La Casa del Vitral

FABRICATION

OUR TECHNIQUE, MATERIALS & PROCESS

Used for stained glass
Our technique used for the fabrication of the stained-glass windows is called “Copper foil or Tiffany technique”. This method is new to create this kind of art and has many advantages against the lead technique still used nowadays. Some of these advantages are:
  • The first material used for joining the pieces of glass together is tin.
  • It is not necessary to apply glazing that is used on lead technique and by not using this glazing causes better resistance as well as more durability on the life of the stained-glass window.
  • Replacing the lead strips for thinner lines of tin at the time of joining the glass, gives the stained-glass window a more delicate and elegant finish.
  • Less corrosion and deformation with time, since lead exposed to the sun at high temperatures gets damaged.

For the insulation of stained-glass windows, we will use a 1/4” of width tempered glass to protect the windows from outside and inside. We also used a special thermal band to prevent humidity infiltration, this will add more years of life to the stained-glass window by avoiding agents damaging the stained-glass window, protecting them from blows, water, sun, and dust, as well as facilitating their cleaning. Also, the thermal insulation we do is thermal adjustable, it helps to save energy, lowering the cost of light bill as well as helping the environment.

It is important to remark that our job is mainly artistic, everything we create in our studio is handmade. Every piece of glass is cut by hand, the drawing of the designs, painting, etc. The art we create in our studio is authentic, every design is different. We like to give our customers an idea of how their stained-glass window will look. Therefore, the first thing we do, is design on paper the image they give us on its original size, coloring it with the colors similar to the glass we will use, this helps them to get an idea of the colors and how it will look when it is done. After the design is approved by our client, we go head and cut the paper and start cutting the glass. 92% of stained-glass window will be painted, the process of painting glass requires many firings before the piece is complete. After painting all the pieces, foiling every piece of glass is what follows. We proceed to assemble the stained-glass window after foiling is done, then continue to solder. Last thing is cleaning and polishing of the stained-glass window.

Drawing and coloring the design on paper using the real size of the stained-glass window

Cutting of the paper

Cutting of the glass

Glass painting

Foiling glass

Soldering the stained-glass window

Piece of art completed