working with an old version of windows (not the microsoft kind!)

[mattkime]

My house has original windows which were made about 60 years before the release of Windows. In some ways they're very nice and in some ways they're a bit frustrating.

They've forced me to define what I want out of windows - you want them to block the air OR allow air in, you want to see through them OR make them opaque (perhaps partially), and you want them to keep out the cold in the winter.

I'm not sure how many of those we'll be able to do successfully.

I think the current issue is around screens and blinds. ALL our existing screens (as illustrated on the right) have mounts for roller shades. I guess thats how they did it in 1920-something. There's still one attached. In my experience thin roller roller shades are almost universally cheap. Maybe I'm being picky but I'd like something nicer. Still, attaching them to the screens means that the screens need to stay installed and we don't open windows much for nearly 6 months of the year where I live.

Most of the screens haven't been used in many years due to the addition of air conditioning. Also, it appears that many of the storm windows haven' been off in many years and were frequently painted in place. Removal would require cutting through layers of paint. They even painted over the hardware that keeps the windows in. I can't help but take a dim view of whoever did this.

I'm willing to put effort into making the windows nice but need to judge where to draw the line.

I'm going to do my best to get the storm windows installed but I think there are a couple that are missing. (how the hell does that happen??) Then I'll get a thermal efficiency analysis. I guess I'm curious if anyone has found it necessary to upgrade old windows such as these for energy reasons. Obviously I assume newer windows are more energy efficient but thats just an assumption.

Two questions - any advice on window dressing? Any advice on thermal efficiency concerns?

[Diana]

Those are beautiful and are commonly replaced with newer more energy efficient windows. Call any window company and they will happily do it for you. Please don’t do that. New ones will never be as beautiful as the older, maintained original windows. Even those who try to duplicate what you have but in a more energy efficient way often fall short. Yes, I am picky.

There are companies who will take your old windows and refurbish them, making them tighter and less leaky to outside air. Putting up storm windows helps seal the window, making it warmer in the winter. When people did that, often in the summer they would take some or all of them down so they could open the windows and let some air in. The storm windows may or may not have been put back up that fall, and it was not uncommon that it could be damaged, never repaired and never replaced. Those that stayed up over a summer or two were determined as those that would never be taken down and were commonly painted when the house was painted, and it’s always easier to just paint over rather than do it the “right” way.

If this were my house I would seek to refurbish those windows and yes, it’s likely more expensive to do that than to replace them. But the look of those old homes, the beauty and craftsmanship, really speaks to me. Where and how one lives is highly personal.

Diana

[Speedy]

I agree with Diana.

[rgG]

Yes, those are really nice looking original windows. It would be a shame to lose them.

[Speedy]

rgG wrote:
Yes, those are really nice looking original windows. It would be a shame to lose them.

Highly unlikely they are original.

[rgG]

Speedy wrote:
[quote=rgG]
Yes, those are really nice looking original windows. It would be a shame to lose them.

Highly unlikely they are original.
They look pretty old. But even if not original, they look more period than any new replacement windows would.