Beautiful. There must be an architectural salvage company near you that would buy them. Or put them on craigslist? eBay?

Radiators are listed but not selling on e-Bay. You might get scrap value at a junkyard (who will turn around and sell them for hundreds)!

There is a non-profit architectural salvage place in Maryland, just outside of DC, called Community Forklift. They won't buy your radiators, but will take them as a donation and resell them. http://communityforklift.org/

Bruce

Love the idea of non-profit salvage, but unfortunately the Community Forklift website says they can't carry items down stairs, but three of the radiators are upstairs and too heavy for us to carry down on our own. (We tried with the fourth already--now in the garage--and it was treacherous.)

Go to Harbor Freight and get one of these.

https://www.harborfreight.com/600-lbs-capacity-heavy-duty-hand-truck-62775.html

Best $39.99 you ever spent. You'll use it for all kinds of stuff. Or, rent a refrigerator dolly.

Strap the radiator to it. One person above, one below, and gently lower it down one stair at a time.

If in doubt, invite beefy friends over for a bbq and after their first beer but before dinner, ask them if they can help you out with something for a minute. :-D

Those are very nice low pressure, steam radiators. To operate properly, the end away from the inlet pipe must be a little higher than the inlet end. This permits the condensate to drain back properly. Both the steam and condensate flows in the same pipe thus only one pipe to the radiator is required. However, for the system to work, all piping must be pitched such that the condensate can flow back to the boiler without creating a 'pool' anywhere.

The problem is I do not know of any heating system today that uses this set-up. The only thing I can think of is a building that is being restored to ca 1900 and the owners wishes to duplicate the heating system of the period. This would be a museum building.

Your radiators are too nice to toss on the junk pile.

About those weight balanced windows: If the wood in the sashes is solid, consider replacing the glass with double pane e-glass and continue to use those as is. The usual problem with window weights is broken weight cords. The pulleys do not get much use thus should have low wear. A little lubricant in the right place can keep these going for years. If the weight cords show any distress, replace. A cord break can permit the weight to fall from sufficient height to bomb the window sill and may do damage.

Another thought to conserve those windows is to use some form of storm window. Here's a great resource to help with window restoration: http://historichomeworks.com/.  There you will find info on how to do the projects Jemdandy mentioned. Leeke's book would make a wonderful house warming gift for any old house owner. Happy Restoration!

I definitely do not want to junk the radiators--they are so beautiful--but if I cannot find anyone who wants them, I don't have much of a choice. I have sent emails out to a couple of architectural salvage places, but have not heard back. If I can get them downstairs, I will try the Community Forklift place. I may have to cut the internal bolt holding the individual sections together and haul them down in pieces (better that than hitting them with a sledge hammer.) We tried bringing one down with a dolly and it was terrifying--won't do that again. With three little kids running around, I cannot leave them in place, nor can I leave lead-painted windows in place. The original windows downstairs have already been restored, so we are leaving those in place with the storm windows. Upstairs bedroom windows will all be replaced with energy efficient ones (and no lead paint!)

Have you tested to see if any of the paint is lead? Some people assume there's lead in older paint. My old windows (and entire house) all tested negative for lead. Also, you might want to find out if removing the windows will liberate more lead dust than encapsulating them. For a short term solution you could do the interior storm windows or the shrink plastic.

We re-purposed some gorgeous old radiators and fitted them to our outside wood boiler. It can be done!

My house froze up a few years and all the radiators split. I couldn't find replacements with the same character, so I bought new ones. Cost over $20,000 (including installation)!

Some areas of this country still use this type of radiator. You might want to contact a plumbing company that has been in business for years to see if they know someone that can use them. While they may need to be retrofitted with what I think are called pressure locks they are little different from what is currently being used. You might try calling them older Steam Heat Exchangers.

Just FYI, Lead paint can be encapsulated with fresh paint, or there are special epoxy paints for that as well. My inlaws never open their windows so they just put a big piece of Plexiglas over each window with adhesive foam seal around the edges and a single screw in the center holding it to the old window frame. Works like a charm. I couldn't stand to live in a house where you can't let in the breezes though. But that's just me.

toxcrusadr that is similar to many people in this area that do not have screens on their doors and windows. They never open their windows. Not having screens may make things look "nice" but in most areas of the country you can not open the windows without letting biting insects of some kind in.

I would list them on Craig’s list or letgo or one of those. I love my old radiators and looked on several sites to buy replacements after a few srarted leaking after extreme cold in a vacant rental property. They run $100 to $300 depending on size. Yours look like they are in great condition so I would honk they would sell.

Also, restoring your old windows will give you another 30-40 years of window use before needing another maintenance unlike new windows with a projected span of 15-20 years. I would elect restoration over replacement any day.

Cleo - you got it, it's much more expensive to get on the replacement window merry-go-round. For many of us that means one round of old window restoration will out last our life span. Toxcru, I've researched that method but could only find info in the UK, they call it secondary glazing attached with magnets.

Kinda like the magnet idea, it would be easy to remove them in summer if you did want to open windows.

Here's a good procedure with pics, using trim to make it look really nice.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Add-an-extra-pane-to-your-windows/

You will not find more even / clean heat than cast iron radiators.

At least show some degree of stewardship for the old house and store the windows in the garage or the attic so a future preservation-minded owner could restore them.

Most new owners only care of removing all of the stuff that they see cluttering things. Better that they go somewhere if they are even salvageable than to be put in the dumpster because the new owner does not want them. Newer matching windows on all windows are more important. Sombreuil if you want them you need to make a bid for them rather than putting yourself in the place of a possible new owner who for reasons of their own may not want them.

I thought I saw a wonderful post from Sombreuil, did it disappear? I echo Sombreuil's comment about saving anything removed from an old house. After buying an old house one of the first things I did was to research and this was a great resource.

One of the biggest issue I've seen repeatedly in posts is "why did the PO tear out and discard those great features?". So I disagree about new owners not wanting the items needed to restore a house. Isn't that why you chose an old house over the new, to have the original character, to have items such as original windows that are irreplaceable?

We almost need a tag line to go with the Old House title, like "for those that conserve not destroy the character and integrity of old homes".

You bought an 1887 house with original GORGEOUS radiators and windows and you are REMOVING THEM?? WHY.

And here I am, paying a wood window guy thousands and thousands of dollars to remake all the wood windows that the phillistine previous owner tore out of my Victorian and replaced with hideous "more energy efficient" vinyl trash. We've sunk hours into fiddling with our radiators to make them work just right now that it's starting to get cold, and my radiators aren't half as awesome-looking as yours.

Please don't desecrate your house. Also, be aware that radiators deliver superior, more efficient heating than forced air and don't blow dust and allergens around either. You're really doing yourself AND the house a disservice by pulling the radiators out to "save space" or whatever your reason is. You'll regret it. And future owners/stewards of this house will curse you forever, just like I'm cursing the shortsighted previour owner of my house.

Omg leave the windows at least!!

Why are you removing these ornate radiators and what is the plan to heat the house?

I understand the concern about small children eating lead paint chips. But if you are removing the windows are you also going to remove every piece of molding in the house to solve the lead paint problem?

If the concern is the kids eating lead paint chips, then pulling out radiators (and installing a whole new heating system) and replacing windows is possibly the worst, costliest, and most misguided solution I could think of for solving the lead paint exposure problem.

Have the windows and trim stripped and repainted (or just repainted), and repaint the radiators and have radiator covers installed - that way, they can radiate heat just the same and are safely caged off from small kids and their mouths.

My old house is full of lead paint and I plan to raise children here. Am I going to tear out the radiators because a kid might lick them. No, because that's expensive and idiotic. There are much better and more straightforward ways to remove or encapsulate lead paint that don't require desecrating the house.

Wondering if the onesother than in high price markets like NY and CA, that want to save everything have ever sold an old house without updating it and received a price large enough to cover any repairs to put it on sale . Since people now want modern kitchens and bathrooms in houses that they purchase most would also want more modern energy saving things. They probably would also like a/c. Few have the time and money to rehab this old of a house.

Replacement windows can devalue old houses. They are often a huge scam, have short lives, companies use high pressure sales and tantalizing rebates to "fix" something that can last another 200 years.

Mai, replacing windows, radiators, etc is the fastest way to permanently, significantly reduce the value of an old house. New windows are not more more energy efficient, that's a sales gimic. An old house can be comfortable to live in without destroying the integrity of the house. And yes, there are many of us that enjoy spending the time and enjoy restoring homes much older than the one of the OP.

If restoring old houses doesn't appeal to you then why are you commenting? People come to learn from others that already put in the time and work and are happy to help others be able to do the same.

An example is old windows, they are easy to repair because they were made to be repaired and not replaced. One of the most popular resources for making these repairs is John Leeke's "Save America's Windows", great book, easy to follow instructions. He includes a chapter on how much money is saved by repairing not replacing windows.

Have you ever watched an episode of "Rehab Addict"? She does make an effort to restore and stay appropriate to the period of the house. Look at the episodes where she has installed HVAC systems without making significant changes to a house. She would also tell you to never, ever tear out the original windows and would probably shake a tool at you for even considering it.

http://www.oldhouseguy.com/windows/

I suspect we scared off the OP, so I wonder why I am even writing this, but maybe someone else will read it. We live in a 90-year old historic house and are slowly restoring the windows. It is time consuming and certainly a labor of love. I definitely get that it would be so much easier to write a big fat check and have someone else install them.

However even when a window turns out less than perfect, I'm still so amazed at the quality of wood and how they function. We have good storm windows and are putting copper strips from Killian hardware on the sides and rails when we reinstall them. They are as weather tight as the super premium Marvin that I had to put in where there was no window to save (glass block)

I just want to chime in on the windows and especially kids. I don't even know if our windows have lead paint, but I treat them as such. With the proper PPE and care of our family doctor, I even did window work while pregnant and breastfeeding. Yes, lead is a real risk, but our kids have not shown elevated levels. We keep them away from the work, generally one window or room at a time. It's definitely gotten easier as they are in school for predictable amounts of time.

I love old houses but am realistic and know that the group of people who want an old house to restore is very small. The OP is apparently fixing to resell so they want as much of a return as possible. Here because we have a glut of old houses they do not command a premium but can be had depending on the area from the low teens to a couple of hundred K.

I'm reading it, kats!

I'm embarking on a two-pronged window project at my 108-year-old house. One part is restoring and repairing the remaining original windows. Most of them are in perfectly good condition, but entombed in paint and caulk and missing their cords. Nothing we can't fix. A couple are rotten beyond repair, but our local wood window guy can replicate them. The other (and very expensive) part is is replacing the horrible vinyl replacement windows with proper wood windows (by the same guy - his workshop's whole business is building old style wood windows for historic/old buildings). Oh, and then the side project is commissioning a stained glass guy to make us new transom panes and landing window, as all the stained glass was stripped from this house long ago. That'll be once I've saved for a decade or won the lottery.

I hope to have window and interior trim restoration done before we start a family, but I bought myself a very nice respirator.

I'll say this about old windows - there are few things more satisfying than opening a giant and heavy yet perfectly balanced hung window sash with a single finger. It is the most epic manifestation of man's mastery of the concept leverage and the invention of the pulley. You can't do that with vinyl replacements.

maifleur01 , it's important to know that the buyers of old houses (specifically those who buy old houses BECAUSE they are old houses) have different standards and "checklists" from typical buyers. Things that are attractive (or non-issues) in a typical contemporary house become massive detractors in an old house. Modern replacement windows are a big one, also updated layouts (especially newfangled open ones), new (replacement) finishes, carpet, "updated" forced air heating systems (forced air is LESS EFFICIENT than hot water radiators, did you know?), addition of anachronistic details like can lights and other silliness, etc.

I see updated modern kitchens and bathrooms in old houses as a neutral, because while it's nice to have a decent kitchen and bathroom in the meantime, I'm going to tear them out anyway and redo them to match the house better (out of all the Victorians and Craftsmans we looked at, I did not see a single kitchen, newly done or falling apart, that I liked or felt was appropriate for the house. If you're a seller, you might as well spare yourself the cash and headache. There are a bunch of dumb shoddy things the previous owner of my house did to put it on the market, like paint the rooms dumb trendy colors, that we are systematically undoing. Luckily she didn't do anything beyond superficial "improvements".

At the end of the day, less is better. Us old house buyers tend to be fixer upper types, so I'd rather fix an old house in an unadulterated state than fix an old house that's been remuddled and mucked up, because after I rip out all the dumb changes put in to make the house "more appealing" on the market, then I still have to fix an old house anyway.

Oh man look at these beauties!!!

The Craftsman's Blog has this quote: Love the way that the old glass refracts sunlight.....

I find this to be true. Early glass has seeds and imperfections because it was handmade. When the sun hits that glass it really sparkles.

Ever notice how modern homes lack personality? Cheap, composite roofing, vinyl siding, fake shutters, windows made with Chinese glass. Cut from a cookie cutter.

The OP is apparently fixing to resell so they want as much of a return as possible. Here because we have a glut of old houses they do not command a premium but can be had depending on the area from the low teens to a couple of hundred K.

If the OP is looking to resell, then the fastest way for the OP to lower the value is to remove the radiators and the windows.

I lived in two old houses that had lead paint. We made sure it was encapsulated and my kids never ate the paint. They are now 26 and 30 and have no issues with lead in their systems.

The radiators actually produced superior heating to what we have in our new house. I'd take those radiators over our current system in a heartbeat.

My old house had 2 pipe steam heat with cast iron radiators. Best system I ever lived with. Those radiators heated up and stayed hot for hours and hours. The boiler never needed to turn on during the night. The radiators kept the heat. Progress: now my hot water baseboard system goes on and off several times a night.