Keep your Original Wooden Windows

By Idelle, September 25, 2008

I found this article interesting – certainly helps confirm that we should keep our old windows in our 1928 brick bungalow, which I think are beautiful. We have storm windows that seem to really keep the house well insulated, so we’ve never considered replacing them. Besides, I love the old warped glass.

Article Published in Nostalgic Homes newsletter
Written by Elizabeth Clayton

Please don’t destroy those beautiful original wood windows your vintage home was built with, they are irreplaceable and can be made to be as efficient as new windows at a very modest cost.

As a realtor, I have been showing and selling older homes for almost 15 years and I have noticed that almost everytime I show a home that has the beautiful original wood windows with the gorgeous wavey glass, the prospective buyer says “oh we’ll have to replace these windows”. Instead of trying to educate one person at a time as I watch these windows disappear at an alarming rate, I decided to write this article with the hopes that it could reach more people and save more windows!

The window industry has spent a fortune misinforming people on the virtues of insullated glass….Dont fall for the sales pitch. In my prior life I worked for a window company and I can tell you that old windows are better than new windows in every way. Our window installers called the new wood windows “splinter wood” because the quality of the wood today is so inferior to the dense old growth timber that our original windows are made from and the vinyl windows deteriorate even more rapidly. The old windows, built by true craftsmen, were made to last for generations with just minimal maintenance, while the new windows are made to be replaced. Reworking the old windows is also a greener solution than throwing away and using energy to build new ones!

When the original window frames and sash are sealed and caulked properly, and you add a beautiful wood storm window they are just as efficient and maybe more efficient than new double pane windows and far more beautiful! Recently I had a craftsman unstick the windows in my 1904 home, and repair/replace the ropes for $75 per window and now they open with one finger! (Of course I had to do the sanding and repainting).

The original windows can be fully restored if necessary. The restoration can include new weather stripping, paint removal, epoxy repairs or wood replacement, installation of new ropes chains and pulleys, and reglazing if necessary. There are reputable companies in denver that specialize in restoratino and maintenance of old windows and they are doing a wonderful job of giving the old windows another 100 years of life. If you need a referral to one of these companies, please give me a call.

People who own homes in historic districts are not allowed to replace their original windows without review. Historic Denver says it’s like “throwing away an antique.” If you are considering replacing your original wood windows, please reconsider and preserve them for future generations to enjoy, once they are destroyed they are gone forever,they cannot be reproduced!