I’m in a 100 year old landmarked apartment with very drafty old windows. Two experts on landmark buildings have suggested what appear to me to be widely alternative approaches.
One wants to strip the present windows, rebuild and reglaze them with one layer of glass and add more functional hardware.
The other wants to replace them entirely using new mahogany; mortise and tenon construction; 3/4 inch insulated low E argon glazing; and top of the line hardware.
Any thoughts on what is really needed to be architecturally appropriate AND warm and secure on cold winter nights?
Whatever we do will have to pass landmark inspection (unless it is deemed to be a mere repair).
Replies
Check these guys out: http://www.woodstone.com/
They specialize in landmark stuff.
Demolition is forever.
Marvin
It's Never Too Late To Become
What You Might Have Been
[email protected]
We had a situation like that over the winter. Owner of a series of townhouses where about half of the windows were bad. The other half were in various states of decay. He wanted to replace them all with new so they'd match, be thermally efficient, etc.. Was prepared to use a decent manufacturer too. The local historic commission said 'no way.'
They went over each individual window and picked out the ones they thought could be repaired. Any original window to remain was allowed to have storm windows added, but could not be replaced if repairable, regardless of the cost.
Every locale has different requirements. Check with yours first to see what they'll allow. Regardless of personal opinions, it'll save you a lot of headache if you know what they'll accept first.
If you use any form of double layer glass the seal will eventually fail. And eventually might not be all that long in terms of a building that could be around another 100 years.
Properly sealed single pane windows with an attractive storm window are nearly as efficient as the new fangled stuff, and the seals won't fail in 15 or 20 years.
Welcome to BT, first off.
to be architecturally appropriate AND warm and secure on cold winter nights
Now, that's really several questions.
One problem with retro-fitted spaced glass is that the new thickness can conflict with good mullion dimensions. If your replacement mullions are twice as thick as the neighbor's, they'll not pas arch review, or if they do, will be flagged after install. So, whoever gets asked to price the job out needs to address that right up front.
Now, another option might be to rebuild/rehab the existing sashes, and use the best matching (thickness) glass you can get that's also similar to the rest of the building. High iron (green tint) low E, float, glass might be best but also might not match well.
That would get you some sealing, which would cut down on drafts inside. You could then look at an "inside" storm-type unit, which would get you some insulating airspace.
Talk to some vendors who actually work with historic windows (yellow pages under either glaziers and/oe windows), they will have some experience as well as some preferred methods.
"You could then look at an "inside" storm-type unit, which would get you some insulating airspace."
I understand that storms on a historic home would need to be inside for appearance, but I'm curious about whether this approach might actually cause rot. I'm an ignorant homeowner, so this is strictly anecdotal, but we have a problem with this in our home. There are single pane sliders on the outer wall, and then another set of single pane sliders on the inside of the wall (much like inner storms would be). We have a serious problem with moisture in between the two windows. I've tried leaving the outer one cracked open to let moisture out, but it just lets snow come in. I've tried leaving the inner one cracked to let it escape back into the room, but it just builds up more. Leaving both closed doesn't help. I had assumed that this was because of the 4" gap between windows, so inner storms on a single paned window would have much the same problem. Presumably inner storms would fit about the same (or worse) than my windows do, so they would let some moisture escape into that cavity.
I had a similar situation when I lived in New York City. We left the windows alone and put new windows on the inside.
I'd look for where the moisture is coming from. The air has to be humid to get condensation.
What you have sounds similar to the traditional European design, casements with both inswing and outswing sash in the same jamb. This has been done for well over a hundred years, from Scandinavia and Russia down to Germany and France. Excessive condensation doesn't seem to have been a problem there.
-- J.S.
I just survived the photo shoot of me building a divided-lite storm sash for an article in FHB I'm writing on how to do that...but it won't come out in print for about a year, LOL. So here's a (real) quick summary:
You don't need to drive yourself nuts doing all those M&T joints. If you've got a shaper or a decent half-inch router and a table for it, cope & stick is the way to go. Copy the dimensions off one of the original storm sashes. Set up your cutters to cut a rabbet on the stick cuts instead of a dado. Use single pane glass to comply with architectural standards of the original house; use putty for the glazing, too.
To make the new storms as tight as a modern factory window, you cut a 1/8" groove all around the inner face of the sash, centered on the contact patch of the stop rabbet, then insert darted neoprene weatherstripping in that groove. The weatherstripping will be invisible when the sashes are installed and thus won't offend the æsthetics of the original windows.
Use flathooks for the install, so you won't have to climb a ladder twice each year for each window above ground level.
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
I'm looking forward to Dinosaurs article because Ive been repairing and rebuilding a lot of old wood sash windows lately. I'll give a second vote though for Marvin. I've installed a good number of Marvin Clad Inserts in older buildings recently and have been pleased with the results. They dont change the historic look and they give you a more energy efficient and maintenance free window. A bit pricey though.
Tom