Decorating with Insulators

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", June 1997, page 5

The home of Robert Gilkerson at 123 Macon in Canon City, Colorado is adorned with two panels made from glass insulators.

Bob writes that "the glass insulators panels my Dad and I made for my house are all CD 145 'beehives'. They all were cracked, dinged, pinged or missing hunks of glass. I just couldn't bring myself to use good glass for this project. There are a total of four panels that were made. Two for the outside of the house and two for the inside, as they are placed back to back." 

Bob's photos shows a wooden box with 32 wire-separated compartments that hold 32 insulators in four rows of eight. Cement was poured in around the insulators and allowed to set. The bottom board was removed from the box and the framed, cement encased insulators became a permanent part of the house and cannot be removed. Each glass panel weighs about 140 pounds. 

The house faces south, so some light makes it all the way through the two sets of insulator panels that welcome visitors at the front door of their home. Some of our Canadian readers may remember the small church in Pincher Creek, Alberta, which was inspired by the same type of. architectural treatment used by the Gilkersons.