There's nothing that says "old house" like the beefy, true divided-lite windows of a, well, an old house. I mean, that's part of what makes an old house really cool. The sad thing is that lots of old house owners don't realize that they can keep their old windows AND make them energy efficient. And because they don't realize their old windows can be made energy efficient, they have them ripped out and replaced with vinyl windows. Major sadness.
Last year, even before we had closed on the sale of our house, I began looking online for a place to buy some wood storm windows to replace the aluminum ones on our windows. Much to my delight, I found a hands-on three-day class in nearby Hannibal, Missouri that teaches students how to make their own wood storm windows. Hurray!
The class was offered at the Belvedere School For Historic Preservation, a historic trades school run by Bob Yapp. Bob has decades of historic preservation experience, and he hosted a PBS show in the 90's called "About Your House with Bob Yapp". The class was a lot of fun, very educational, and it whetted my appetite for another one of Bob's classes, his "Window Restoration College".
The restoration class teaches students how to take an existing double-hung window, restore it, re-glaze it, and make it weather-tight. The restored window, when coupled with a wood storm window that has been weather-sealed, is as energy efficient as a modern insulated-glass unit. PLUS, you end up getting to keep your cool old window AND spend less money than if you'd replaced it.
Part of our house renovations will include restoring all of our windows. We even plan on re-using some of our existing windows in the kitchen and bedroom additions we're planning. And to make sure we keep the same old house charm in our additions, we've even been dumpster-diving to find some extra old windows that we'll need for the additions.
The first set of windows we found were from a house being remodeled just around the corner from us. They are an almost perfect match to the existing windows in our house. And the best part is that they were FREE! If you've ever built a house or an addition, you know that windows can be a significant part of the overall budget. Sure, these old windows will need some work to restore them to like-new condition, but hey, they're cool old windows! These are only the sashes, so I'll need to build the jambs for them to make them a complete unit again.
The second set of windows we found are from a house a few blocks away. I drove by last week and noticed some workers replacing all the windows in a really neat English-cottage type house from the 1930's. All of these windows are casement type (which means that they swing open on side hinges rather than by sliding up and down). They also have some great old latches that are the finishing touch -- something you wouldn't find even in a restoration hardware catalog.
I called my friend Bob Yapp today to see if he would offer a class on building window jambs at his Belvedere School. (A jamb is the frame that goes around window sashes to hold them in place and allow them to slide up and down). I think I may have stirred his creative juices. He said it was an interesting idea, and that he'd think on it for a couple of weeks to see how he might advertise the class. I'm hopeful he's taken the bait.
Maybe I'll be heading to Hannibal again sometime in the near future for another window class.....
(For a follow-up to this post, see my later Building Windows write-up.)
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Historic windows are quite impressive for they have these antique element and historic value. However, there will come a time when opening and closing these old windows will be hard. This is why replacing or restoring them is very important.
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Can a replacement glass window be installed in my craftsman house?
DeleteIn Pasadena please reply asap
I'm a little uncertain exactly what you're asking, so I'll answer a couple of different ways. If neither of these address your question, provide me with more detail and I will be happy to answer as best I can.
DeleteFirst answer: If your question is asking whether you can replace the glass in your home's original windows, the answer is yes -- but with a qualification. By "replace the glass", I mean replacing the glass with a similar type. That is, a Craftsman window sash's original glass would have been either a 1/16"-inch thick glass (referred to as "single strength"), or possibly 1/8"-inch thick glass ("double strength). I DO NOT recommend replacing the original glass with an insulated glass panel. Doing so would mean that you must cut a deeper glazing bed in the original sash which would weaken the structure of the sash.
Second answer: If by "replacement glass window" you mean that you want to remove the entire original window and replace it with a vinyl replacement window, my recommendation would be PLEASE DON'T. Vinyl replacement windows destroy (in my opinion) the charm of a historic home. If you drive around your neighborhood and notice the windows in the houses, you can quickly tell which ones are the original ones (i.e., windows that are architecturally fitting with the style of the house, and which contribute to the charm of the home) versus vinyl replacement windows that are almost always architecturally uninteresting and devastate (my opinion) the look of a historic home. One other important thing to note about vinyl windows is that they typically will only last about 20 years. The original window sash have lasted about 100 years so far, so it is much better to find a qualified person to repair/restore the window if it needs some work. If you need someone to do this type of work, I actually know of someone in your area who is qualified to do this type of work. Just let me know and I will be happy to forward his information. Or if you are interested in learning how to do this type of work yourself so you can maintain your windows yourself, check out www.bobyapp.com. Bob Yapp teaches 3-day courses on how to restore historic windows. It really is a rewarding skill to learn if you love your old home and want to maintain its charm.
Herb, thanks for your comment. Yes, restoring old windows is important. If they are well taken care of and maintained, they can last almost indefinitely. The existing windows on my house are 100 years old and have had storm windows on them for essentially the entire life of the house, which is why the windows are in really great condition. I'm disassembling them, repainting them (stripping and reglazing where necessary), replacing broken sash ropes, and installing weatherstripping on the top of the top sash, bottom of the lower sash, and at the meeting rails. When I am finished, the windows can be (literally) raised and lowered with one finger because of the counterbalance weights.
ReplyDeleteRestoring (rather than replacing) old windows keeps the historic facade intact, keeps perfectly usable windows out of the landfill, and makes the old windows much more airtight. This is especially true when combining them with a good quality and visually-unobtrusive storm window.