Hello all —
My husband and I are considering buying a 1916 one-room, one level school/meeting house that’s been converted into a residence with two levels. This was done by building a second floor with 7′ ceiling heights on both levels (the original walls are 11′ high). The double-hung windows are original, are “pointed” at the top, but are non operational as they’ve been painted shut and the ropes/cords in the raising mechanisms have been removed. They are single-pane, with no screens. In addition, the second floor cuts right through the top 1/3 of the windows — from outside, we have great views of the floor joists.
The real question is, do we try to restore these windows or just replace them? I’d love to keep the originals, but don’t know if it’s worth the trouble.
Thanks — Lynne
Replies
http://www.historichomeworks.com/hhw/index.htm
good luck
Check out a book called Working Windows by Terry Meany.
A search should bring it up for you.
Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
The simple answer is keep them. Maybe put on inside storm windows for weatherizing. It may be more practical to replace them if there is a lot of work required to restore them.
Thanks everyone! We'll look to restore them first.....
Lynne
I live in a 100 yr. old house and can feel your pain. Simple wooden screen frames aren't that hard to make, and you can cut a rabbet on the frame to hold a glass or plexiglass to make a storm window. I did a search for window screen hardware for the hangers.
Removing the inside trim will reveal the rope chute to make the windows operational, unfortunately, it takes someone with exceptionally long, skinny arms to retrieve the weights from the floor :-(