04/18/2026
Today is the day I start with intention. Now that Entergy has bestown upon us the excited electrons of progress, I shall begin in fervor my filling of rough openings.
Theres a lot that goes into those 38”x76” openings. Sounds huge, right? Well, a window fits a lot of elegant partnerships into that space. And in days not so far gone that all started with standard sized pieces of glass. Yeah, it blew my mind, too. Oh, you don’t know, yet?
Glass manufacturers were the masters of all things. In the 19th century they were the starting point for, well, all buildings. Because it was known that their glass was cut in increments of 2” that determined the proportions and construction of the sash. The sash, made completely separate from the frame determined the proportions and construction of the frame. And the frames determined the proportions and construction of the rough openings, and the rough openings determined the proportions and construction of the buildings within the context of the style in which it was to be built.
Seriously, think about it for a minute. When was the last time you gazed upon a façade marveling at its beauty and grace whose windows didn’t follow aesthetic rules of proportion. You may not have been realizing it in the moment, but it’s those proportions that chemically please our lizard brain. And it’s those proportions that have been perfected and passed down for millennia. Roughly the rule of thirds.
And glass manufacturers were providing panes cut roughly to that rule, and in 2” increments. So a builder was planning their house in their chosen style to a, say in Serenity Cottage’s case, chosen glass pane of 14”x32”.
And, that’s the piece of glass I am obliging. I have taken the measurement of the Cottages rough openings and they all work for a 14”x32” pane of glass, no matter how tall or wide they are, and there is some varying that accommodate different sized windows, but they all work out to require 14”x32” glass. You’ll see as I move forward. This is going to be fun!
