Mr. Reluctant requests advice about storm windows:Although the mechanical mechanisms
have failed/been removed/broken in
all my wooden double hung windows --
alas, *not* ropes and pulleys, but
some other one I cannot figure out --
the windows are in fair shape. The
frames and sills seem fine, the sashes
are a bit beat up. But because the
mechanicals are failed, they don't
stay up without support. That is the
main problem. I think restoring
them would take too much time, and
probably I wouldn't even be able to
find suitable parts.
I like wooden double hung windows, and I can't
for the life of me imagine replacing them
with vinyl. Theses windows have lasted
for 60 years, and could last still many more
years -- how long will vinyl windows
last -- maybe 10? At the most 20?
It just doesn't make sense. Plus they look
hideous and are environmentally
unfriendly.
One option: replace with Marvin tilt-pac
sash replacements. Probably costly, but
could put on the list of long term projects.
In the short term: what to do about the
(double track) storm windows. Having the storms,
provided they weren't missing panels and other
essentials, doubles the energy efficiency of
the windows, and also protects the sills from
water. But the ones we have were only of modest
quality, and are now quite broken down. I
have looked high and low for replacement
parts for them (e.g. the tracks) but cannot
locate any. I am having panels made for
the ones that are missing entire
panels! But perhaps these storms in the
shape they are currently in are doing more
harm than good: they aren't air-tight, and
so moisture gets in and is trapped, causing
mildew, etc.
My questions:
(1) Does anybody know where double/triple
track storm windows are sold in the
Willamette Valley? I have gone to several
places and they basically just try to sell
me new vinyl windows.
(2) Is it worth it to buy new storms?
--Mr. R
6 comments:
Hardware stores like Lowes or HomeDepot or Menards sell aluminum storm windows in our area. I suspect that would be the same there.
There are other alternatives to vinyl windows, for example Pella makes aluminum clad (on the exterior) wood windows.
One thing to be careful about with replacement windows...they fit inside the old window frame so you may end up losing glass space (perhaps this is not the case with Marvin's solution). Do your homework ahead of time (calculate what your glass area will be before committing to a given replacement window). When we replaced our windows we did full-frame replacement...that is we tore out the old window frame and put the new window in the rough opening...assuring us little/no loss of glass area on windows we wish were larger to begin with.
Thanks! Believe it or not, the big box stores don't sell them here, and the local small glass & screen operations don't either, except for one.
I'll chime in on the Marvin tilt pack replacements. I replaced a couple attic windows with these(location ND) and they insulate well, although they do shrink the window glass size a bit.
I do not know if you have since solved your window dilemmas as this original topic was from 2007...But, I thought of adding my two cents. My husband and I have a home from 1969 and the former older owner did not put some of the old wooden storm windows back on and some were missing. When we moved in, we threw away all the wooden storms and bought new aluminum ones from Home Depot. My husband carefully measured the openings and we bought these that have a half screen that moves up or down and two sashes that also move up or down. You can kind of play with it to get the ventilation you want but usually I just open the bottom double hung and then the screen is there and it vents through the bottom half of the window. We will now buy either Jeld-Wen Zap Pack replacement sashes or the Marvin Tilt Pack sashes and keep these new storms I was talking about. This seems to be the best option for us as we want to minimize doing trim work on the inside or outside and we want to keep these storms. Hope this helps and your local Home Depot should have these storms, Larsen I think is the name.
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