From the Outside Looking In...

From the outside looking in, it isn't quit right yet.  It isn't quite right looking from the inside out either.  But overall it looks way better than I thought it would and it was much less muss and fuss than I would have expected.

After enormous loads of research, great debate and considerable consternation, hubby ordered and installed the first new window at TOPH.  Kudos to him, because, in a massive paradigm shift, he left me in the dust of indecision and an epic damming of impetuous energy.  I don't know what it is about windows in an old house. Or maybe I do.

There is a quite a complex framework for decision-making.  The following was ours, in no particular order (perhaps THAT was my problem?)  We looked at cost, aesthetics, energy efficiency, modern-use festures and installation appraoches.

Google Image unearthed with search phrase:
Ugly Replacement Windows on Antique House

The product-alone cost of replacing windows, if you believe the hype, ranges from $150-$1,500 for a standard double-hung unit.  There are "replacement windows", which are cheap and easy and vinyl, for the most part.  They have wood-clad upgrades, but that sends them into the same price range as the others, so that was a non-starter.  My biggest issue with them, though was aesthetic.  They "fit" into your old window holes, but come in a smaller range of sizes than the other options.  So they make up the difference with vinyl fillers in the form of coping and flashing and trim.  The result is less window and more white crap to put it bluntly.

The other end of the spectrum is authentic reproduction windows -- the ones with single-pane, wavy glass in "true divided lights" like they were originally.  Apart from being ridiculously expensive, notoriously energy inefficient and exceedingly difficult to maintain, it set the restoration bar a bit to high for us.  I don't see us doing laundry in copper steamers over the fire on a regular basis.  And, as far as I know, George Washington never slept here at TOPH.

In order to preserve maximum "lite" size and aesthetic we wanted, plus achieve the energy-efficiency and modern functions we wanted, we (briefly) considered using "new" windows (case, frame and all) as replacements.  However, this type of window replacement would require major surgery on interior and exterior trim, in addition to repairs to plaster walls and latex-over-lead painted siding.  On our budget, we are tackling one (or a few) projects at a time.  This approach would just open up too many cans of worms at once without the time or money to finish any of them properly.  And, as it turns out, the window sills are very old -- possibly original (clearly hand-hewn and planed) -- and in reasonably good shape.  Why fix something (one of the very few things) that isn't broken?

One down and 53 to go!

So we had basically arrived at a little-known option.  There are a few companies out there who sell replacement sashes in a wide range of sizes.  Plus, they have these "balance kits" -- essentially modern-engineered, multi-track inserts that fit into the vertical sides of your rough-ish window opening.  They allow for all the insulated, double-hung, tilt-in/out options of modern windows without disturbing existing trim and casing. The sashes themselves are argon-filled, double-pane, low-e glass.  There are thousands of options for muillion sets which can be interior and/or exterior.  Right now we have only the interior sets.  When we get around to siding and painting the exterior of the house, we will add the exterior sets and paint accordingly.

NOTE: Very happy about using a product local-ish family owned company (BROSCO) and ordering through our local lumber yard (Exeter Lumber).

It took about 4 weeks for our made-to-order window to come in.  Hubby ordered one for a not-so-obvious window in his office that we though would be representative of the scope and scale for the rest of the house.  And, again, kudos to him.  I just couldn't pull the trigger on this one.  And now it's done.  It took him less than 2 hours to take out the old and install the new.  Just needs a coat of exterior paint to protect the wood surfaces while we get around to the others.  Hmmmm.  What color?  Pink perhaps?  Let's scare the neighbors!  Hehehehe.