Below is a link to a recent study that concludes that, even with incentive programs, efficiency upgrades on historic windows can save twice as much money over a fifty year life cycle than high quality replacements. With proper restoration, old windows can be just as, or in some cases more, energy efficient than double-paned replacement windows and still maintain your homes historic integrity. We can tighten up old drafty windows, allowing them to function even better than they were intended to function. Too many historic windows have been thrown out in the name of renovation and replaced with inferior products that are not designed to last. Wavy crown or cylinder glass graces the hand-worked joinery like facets on a jewel. Historic windows are indicators of old style craftsmanship that help define the character of a house. With some maintenance, these historic windows can be airtight, weather resistant and can last another 100 years – longer than any new wooden window or vinyl clad window.” I agree whole heartedly. Savvy salesmen convince owners and architectural review board members that replacement windows are superior to historic wooden windows when the truth is, in many cases, historic windows have lasted over 100 years. According to a statement made by APVA, “Historic windows are destroyed daily in lieu of new, inferior windows. Preservation Virginia (APVA) has listed historic wooden windows as one of Virginia’s most endangered resources. Old windows continue to be important to the mechanics of historic buildings as well as admirable architectural and woodworking achievments. Utilizing little more than strait grained wood, thin glass and natural glazing putty, the double hung window in particular is able to let light in, keep uncomfortable weather out, and circulate airflow in the summer.
Historically, windows were one of the most important and expensive architectural features of a building. The wooden window sash that was designed and constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries is an elegant joinery solution to the problem of illuminating buildings in a time when large flat panes of glass were difficult to make and artificial light was expensive and inefficient.
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