Hmmm. As in the guy who makes the donuts? Two of my nieces call one of their
uncles -- not me, thankfully -- Uncle Donuts. I think he popped a whole
Krispy Kreme classic glazed in his great maw, chewed twice, and swallowed.
To a three- or four-year old obviously an awesome and memorable event.

That said, to the question: I wonder about the analogy. There are many
arguments for an against keeping original wood sash. I am all for having yet
another -- the fight can be long and exhausting. But, I am not sure this one
really works -- completely. It is probably truthful to state that the
windows that are reglazed (putty only) and stripped and painted are the best
of the lot, provided all the windows were maintained to the same standards.
Those that need the least amount of work are probably constructed with the
best quality material, at least as far as rot-resistance. (There is the
truth.) Those that need repairs are by the same token not the best. Good
repairs and regular maintenance will keep the second set of windows in
service. But, should maintenance stop on any of the windows -- original and
unrepaired and repaired -- and conditions become favorable to insect
infestation or fungal attack, both the original and repaired windows will be
almost equally subject to decay. Or, such has been my experience. And,
straight from by book of cliches, therein lies the rub.

Unlike donuts cellulose remains as tasty -- to termitos and fungi -- after a
century of service as the day it was cut. Does anyone have documentation
that would support the donut theory of decay?

Sign me,

Crusty (for no reason other than it is colder today than yesterday and I
would rather be at home reading a novel)




-----Original Message-----
From: J. Bryan Blundell [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 8:00 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Bottom of the food chain...


Met History wrote:

> Architect/coop shareholder who is supervising the restoration (not
> replacement) of the several hundred wooden windows in his coop, at a cost
> comparable to that of getting entirely new wooden windows:
>

Good choice.

Even though the repair costs are comparable to new wood windows the dollar
value
to the repair compared to the new is most likely greater. The assumption
here is
that the existing windows are better than replacements for several reasons.
The
one reason I will bring up now is the idea of wood being a food source for
decay
fungi.

Think about going to a conference that last several days. At the morning
break on
the first day there is a hugh pile of donuts at the coffee table. Most
attendees
happily help themselves to one or more of these sugary bread treats and
maybe
without anything to drink. At the afternoon break, some people take another
donut
with something to drink while others consider them too stale to bother with.
The
next morning, with donuts still plentiful, a few people love to dunk stale
donuts
in their coffee. That afternoon some kids come by and swipe a few, now hard
dry
hockey puck like, donuts. Then head to the water fountain because the donuts
are
so dry. The following morning, most of the remaining donuts are placed in
bags to
give to homeless people. The remaining donuts are taken to the dumpster and
will
end up feeding the birds at the landfill.

As the donuts age and change due to exposure to the environment, the likely
hood
of being a desirable food source decreases. They are still a food source, it
is
just that the condition needs to become more extreme for the donuts to be
used as
a food source.

Now, think of new wood window as a food source and think of them a nice,
fresh,
hot, just out of the oven donuts. Add a little moisture and we have the
fungi
convention attendees lining up at the morning break table. Yum, yum.  Now
serving
new windows and doors in a variety of flavors including exotic tastes from
South
America and Asia.

Next time you think about repair or replacement of any architectural wood
element,
think of nice hot fresh donuts.

Now for the next story about the hard working wood boring insect. Once upon
...........

Mr. Donut