The argument for retaining historic windows

[Manalto]

By necessity (broken glass), I have begun restoration on my wooden windows. The aforementioned Jade was kind enough to give me a lesson at her shop in Charlemont, and Bonnie showed me the gorgeous, meticulously restored windows at her house, both offering a long list of useful tips. This is an example of where the old saying "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" does not apply. Folks here have been great with my newbie questions, and I found the work soothing and immensely gratifying. A Bahco scraper, two-part epoxy wood filler and Sarco are your friends...

[phil]

some of mine were really stuck. they intentionally overpainted them to seal them. I cut the edges and used a scraper. I soaked the perimeter with paint stripper. it took a few applications and some wiggling but capillary action helped draw in the stripper. by carefully prodding and inserting thin tools I could detect where they were stuck. You have to be gentle to avoid breaking the window but I did get them all unstuck this way without harming any parts. once they are loose you can remove the ropes and the stops and pull them out, replace with a piece of plywood. If you just work on one at a time like this you can probably strip and repair them and if you aren't in a super rush you can do it as time allows while working and living. the cost of materials will be very minimal. some use a steam box or you can use a heat gun and a scraper. I use a piece of aluminum to lay on the window to act as a heat sink so the glass cant easily get hot and break from expansion of one area by the heat gun. I'd do this but I tend to be resourceful and I cant' really afford hiring out those sorts of projects. Your mileage and resources may vary. its not fast but you can save most of that money for other stuff IF you both agree. probably the worst part is removing them when they are stuck and using the stripper in the house, once you get the window out you can work on it in a different area to keep the stink out of the house. If you hire it out you have some options. Most isn't difficult but requires some patience. with anything like this you start and it seems slow and as you go you will perfect your techniques. I'd suggest only removing one and try, If it frustrates you too much then hire it out. I prefer to do thi stuff when the weather is warm to get the fumes away. It will be more agreeable to others putting up with the smell and mess. If necessary you can make a simple 2x2 frame covered in plastic to create isolation to prevent spreading fumes and vapors through the home. If you can vacate at least the one room it's easier to live with. The paint may contain lead so you should wear a mask if you have particles in the air. touching it won't hurt you. you can get it tested if you worry about that.

buying masks might be problematic right now. Many are donating them to the medical cause which is admirable. evidently trump told 3M to save them for the US and Canada is struggling with availability, but that's political stuff and perhaps a temporary issue. Some companies here are shutting down so they can give the masks to nurses. we donated most of ours. Its a huge issue right now. public dont know whether to wear them or not. some feel it helps protect them and others will stop you and pour on guilt for holding back from the nurses. some are making their own to prevent such harassment. about 1/3 of the people on the street have their faces covered. Its not normal out there. most here are out of work and home isolating. I would not suggest having any contractors in your house. Don't feel your area is removed from it because it will hit every area hard. I'd buy some groceries and prepare to be locked in if it isn't bad there yet. It's preferable if you can buy reasonably but it is safer to shop before it rips through your area, also panic buying may become an issue. we went shopping and got about 400 dollars worth of food and we were really thankful we did that before it went so nuts. the only reason we go out is me going to work and her carefully buying things, but we improvise and avoid shopping as much as possible to reduce our risk.
In this climate you may find a little project and something to keep busy with a healthy distraction from the news.

[Mick_VT]

Take a look at my review of one inner storm manufacturer here - I love em, they work amazingly well, are inexpensive, and I tell everybody who will listen to get them viewtopic.php?f=13&t=22

[mjt]

We went through the same thought process as you. Ultimately we chose to scrape and repaint our windows rather than replace them. They were done in situ rather than being removed and taken to a shop for a total restoration. You'll find more info about the whole thing on my blog.

We were missing storms on many windows and had terrible 1970s storms on others; only a few had the originals. With a few exceptions (detailed later) all were replaced with Allied storms in the proper color. The storms made a huge difference in our heating bill for the winter (Minnesota).

We got bids for replacement windows from Anderson and Marvin. Only Marvin could do the four curved windows. At the low, low price of ~$17k. Each. That's right, we have 50+ windows and the bid for four of them was more than $50k, ten years ago. We graciously declined that offer. Obviously, we scraped and re-painted the existing storms for these as well...

[Jack Cadwell]

A. Fox,
Try talking to the right local people. The Hammond Historic District Commission (http://www.hammondhistoricdistrict.org/) or the Hammond Historic Preservation Commission (http://www.gohammond.com/departments/pl ... ommission/) probably can help. They should know local trades people that are familiar with local building stock and resources.

You could also talk to Gary Miller Beach. He's in your county. https://www.indianalandmarks.org/county/lake-county/

Also, from:
___________________________________________________________________________
https://www.indianalandmarks.org/resour ... -homes-faq

Indiana Landmarks maintains a database of contractors who work on historic properties, and who have asked to be included on our list. However, caveat emptor! We do not pre-qualify or endorse these contractors. It is up to you to check references and decide if a contractor is right for you. To receive information from our contractor database, contact the director of our Library and Information Center, 800-450-4534, 317-639-4534, or sstanis@indianalandmarks.org.
_______________________________________________________________________________
It's a small world out there, and if you start talking to people at these organizations, they will know small time contractors that can help you. The right question to ask would be "Who does residential window restoration?"

If you do go the route of removing the old windows, put them in the attic. When the new ones fail in fifteen years, you or the new owners can put the old windows back for another eighty years of normal use with maintenance. Also, if you choose new sash, go look at a home with fifteen year old versions of the same thing. Plasticizer comes out of the parts in that amount of time, springs let go, insulated glass fails, and one hears that musical beeping sound of a roll off dumpster backing up.

[phil]

I think one of the best arguments is the street view appearance. You could have a look in your own neighborhood and locate a few with new windows and some with restored wavy glass. If you just walk by, and look from the street and take note of the reflection of the wavy glass ones as well as new ones the difference is pretty obvious from a distance, without even regarding the frames.
Many aren't very perceptive to really take notice until it is pointed out, then it's pretty obvious.
Same with old pictures, You see the wavy glass more by the reflection than anything else, but many just don't take notice. once you do, it's something you can see easily from across a room.

[GinaC]

I'm probably late to the party, but I am planning on taking the class from this guy: http://oldewindowrestorer.com/registration.html

I was hoping to go this year, but it all depends on whether the plague is gone in time.

I spoke to him on the phone and he says there is a nice B&B in town there. Also, a lot of his customers bring him their sashes to restore.

[1918ColonialRevival]

I don't have much more to add, but consider this. Virtually all replacement windows are disposable and are designed with a 10-20 year lifespan in mind. That means the super-duper green energy efficient hermetically sealed whizbang panes will fail in much shorter time than the originals with replaced glazing would. The seals fail and they are non-repairable. Also, with most replacements being made of vinyl, the tracks wear every time you open and close a window.

Replacement windows are one of the oldest ways to relieve homeowners of their money in the book.

[Manalto]

I'm solidly in the keep-and-restore-the-original-windows camp. It's well worth the temporary inconvenience.

I loathe the architectural dishonesty of replacement windows with the snap in grids, mimicking real panes of glass.

[phil]

someone should make a film, to apply to flat glass and make it wavy .