WHY SAVE HISTORIC WINDOWS?

By Danielle LaPresta

Preserving a historic building requires special skills that can be difficult but often can be easily learned by anyone.  Rehabilitating historic plaster is not a simple task, but rehabilitating historic wood windows can be.  In keeping with our video trend for Historic Preservation Month, here is a video about the simplicity of rehabilitating historic wooden windows with Lynn Stasick, historic preservation expert, EPA-certified lead paint renovator, and Preservation Alliance’s Statewide Field Representative.

Many people who own historic homes think that replacing historic wooden windows with vinyl windows is the most cost effective and energy efficient solution to their problems with air infiltration and loss of heat.

This really is NOT the case!  Evidence suggests that maintaining existing windows can be considerably more cost effective over the option of replacement windows both in payback time and the life of the units themselves. Although one may achieve some energy savings, it will take decades (and believe it or not, in some cases centuries) to recoup the initial investment on certain replacement windows.

Additionally, there are a number of options to increase the energy efficiency of your current windows such as adding weatherization strips and a storm window.

Still not convinced you need to save your historic wooden windows?  Read more about it in Lynn’s article.

Feel like the job might be too large for you?  We promise, it’s not!  You can learn first hand from our expert field representative during up-coming windows workshops this June, or you can always host a low-cost workshop at your home.

The up-coming workshops are:

Saturday, June 8 at Camp Wood near White Sulphur Springs, WV

Saturday, June 15 in Romney, WV.

Questions?  Contact us at [email protected].