Windows – the eyes of a house

I am not a window expert but the Old House Guy is and he advocates for retaining historical windows and makes a strong case for return on investment re retaining our historical gems. When I weighed the costs to restore versus replace, there is an overwhelming economic case to retain our original windows.

With colder weather approaching, I can sense the desire from some of my friends and neighbours to throw out old windows and replace with new (sub-standard) options. I want to encourage and inspire us to keep our houses warm and dry by properly loving our old windows. Old windows are beautiful and contribute to curb appeal which can, in turn, help to increase return rates on house sales.

I do know for sure that nothing, and I mean nothing, is maintenance free, including vinyl siding, aluminum, and other modern “remedies” for older homes.  When people try to convince me I need something new I ask myself why the old item has lasted so long and how can I make it last longer?  Why buy new and contribute to wanton consumerism and environmental degradation when I can make what I have work (rhetorical of course)? 

When we bought our home, all our interior windows were and are intact. The majority of them are sash windows (and if I am using the wrong words, be forgiving – I am in the learning process).

The windows in the attic had never been touched, faced the elements, and were in need of repair.  I want you to consider how much damage existed in the windows below (I did wonder if in a powerful storm, one might fall out) – and have faith, not one window was lost – we have them all. It is amazing what skilled historical restoration can do.

Spray foam had been used inside many of the window cavities to insulate them. Spray foam stops the window pulls from working.  For those of you, like me, who have no idea how the window pulls are installed, there is a sort of panel that can be unscrewed and inside this is where the sash movement is installed (and sadly where foam has sometimes been sprayed). Ignore the old paint job below – it’s on its way out.

I set out to find myself a window restorer – not a replacer. Into our life came our fabulous restorer.  I did not know much but I knew getting rid of the windows was not an option.  

We have started with the attic and are partway through the bedroom floor.  Each window is liberated, paint removed, glass reglazed, cleaned, soaked in linseed oil, and allowed to cure in the sun.  I went in to Dykeman’s Hardware one day and they were all out of linseed oil – I knew the culprit!  Fun fact – linoleum was discovered by Frederick Walton who noticed the rubbery surface that formed on linseed oil – who knew linoleum had such a riveting history?

Here are the windows curing (for lack of a better word) after being all cleaned up.

The beautiful wavy glass of yesteryear is critical to me – I do not want new glass in the case of glass breakage. I bought 14 antique storm windows being ejected from their home and we have repurposed the glass, when needed, from these windows. We have also reused the original brass hardware used to lock and lift the windows.

We had copper cut to fit the windows back into their original spots and keep us toasty and warm. The windows are lifted against this copper strip.

Here are some of the windows in the process of being painted.

Window by window we are restoring them.  They lasted 111 years and they can last 111 more with this treatment especially when loved, maintained, and protected by storm windows.  And the cherry on top is that much of this work can be accomplished over our winter months when exterior painting is out of the question.

The storm window restoration project will be discussed in a future blog. In the meantime, feast your eyes on the great work by our restorer which has contributed to historical restoration within our community and less landfill items.