Their worth as part of your house is much greater than any money you might receive from an architectural salvage firm or another source. No replacement window is going to be as well made or of materials as good as what you have. The replacement window sales hype is, imho, borderline fraud. They will not last well and will not deliver the promised energy savings. Even if restoration costs as much as new windows, you will be far better off spending the money on the old windows unless they are completely unsalageable.

akamainegrower - I would agree with you on all of that!. I've not had luck convincing the other half though :-(

This is our first home here so maybe we can do restoration on our next project.

Have you gone down a restoration route? How much improvement have you seen?

Post this on the forums at "thehistoricdistrict.org". Window restoration people post there and may have interest.

I have the original windows with storms on my 1908 home. I love them and would never consider changing them out. They are draft free and comfortable. In the new addition at the back of the house, we have "energy-efficient" windows, which after 5 years have broken seals and look terrible. So I know where I would put my time and my money.

Also, if you really do not want to leave the original windows in place, please, please, put them in storage for future owners to restore. They belong with the house.

Diane

transnationalalq: except for routine maintenance such as reputtying, painting, etc. the windows in my house are pretty much what they were around 1810 when the house was built. They are admittedly pretty primitive with props necessary to hold them open in the summer, much original wavy and seeded glass, but they are not at all drafty and far superior to anything you could find at a lumberyard or big box store today.

Diane, for now, we have space and I'll be asking the replacement company to put them in our out building.

You old window lovers make me happy and sad at the same time. Happy to know we share similar thoughts and sad I can't convince the other half to go this route. Oh well. We will learn as we live.

Thank you jmc101, I'll have a look on there.

Who would buy them? The sizes are so site- specific - what are the odds theyd ever fit in anyone else's house? As above poster stated, the most value is with your own house.

You write "restoring them most likely more than new windows." Well one thing I would suggest to new old house owners is really KNOW your costs vs. just guess. Good replacement windows will cost you many thousands of dollars and if you hire a specialist to fix your old ones, yeah that could cost some money.

However this is something that is labor intensive but very doable (for not a lot of money) by the average DIY'er. Its not rocket science. What I did was hire a guy to do the first three and he was happy to teach me how and let me watch -there can be a trick to pulling them apart and putting back together.

There was only one that was so far gone I just had a sash custom made at a cost far less than an entirely new window.

Also the forum at thehistoricdistrict.org has several professional window restorers that can walk you through it. Just a warning - you will probably hear a lot of what I just wrote.

Once they are repaired and functional you're good to go for another 100 yrs - the cheap replacement vinyl window? You're lucky if it lasts 10 years before headed to landfill -they are not repairable.

I was considering vinyl windows for my porch but seeing a display window at home depot with the sash falling apart from people raising and lowering it made me decide against it. Spoze they might work if you have air conditioning and never open your windows.... but what kind of life is that.

PS re: your better half perhaps he (she?) might think twice once the true costs are known and what else you might be able to buy with the money saved from new windows. Also its highly recommended to NOT do anything substantial your first year in an old house. Just spend the time gathering info - talking to tradespeople, writing up a budget and a plan. Things you may question now very likely will make more sense to you later on.

Wish he'd listen to me. Said the same. Have baby due in 8.5 weeks.

Trying to get window repair folks in isn't the easiest job either.

Just FYI, depending on your jurisdiction once you take the old windows out you may not be able to put them back in. And other people my not be able to install them either. Some places have gone to new windows pretty much always needing to be double pane.

Do you live in a historic district? If so you may not be able to change them.

You're not going to see much energy savings either. With a house that age changing the windows is like sticking your finger in a hole in a dam.

If it helps sway your other half it's unlikely you'll ever get your money back on from the windows if you ever sell the house. Especially if the house has a lot of it other original details. Original windows and glass can be a big selling feature for older homes.

you can ship them to me. I'll take them off your hands.

replacing windows has at best 14% energy savings.

lot of money spent on windows that could provide

you true energy savings if applied in the right areas.

an energy rater could guide you in specific to your

home & your budget recommendations.

best of luck

I've restored my fair share of old windows to (almost) better than new condition. It's a lot of work. I also completely rehabbed the window frames and trim. Unfortunately, it's only worth it once the work is done and the window is back in its spot. And then all those hours of labor finally mean something.

Aside from the people who paint all the woodwork in old houses white, nothing destroys the value of an older home faster than replacement windows.

Its odd you see. There are some beautiful old homes with gorgeous original windows that I admire as we drive by them but this town is one where 'new windows' means a lot at re-sale. Of course, it depends ont he buyers too I would assume whether they are after the originality of an old home or just the looks and appeal as to true original character. The windows spoke to me, but obviously my husband and I were on different pages on the matter which I have only just discovered as he told me I always looked at them and thought, 'dilapidated old windows, they'll have to go' .

Not sure how much of the house is truly original as there seem to have been many changes and updates over the years. The house has custom maple floors on the ifrst floor which we had refinished, colonade openings from room to room and large/wide/high skirting boards - the ones in the foyer are painted white, living room is original and dining room for some reason they decided to go olive green for both the skirting boards and the window trims. At some point I will try to get the paint off and refinish those back to the original stains to match the colonade openings.

2nd floor has hardwood too but its not maple, something else.

We've had to do structural work on the house as it was never built to carry a tiled floor bathroom on the 2nd floor, or the weight of the kitchen etc... so its obviously gone through a lot of changes.

"There are some beautiful old homes with gorgeous original windows"

Have been maintained.

"'dilapidated old windows, they'll have to go' ."

No one bothered to take care of them. And yes, they look like hell. But with a little bit of work, they will look a million times better than any vinyl window anywhere.

Just a price point for you from my recent experience. Our 1940 house had good original windows but needed new storm windows. The window man gave us a presentation of new replacement windows as well as storms. I must admit the new replacements looked nice -- much better than replacements of 10 or 20 years ago. But we went with storms at $3K instead of new windows at $13K. The cost difference, and the fact that our original windows were (are) in pretty good shape, made that a good choice for our situation.

As an old house lover, I hate to see low end replacement windows installed. In most cases, I can spot replacement windows from several houses distant. The proportions of modern windows just don't match the old windows and vintage home buyers know the difference. If vintage details and charm are part of your market value, be sure to account for the drop in property value as a cost of your project. Also, don't forget to add extra to the quote for window screens - many windows don't include screens so can't be opened much anyway.

When it comes to old houses, I believe that original materials should be replaced with materials of a similar quality and craftsmanship. My house has original windows and originally had wood storms/screens on all levels. Previous owners added aluminum triple track storm windows to the second story as swapping heavy wooden storms from a ladder is a dangerous task. New storm windows cost a fraction of the replacement window price and they will last longer as well. I believe the aluminum storms on this house are probably at least 40 years old while replacement windows rarely last half that long. The energy savings are in the storm windows, not double pane windows

I'm taking this all on board and will be sure to apply this to our next home.

I just spent the day cleaning windows, skirting boards and the built in China cabinet which also has original glass like the windows. I can't get over how they all add up to the quaintness of the house but the first deposit has been paid so I have to go roll with it.

I guess I should have asked this question sooner. I must take the responsibility for that. :-(

But to be fair, I called around to window restoration companies and they were asking in the region of 800-900 to 1100-1400/window for a full restoration. So it wasn't really working out cheaper/window to go new rather than restore.

Perhaps the die is cast and it's time to wrap up this thread, but two other points. First, removing the original windows in favor of replacements will lower thebresale value of your house considerably. Second, replacement windows in the price range you've indicated above for restoration would be toward the lower end of the quality spectrum. They will likely need replacement in 20 years or less and will have stopped working as advertised long before that. My advice would be to do as much work as you can as a long term DIY project - old windows can usually be made weather tight and functional without full scale restoration. For those needing professional attention, do a few at a time as funds become available. You'll be much better off in the long run.

Yeah, it's a wrap - except may I just suggest to others who may be reading/considering something similar, that its often advised to not do anything expensive/extensive in your first year in an old house simply because it does take time to sift through all the info and also you start to understand and appreciate the logic and workings of an old house - how things were done then - as well as esthetics.

Yeah the professional restorationist charges OP quotes are high but a) it must be a regional thing - nowhere near that here and b) once the homeowner understands how to do it - how to disassemble and reassemble - you could find an interested handyperson and easily teach him or even a teenager or anyone with artistic skills how to do it.... at much less cost. Removing sashes is easy - removing/reglazing historic glass from the sash without breaking it might be a little tricky but that part could be hired out to small mom and pop glass store if you have those in your town.

I disagree on the cost being unreasonable for a full window restoration.

There is a huge difference between fixing up some old windows, and a full restoration in which they look brand new.

The last two double hung windows I did, I clocked in around 60 hours of labor for full sash restoration, window frames, and exterior trim. The majority of that time was spent on the sashes themselves, notably getting as much as the old putty out as possible, and as much of the paint off as possible. Other than decades of layers of gross paint that had to be removed, they were not in bad shape. In much better shape than their appearance suggested. The last coat of bargain basement latex paint on the windows really did them no favors. It was really that last coat of cheap paint that required full removal of everything.

Someone I know requested that I restore a couple of their dining room windows. To make it worth my while, and make them look brand new (like mine they said), I told them I couldn't do it for less than $700. And that price was just for the sashes. There was a lot of junky paint jobs to remove.

And I have zero overhead. So, $800 to $1400 a window sounds plausible to me for a business to charge that likes to eat and have a roof over their head.

If I can do it...anyone can!!! Same sash. Same view.

Before

After....

A view from inside with some cleanup & 2 coats of Amber Shellac...

Great thread!

Gosh I wish I could put old windows in my new build, but alas as I am building in FL, I am required to put in "wind resistant" windows nowadays. There is no comparison between the old windows and new windows.

I get the difficulty in figuring out what the best choice is here, and it sounds like your other half's opinion tipped the balance. Wishing you the best with the arriving little one. Maybe someday you'll have the opportunity to put the old windows back in--who knows?

We live in a designated house in CO and are fortunate enough to live in a city where they have a 0% matching funds loan program (we don't have to pay it back until we sell the house either!). We restored almost all of the original double hung windows and replaced the old pulley systems with a historical lift system that allowed us to insulate around the windows. It was not cheap, but probably in the end cheaper than high end, custom replacement windows. And I love my wavy gravy glass. :)

Despite all of that, we have one set of windows that we go back and forth whether we should restore--they are unusual (which will likely mean extra $, of course!) but with major difficulties--or replace (although that isn't an option taken lightly).

Historic homes, so much to love, so much work. :)