aluminum windows throughout when I bought. When it was time to replace the windows I was told if I wanted curved windows the cost of the four dormer windows alone would be more the the remaining 20 windows in the house. I would need to re-frame the inside to accommodate the curve also, which meant losing all the original trim and buying new. This was so early in the project that I conceded and went forward with square vinyl windows throughout knowing that I’d need to come up with something to hide the horrible look on the outside.
My first thought was to find a better version of the tin that was installed previously. The depth of that piece covered almost half of the window, which meant I was loosing almost half of the light that came through. I hoped I could find something narrower, so I just started typing random descriptors into Google and I stumbled across window pediments. These were meant to be installed above the window, but maybe I could transfer the application.
Further searching led me to the site of Architectural Depot (AD) and a subsequent conversation with one of their sales people. Before I go further I must state that I am a one and done customer of this company. They are just a reseller of other people’s product, which they mark up heavily.
I explained to the sales person the situation and he had me send him pictures. He understood what I w![Venus Arch Trim Drawing[11126]](https://i0.wp.com/sistagirlwithskills.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/venus-arch-trim-drawing11126.png?resize=355%2C473&ssl=1)
as looking for, I’d need to get a custom piece. He also had a better suggestion, creating a frame around the entire window. He had me give him several measurements and after a couple of days sent me this drawing. I understood the concept he was going for and thought this could work although it seemed to narrow which I shared with him. I retook the measurements several times before going through with the order. Each time 3″ was adequate. I started this process with them in 2018. Since the loan from Fifth Third Bank and Guardian did not come through, this wasn’t a priority. To have these pieces milled out of a plastic material was going to be about $500.
When Center Bank came through and I knew painting would finally commence I ordered the pieces, right when Covid hit. Their two week ship turned into six weeks. The worst customer service follow through I’ve ever seen. They kept blaming Covid, but would never give me a delivery date. I had to call/email four times before I got a response. This is when I discovered they weren’t the manufacturer of the piece. A company called Ekena Millwork (same company whose plinths I bought from Amazon) would be producing them, so I called them. I got next to nowhere since I didn’t have any production numbers, but they did confirm orders placed on my date, if provided to them should have already shipped. I called AD back with this information and miraculously my order arrived within the week. My fears manifested, the frame was too narrow. The entire time I worked with the sales person providing him all the measurements he needed to create the arch I worked from an open window. My thickness measurement only accounted for the outer window frame, not the frame around the glass.
I called AD upon the discovery and they took no responsibility for the mistake, citing I provided the measurements. $500 wasted. The frames were cut from PVC foam, nothing special. I instantly thought of The Manufactory’s CNC router. I thought if I could find the material perhaps the guys at the shop could help me replicate them in the correct width. They came to my rescue, including telling me where I could buy a sheet of the PVC foam, Piedmont Plastic, which cost about $200. I had to rent a van to haul it, so another $50. The correct width was 4.25″. With that measurement and the original pieces they were able to program their machine to cut new pieces. From one sheet I was able to get the four arches, but only 7 legs. To create the 8th, I used PVC cement to glue two of the originals together and then ripped it down to the right width. I wasn’t present when they cut the pieces for me, so no pics.
At this point my working relationship with Lyle, painter, is strained. When he started the project (June 9, we’re way past his 3 week time frame) he said he would help me install them. At this point I don’t want him to do anything extra. I decided to figure it out myself and I knew the first step would be getting them primed as PVC does not take paint well based on past experience. I went to the Internet and found several sites and all recommended using an acrylic urethane primer, I used Sherwin Williams’ Extreme Bond Primer. Before applying the primer I sanded each piece with 220 grit, which was also recommended on the sites. To ensure they were clean and free of dust wiped them with isopropyl alcohol.
The AD pieces acted as the perfect install templates, so I was able to practice the angle needed on those legs that would rest against the angled window sill. I decided to use my Kreg jig to make pocket holes around the parameter of the piece. I used 2.5 inch outdoor Kreg screws to attach the frame to the house, but used 1.5″ to attach the legs to the arches after applying PVC cement. The seam between the legs and arch is negligible.
I was able to hang the frames from inside the house and only had to use my new found roof scaling skill to caulk around frame and to repair a piece of the wood trim I broke off by clamping too hard. Looking straight on, the mission of hiding the square window in the curve framed worked. I have no idea how this PVC material is going to hold up, but only time will tell. At least I’ll know how to make new ones if they do need replacing.
Piece I broke off clamping too hard 
Piece reinstalled 
Right dormer without frame, left with 
Rear with both frames installed.
Oh no he didn’t, I am not the female you challenge like that. I promptly climbed up his ladder and put in the nails. The piece was the last piece on that side, so with my reach I never had to climb on the roof. When I asked him to take down the piece I didn’t have my work clothes on, so by the time I got back outside he had not only removed that piece, but three broken tiles from the opposite side and four broken tiles from the other rear dormer. The other locations would require me getting on the roof, so I asked him if he was going to have a problem nailing them. He showed hesitancy and reluctance, so I said forget it, I’ll do it myself. I need to figure out how to work on the roof, anyway. I really wanted him to finish scraping, so we can finally get to the paint. Since he was all set up on the large dormer I decided to work on the other.
Lyle has a ladder that he leans on the gutter that allows him to easily maneuver the pitch around the dormers. It has an odd design. Early on he told me they don’t make ladders like that anymore, so I asked can a regular ladder (A-frame) work. He said no, so I went in my basement and made what I hoped would work out of a pallet. No pictures of it on the roof, but I carried it upstairs, put it out of the window onto the gutter and then went back outside to cut the tiles. When Lyle saw my makeshift ladder he immediately said that’s not going to work its going to kick-back and fall. He stopped working on the large dormer and brought over his ladder. Now people that know me, know at this point I’m annoyed and there is no way I will use his ladder. I told him to take it back, if I fall I fall, I got this. Instead of taking it back he starts scraping the paint from that dormer.  
to me that if I could reach the gutter I could plant my feet in it and with my height just lean on the roof to replace those three tiles. I went and got the 
while I focused on the tile it would be done. That night after he left I got my 4′ A-frame ladder and placed it on the gutter from the bathroom window on the opposite side of his. I felt certain it would work, so I left it there. Friday he took his down.
of July 6th when high winds from a storm knocked his scaffolding system down, which had been up for days and not used. I felt very fortunate that the winds blew them to the left as to the right could have torn my electric line down. It could have broken windows (the new, thicker trim Tom installed is what stopped the one ladder from going any further) and it could have broken the moulding, that is irreplaceable (yes I could by new, but the quality of wood today pales in comparison to what I have now), which is why I finally moved them to the back yard. This picture shows a few still leaning, but majority were on the ground under the fallen scaffolding. Since they weren’t marked or labeled, I just stacked them out of harms way.
had severe cracks, but found another piece with a chunk missing. It’s clearly an old crack, but the break off is fresh. I have no idea if he kept the piece. The reason my reinstall of the inside moulding went so well is that I labeled pieces by wall, bundled pieces together by area, and I kept every piece that actually broke off; wrapping it with plastic to the piece it broke off of. It was a year after I moved in before I had every piece back in place and I made multiple post showing what it took to achieve the final results. Pure beauty for a non-professional if I toot my own horn. I had the luxury of working on the ground, not 20′ in the air on a steeply pitched roof, in record hot temperatures.  
I have never cared for my hair in its natural state. Prior to my perm my mom or relative did my hair or I was getting a press and curl by Ms. Scott in this huge house located in Avondale. Ms. Scott did hair in her basement and I can remember me and my cousin Detra being dropped off and left for hours on Saturdays. I wish my mom were still alive so I could ask her why she agreed to let me get a perm. At 55-years-old, reflecting back on my childhood, I know for me it was a desire to have “white people” hair. Let me share a bit of my childhood.
between mine and theirs. I lived in Forest Park, but from K-3 attended Sands Elementary in downtown Cincinnati with my mother where I was in a non-graded classroom with mostly Black kids. I had two wonderful teachers Phyllis Gaston, who was Black, and Jennifer Cottingham, who was white, that I cherish to this day. Mrs. Gaston is deceased and I’d love to find Mrs. Cottingham again and hope she is still living. For 
fourth grade my parents enrolled me in my neighborhood school, Forest View School. I was placed in the classroom of a white woman, Mrs. Smith who did not like nor want to teach Black children. My parents had me removed from her class mid-year, but I went from loving school to hating it and that pretty much never changed throughout the rest of my time in Forest Park. I most certainly never had another Mrs. Gaston or Mrs. Cottingham.
As with most Black girls that go to camp, my mother had my hair braided in cornrows, so I wouldn’t have to deal with it for the two weeks I’d be there. I think I was the first Black camper they ever had and most of those kids acted like they had never seen a Black kid before. Some probably hadn’t. At Sands I went to school with a girl named Zenith, so I never got teased for having a unique name like Venus. I think I heard every possible planet joke ever created in that two weeks. My hair and its style became a source of ridicule so severe that I wore a hat at all times; even slept in it. It was a Christian camp, so we prayed at every meal and I wouldn’t remove it then either. I can remember some boy campers telling counselors that I had to take it off during prayer, but my counselor stepped to my defense to say that was a rule for males, not females, so I didn’t have to. It wasn’t all bad (I never went back), but it left scars and created the desire for me to want “white people” hair and not like my name. 
My prized stained glass window, exterior frame, was in rough shape. While removing the paint I discovered two areas where large chunks of the frame had been filled with something that looked like plaster and it was not done well. They were already loose, so I decided to remove them and search for a better product to use. I was already familiar with wood epoxy, I used it to 
