Had any success? If you are talking about retaining origional sash with dual pane glass,alot depend's on origional sash and how pane is held in place. Did "someone" examine windows before makeing suggestions? Even if you put dual panes in 100 year old frames and sashes,overall energy efficiency probably will not dramaticly increase. Again,each case can be quite different depending on construction details.

Insulated Glass units are too thick to fit in old single pane wood windows. The sash would have to be routed out for the IGU to fit. And the glass would have to be held in place with either silicone or wooden stops. You wouldnt be able to use traditional glazing putty because the oils in it would attack the seal on the IGUs.

IGUs are expensive. And you would probably wreck your window frames in the process. If you decided to use silicone, it would be a lot of work to remove a failed or broken glass unit, and even more work to clean everything up to put a new piece of glass in.

If you have 1 3/8" thick sash with divided lites, I wouldn't do it, you cut away a lot of material. If you have 1 3/4" sash, it's feasible w/o destroying the muntins. Very few houses (top 1%) may have the thicker windows.

Consider adding weatherstripping first, then interior storm panels, and concentrate your efforts on the windy side of the house.

Casey

I couldn't have said it better than akamainegrower. They do make replacement units that pop in your existing opening, but they are just not the same. And you can relatively easily maintain your existing original windows.

We are going through the process of restoring our windows, mainly because they were painted or re-stained. It is really remarkable how resillient wood is. We put in new glass where needed, re-glazed, installed weather stripping. Though they are dated, we have really good storm windows, and it's on my list to re-do the caulking on those this summer.

It's definitely a process and a labor of love, but learning the techniques are pretty easy and it doesn't cost that much.

I am trying to figure out how 1916 Windows are far superior to today's Windows.

I wouldn't dwell on the question for long tim. Old houses are not for everyone, just something you either get or you don't.

I would put the money into better insulation, weather stripping, maybe even old-style storm windows.

But the energy savings from the double-pane windows aren't enough to make up the cost of the windows because there are so many other places that leak heat.

Tim, the 100 yr old wood was most likely old growth timber (ie harder, more durable than modern farmed wood grown with growth accelerants). The craftsmanship and how they were assembled on site to exactly fit the opening were far superior. They are completely repairable - unlike modern windows - restoring and maintaining them will keep you going another 100 yrs. And they're just plain better esthetically.... which yes, can in most situations add value to your house. Would you restore a classic car and take out the old crank windows because you want to be able to push a button to raise or lower them.. No, you'd appreciate the style and wouldnt want to do anything to decrease the cars value. I could go on but I think you get the point!

Rather than spend the many thousands of dollars on replacing your windows you might want to look into good quality top of the line storm windows which have a much better seal for blocking drafts and are available in double pane e glass if that's what you really want. And also - since most heat loss is thru the attic and not windows - get someone to do a blower door test to determine if you have air leaks up into the attic. This will also have the benefit of keeping cold air from being pulled in through the windows - as it was explained to me, if hot air rises and escapes into the attic it creates an updraft effect which actually PULLS in cold air from outside.

I see, wood to wood comparison. Not, wood to modern materials.

Thanks for everyone's input. I appreciate it. We live in California, so I'm more concerned about heat than cold. We are trying to retain the original 1915 feel of the house and being able to retain the old windows will help with that. I never thought I'd want an old home, but now that we are starting to renovate it is becoming a labor of love and we want to keep as much of the original look as possible.

It is a very common idea that old windows should be replaced. However original wavy glass windows with storm windows installed not only are just as efficient as modern day energy-efficient windows, they look better and last for decades.

Good point muffin,many people simply exist in their houses while a few realize how it feel's to live in theirs.

Cymraes, where are you in CA? There's a good window restorer out of Long Beach. The original owner has sold and retired, but they did our windows after the new ownership and we're happy with the work.

http://windowrestorationandrepair.com/

I'm near Yosemite Nat'l Park, so quite a ways from Long Beach. But will start looking around locally to see if there isn't someone. Thanks for the info, though!

Yay, glad youre restoring- you wont regret it. And hey Im sure you'll come up with something else to spend that 10-20-30K on.

Don't know if youre into it, but window restoration is one of those things the average homeowner can do- I hired someone to do the first 3 or 4 worst ones then did the rest myself, one at a time, over a period of 3 or 4 yrs. Different houses have different ways the windows have been put together & it can be hard sometiems to figure out how to disassemble- but once you know then its a breeze, just time consuming. (The forum at thehistoricdistrict.org has a few prof restorers who are happy to advise.)

Old windows never cloud up. New windows do at regular intervals. when the seals fail.

Casey

Remember that your current windows have lasted 100 years already. If you spend a fortune, what will your new ones be guaranteed for? 25 years?

powermuffin It
is a very common idea that old windows should be replaced. However
original wavy glass windows with storm windows installed not only are
just as efficient as modern day energy-efficient windows, they look
better and last for decades

well...original wavy glass windows with storm are not as efficient as

new energy efficient windows. too much of a gap between original

glass & storm glass, and no seal between the two. huge difference

as compared to igu, add in low e coatings and inert gasses..and new

windows have excellent performance.

between the original glass window & the storm, convective currents

set up..not so with igu's.

that said...at best one gets a 15% energy savings AT BEST from

window replacement.

kudos to all who restore rather than spend tens of thousands replacing.

there are a LOT of things you can do with window replacement monies

that will actually save you money quickly.

air sealing house leakage, air sealing duct leakage are two things

that have a quick roi, improve indoor air quality and save you money.

op you should check out the windows forum here. lots of

good info there also.

best of luck.