Storm Window Advice

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Sipi
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Location: Owen, WI

Storm Window Advice

Post by Sipi »

I finished restoring and installing the 2 front windows in my 1920 workman's cottage in Northern WI.
The original storms were so dry rotted at the bottom they were unusable. I saved them only to use the wavy glass for other future projects.

I purchased beautiful original storm windows from a local architectural salvage the area. four of them for 10.00 a piece. they were even the right size! Except they were 1/8" shorter than the originals.

I believe I may have made a mistake. I took some paint stirer sticks, and glued them to the top. This made the two storms I installed fit "tight as a drum". During the winter the windows iced, and fogged, and frosted like crazy. The outside frames are all new wood and seal almost perfectly with no air gaps.

Someone I know told me there should be an air gap at the bottom to allow for moisture to escape. Should I remove the spacers I glued on the top and install some kind of spacers at the bottom of the storm window to allow for air circulation? Wouldn't this defeat the purpose of storm windows? I understand that storm windows have been around almost since colonial times. How did they do it in the old days?

heartwood
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Re: Storm Window Advice

Post by heartwood »

an 1/8" gap at the bottom should relieve most of the icing and fogging...circulation/ventilation is good....it may seem counter intuitive but it is beneficial to allow space at the bottom of any storm...
whichever is easiest for you--removing the sticks at the top, planing the bottom, or moving the hardware--I think you will notice a difference this year if you allow the space...

for those with aluminum storms, there should be an extender strip at the bottom of the storm....use a stiff putty knife slipped under the storm to push the extender up and away from the sill....a 1/16", 3/32" or 1/8" will work...

good luck!
....jade

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nhguy
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Re: Storm Window Advice

Post by nhguy »

I tried sealing a few of my wood storms with that rubber foam roll that's sticky on one side. I thought the same that no air is better, well I was wrong. They fogged quite a bit and when I went to remove them, it was a huge chore, in fact I thought I would break them prying them off. The rolled wool worked better, much better. There was no fogging at all. This year all my storm windows have nice new rolled wool. I guess those old timers knew what they were doing.

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Manalto
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Re: Storm Window Advice

Post by Manalto »

If it ain't broke...

I know there are plenty of modern methods and materials that are better than those of 100 years ago but, thanks to the discussions here, I'm finding it remarkable how often there's no need to reinvent the wheel, so it seems worth considering the original (to the house) solution.

There, I've already hit my limit of two clichés for the day!

heartwood
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Re: Storm Window Advice

Post by heartwood »

and that is why there are no stupid or silly questions...

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