Not sure you are going to find an appropriate recommendation on a portal like this. I would call the company or the supplier to see if they have a list of preferred contractors that are experienced in the installation of their products.

I did find somebody to do the sash replacements, although not on here. I'll see if it works out. The window manufactuer is in Indiana and so does not know of any local installers in Pittsburgh.

I find it funny that sash replacements are considered a dark art. I guess everyone just slaps in those vinyl window units, and reduces the light in their houses, instead of replacing the sashes with replicas, as we did.

I ordered windows from Heirloom windows out in Indiana, and they look exactly the same as my original three over and five over windows.

Just curious: are you circling back because you are still looking for an installer or haven't received product?

Well, I think I found someone to install the windows but it looks like I’ll have to wait a year. That’s a bit sad, as I spent a year talking to someone who has stopped responding to me, and, you know, winter is coming, and the storm windows have been removed, so we will face the cold with single pane windows.

I have all the windows, save three sashes, and all the window hardware.

They are a dark art because of there low demand . That brand also appears to be a bit different than the more common types that are available as well. Wood and vinyl inserts have pretty much replaced these type of systems. Typically these are mo hard to do, mifht wNt to try doing ine tourself.

Yes, the demand is low, sadly because people are too willing to destroy the look of their existing windows, and reduce the light coming into their houses. This is particularly troublesome in older homes.

My house is from 1925. The existing windows let in a tremendous amount of light. The thin muntins, 3/4”, cannot be replicated given the thickness of standard double panes. Those muntins frame the view from the house and are a large part of why the house looks the way it does.

Heirloom uses Spacia, a vacuum insulated double paned glass that is around 1/4” thick. The thin glass allows the use of muntins that mimic the original muntins that were used on the single pane windows.

Spacia was used to restore the windows in Churchill’s home in England.

https://www.gowercroft.co.uk/case-studies/templeton-house/

I spoke with all of the big window manufacturers. None of them could give me a window that looked like my original windows, no matter the cost. There is no plant in the US producing Spacia so the glass has to be imported from Japan. The big manufacturers don’t see enough market for Spacia so they don’t use it.

Here is one of my existing five over one window.

what is the cost on one windows?

Do you notice the ”micro dots” on the glass.?

Do you know any of the performance numbers?

what are going to use for a screen or storm window?

Do the windows tilt in?

Do the windows come with a jambliner ?

Do they offer tempered glass?

Interesting producuct but very niche.

The cost depends on the size of the windows. Given that no other manufacturer produces anything I like, I think the cost was reasonable. Contact Bill Hepburn at Heirloom windows for a quote: bill@heirloomwindows.com

I don’t have the windows installed yet but I feel I can live with the micro-dots and don’t feel they’re obtrusive.

You also have to be willing to live with a black plug on the face of the windowS. That’s where the hose was attached to suck out the air.

Tradeoffs had to be made.

I don’t understand the performance but here is a paragraph from the British article:

“Ultra-thin Pilkington Spacia™ vacuum glazed units, with a total thickness of 6.2mm, closely resembled the original single-glazing, without a hint of the ugly double reflection associated with conventional double glazing. This revolutionary glazing technology also ensured market leading thermal and acoustic efficiency (with U-values of 1.1 W/m2K on its standard units).”

I’m going to use flexible screens to cover the bottom half of the window, the lower sash. The upper sashes will be fixed. That means that only the inner channel is used and that is the channel that has been protected from the weather.

No tilt-in, thank god. That feature would destroy the original look of the windows. I’ll hire a window washer or clean them myself.

You can use a jamb liner. I opted to use the existing jambs. I don’t think the jamb liner provides much value, in terms of insulation or functionality.

The wood used is Accoya, a “pickled” pine that is dimensionally stable.

You don’t have to re-weight all of the windows. Heirloom provides stainless steel balances that are hidden by the lower sash and allow the window to be set at any height.

No option for tempered glass but there are protective films that can be used. I’m having films put on the windows that are in the bathroom and close to the floor at the top of the stairs.

Installation is basically, hammer off the inner molding, pull out the inner sash, hammer out the middle stop, take out the top sash. Hopefully, the outer or blind stop is ok. Install the top sash. It can be caulked as the top sash will not move. Replace the parting stop, install the spring balance, and put in the bottom sash. Install the hardware.

I hired an architect to draw up a detailed window schedule. There is some play in the kerf where the weather stripping is attached to the window, so, there is some possibility of adjustment there.

I think I’ve just about covered it. If you know of a better option for old homes, I’d love to hear it. Check out Heirloom’s work on his Facebook page:

https://m.facebook.com/HeirloomWindows/

Cost is always relevent, how about the average cost?

Does the cost include any prefinishing if the interior or exterior?

I think there are many viable solutions , what works best for one may be a poor choice for others.

Problems and unknowns I see for this window are:

1) cost unknown

2) glass tech with not much history, imported from Japan, hardly any data, warranty 1/2 of typical glass manufactures, micro dots and plug.

3) lack of installers due to this system being unique to probaly 1 manufacturer.

4)performance data unavailable from manufacturer.

5)lead times

6) Storm or screen options unavailable or extra cost from another party.

7) Safety glazing not availble from manufacturer

8) unavailable in most of the US without extra freight charges.

9)no tilt feature

10) will not meet energy code many states

12) you name it?

Better options could be:

1) sash kits that are available from manufacturers that have a wider market availability.

2) rehabbing you old windows

3) Inserts .

Please name one viable solution that replicates my existing windows. I have not found one.

I am surrounded by old homes that have had their windows destroyed by the installation of awful vinyl windows, thick double insulated panels with hideous fake muntins between the glass panes, huge plate glass windows that stare at me blankly. It’s so sad.

There is manufacturer’s data here:

https://www.pilkington.com/en/global/products/product-categories/thermal-insulation/pilkington-spacia

If you draw up a project, you’ll get a quote from Bill. I can’t just come up with an average cost.

Warranties are worthless in the industry. They’re all scams.

Yes, you have to be willing to wait for windows that will look good in your house versus the awful windows installed by the major manufacturers. I’d rather wait than regret the choice of my windows.

Bill uses mortise and tenon joints. Do any of the majors do that or do they just staple them together?

I spoke with an installer who put in 600 windows using Spacia in a commercial project in Detroit and he said it was a great product. He doesn’t do residential installation or I would have used him.

Rehabbing my old windows gets me nowhere. I’ll be stuck with single panes and freeze to death in the winter. My wife will not stand for this solution.

Inserts are generally awful. Storm windows are also terrible, as they get put in and never removed. Those triple track systems are the worst. I may freeze to death this winter but at least I can finally see out of a window because I had all the hideous storm windows removed.

I bought sash replacements, it’s a simple idea, and I don’t know why nobody else does it.

I find it ridiculous that I have to slap in some replacement window unit that makes the windows smaller. My neighbor was looking and my original windows, after the storms were removed, and he realized that the window guys had made his windows much smaller. That’s what those window installers do.

I got Heirloom to spray paint all of the windows at a very reasonable cost. It was certainly a lot better than my having to paint 32 sashes and three casements.

The funniest part of my journey was going to one of the bigs, probably the biggest window manufacturer, and not being able to make them understand what I wanted. They throw a thousand old windows into the landfill a year but they cannot produce one that looks like the one they removed.

I shook my head at every single window line they showed me and tried to explain what I wanted. Their quote was astronomical and I had to explain to them that I hated their window, that it would look nothing like I wanted. They thought they had sold me, lol.

It all boils down to the thickness of the glass.

You can come up with a typical cost. Just divide total cost by number of windows. The worst warranty is none.

I have gave viable options, none if which are vinyl. Mortise and tenon joints are not that uncommon. 1 reference is not exactly a ringing endorsement and 600 windows is a tiny sample size. Andersen is North America’s largest window manufacturer. Id be curious to what you asked and what they said.

Every basic question I ask is answered with vagueness or simply not answered. Not trying to be a dick but the information you and the company supply is laughable .

At this point all we know is:

1) glass thickness is all that really matters

2)cost?, doesnt matter.

3) installation,;you may figure it out

4)warranty: irrelevant.

5) performance data: links to Uk sites that show center of glass data only .

6) lead times ; a year or so.

7) window screens or storms; you are on your own.

8) caulking in your upper sash seems like a poor solution.

9) tilt in your sashes to clean; dont think about it . For one your upper sash is caulked in and noone really knows how your lower sash really works.

10) energy code and safety glass; may not meet code .

LOL louder.

You have not given me a single viable option. You didn’t mention any line of windows or even a manufacturer. You mentioned Anderson, just now. One window installer told me his Anderson windows were rotting, lol. I was not impressed by the quality of their construction, I looked at them.

I’ve given you a lot of information but you obviously have some kind of window agenda. I’m a homeowner who is looking for windows that look correct, historically speaking, and you have no answers, at least none that I can discern from what you have posted.

I never said cost did not matter, nor did I say there was a year’s lead time. You’re putting words in my mouth. I won’t give you the cost of my job because every job is different.

If the top sash fits in tight there will be no need of caulking. That was just a suggestion.

One does not base a window decision on a bunch of silly screens, which anybody can make.

Installation, yeah, you have to find someone who can take apart an old window instead of slamming in a complete unit.

I told you what I needed. I needed windows that had 3/4” muntins, deep ones, to look like the original windows. If you go with true divided lites, you wind up with 1 3/4” muntins because of the thickness of the glass, it won’t look right. If you go fake, you have thick regular insulated glass with fake muntins in the middle. It still does not look right.

There is a reason they replaced 120 windows in Churchill’s house with this glass. The reason is because it looks right. You have to have fake muntins over a thin double vacuum insulated panel but at least the aesthetics of the windows look right because the glass is so thin. So, yes, it is all about the thickness of the glass when it comes to historic windows.

American window manufacturers don’t care about old homes. They butcher them with bad windows that just don’t look right.

I looked at Marvin’s historic line of windows and I found nothing there that would work for me. Bill started Heirloom windows because he couldn’t find a good solution for historic windows from any of the window companies and I couldn’t find anything either.

I got a quote (once -lol) from Andersen for the replacement of ONE window, to replicate my existing single paned window, and it was $6,000 (4 years ago). The best windows in my house are the single paned ones. The worst are the vinyl windows a previous owner put in before they sold this house.

I think Heirloom’s prices are extremely reasonable for what they provide, nowhere close to that crazy quote from Anderson.

Bill lives in relatively inexpensive part of the country. He doesn’t have private jets flying around his window salesmen.

The truth is that the window industry is all about volume. They need to move as much product as possible to make as much money as possible. They’ll shove their windows down as many throats as possible, it really doesn’t matter whether those windows work in old homes, which they don’t.

My questions are vary basic. The replies are complex and avoid all questions asked. At what point does one take this seriously?

I guess you’re not reading my replies closely enough or something for I have not avoided any questions except to not give you some average cost per window because any would be wrong, it depends on the job.

I have answered your questions in laborious detail. What questions have I avoided? I’m trying to figure out why you think this is complex.

The proof is in the pudding. I have windows that match my windows from 1925, windows that I could not find from any of the major manufacturers.

Maybe this article will help you understand.

https://www.oldhouseguy.com/replica-windows/

Oh, I see I missed one question. The lower sash works by sliding in the existing inner channel in the jambs of your windows, as it has for one hundred years. The inner channel is the one that has been protected from the weather.

You can get a jamb liner from Heirloom or you can just use the existing wood window jambs, which, in my case, appear to be in good condition.

I just had my house stripped back to the sheathing, removing all of the vinyl siding, which just covers up rot, and stripping back the roof. While the contractor did find some areas of rot, overall, the wood of the house was in excellent condition.

If you keep the water off of a house, and keep it painted, a wood house can last hundreds of years.

https://youtu.be/4ST1XaHkpNY

I think people are either “old window” people …or not. I don’t think you’ll ever convince people who don’t see any value in the old windows to change their minds.

Yeah, or people who don’t see the value in protecting the design of the old windows, which is what I am doing in this case. I have not seen an old house yet that has had its look improved by the installation of modern windows. I had to fight to save the design, believe me. My wife just wanted me to slap in vinyl replacement windows and I said no.

I think there are plenty of people , even on this forum that are both. I found the ”new” windows that Larry is using interesting since I have not seen these windows before and because of some the tech it uses. Kind of blend of very basic components and old tech updated with modern glass and and wood treatment. Might be a good viable option to add the q-lon weatherstripping to the original old windows. If one wanted new windows with much mordern tech I think there are some viable options out there that still have the looks of old windows. I have no problems , but like to be realistic with any if the solutions. This Andersen window does have pretty traditional lines, muttons sre only 3/4” wide, hidden tilt latches , available almost anywhere, much easier to find installers,getting performance data,tempered glass is also not a problem.

My job on monday will be a combination of vinyl windows, new wood windows and rehabbing some of the old windows. Pretty sure I am not opposed to any as I am the one that gave the options.

While not too bad, I’m not happy that the muntins and stiles do not have a profile that matches my current windows. Also, what is the depth of the muntins? I don’t think they can match my windows.

Thick insulated panels do produce a lot of reflections, as can be easily seen.

I can only imagine how many millions of dollars of investment in research, development, and manufacturing it took to produce Spacia glass.

Not sure on the depth, but not as deep for sure.

Panasonic also has VIG with some new tech. The pillars are transparent which elimates the micro dots. There is no visable plug on non tempered glass and they have tempered glass.

Larry K you might try Allied Millwork on Penn Ave in the Strip. I bought replacement wood windows from them to match my 1928 original double hung windows. I wish I could have rehabbed them instead but wasn’t an option.
They don’t do installs but might be able to recommend someone to you. But pretty much any skilled finish carpenter should be able to do this work. My husband has been rehabbing the windows we didn’t replace and although the learning curve is steep, once you do a couple it’s not so hard.

Hello chestnut3,

I’d love to see your windows. Could you post some pictures? I believe they use Spanish cedar. Did they re-weight all the windows? The Heirloom windows include a stainless steel spring balance.

I exchanged many emails and phone calls with Allied but communications stopped at some point and I gave up after trying to restart them. I think they were slammed hard by COVID.

Anyway, after that, I fell in love with the Spacia glass.

Allied did recommend a finish carpenter but after waiting one year, and exchanging numerous texts and calls, it looks like I’ve been ghosted and will have to face the winter behind single pane windows.

Good luck finding a finish carpenter in this economic climate.

I found another finish carpenter who does beautiful work, but I’ll have to wait a year for him. I’m talking to a window repair person who has said he has never seen a job like mine in over twenty years of repair work.

If I want the best job, I may just wait a year for the finish carpenter. After all, the moldings may have to be replaced, and the outside of the windows might need work as well. I do have new window trim from the outside renovation work, the installation of new cedar shingles. Thoughts?

I could take this on myself but my wife is dead set against it and I have work to contend with.

Larry- sorry I didn’t realize you commented back to me asking for pics. I will post some here this week. It’s dark now and will be dark tomorrow when I get home from work but I can get to it Tuesday. I used an installer Allied recommended and wasn’t thrilled with him.
In the meantime, try to rehab them. I can ask my husband the steps he took. Parts of it involved taking the sash to a shop nearby that specializes in stained glass but was able to do whatever he needed for a reasonable price. I think he heat gunned the paint off, used some kind of oil to treat the wood then primed/painted them. We have all weights and pullies in both old and new windows. My new windows are excellent. They look great and are energy efficient. But my old rehabbed windows are better. Way better.

Hello Chestnut3,
No rush on the pictures.

Saturday, my contracting company finished up our exterior renovation. I have a long thread on here about my journey having a Hulley renovated. Let me know if you want to take a look and can’t find the thread.

We’re in for gray, cold days ahead.

I don’t have the time to rehab the windows. Thanks for the offer of help. I’ll just have to tough it out. There is not much you can do with single pane windows except put up window treatments. I dislike window treatments.

I’m happy to not be looking through the awful storm windows. Most of my weights have been removed from the windows when the contractors replaced the window trim. They won’t be needed as the new windows have a sprint balances.

We have original stain glass windows. Hopefully, they won’t need work but which stainless glass should did you go to?