New Life for Old Windows

Our bungalow's interior receives an abundant amount of natural light through its many beautiful and well-placed windows. These original windows are among the many features that drew us to our 1925 bungalow, yet we knew that they were in need of attention after nearly 85 years of use. The question was what to do.

We considered several options, but we were primarily concerned with energy efficiency and maintaining the bungalow's aesthetics. Initially we thought of completely replacing the windows, but the idea of messing with the stucco exterior, the lath and plaster interior, and both the interior and exterior trim detail seemed quite daunting. In our last house, we replaced the sashes with sash replacement packs. The white jamb-liners blended with our painted millwork, but they would stand out with the oak and maple trim in our 'new' house. Vinyl replacement windows were rejected for the same reason. Finally, we narrowed the options down to two: refurbish the existing windows or use Andersen Woodwright insert windows.

Refurbishing windows is a lot of work, but we haven't let that stop us before. Fine Homebuilding magazine has great resource articles on restringing sash weights, replacing and re-glazing glass, and adding weather-stripping for older windows. The window frames were in great shape, but excessive interior condensation (yet another project) had its toll on the sashes. With the introduction of Teagan, time was at a premium and refurbishing began to look much less desirable, even though less expensive.

The Federal Energy Tax credit was all we needed to push us in the direction of Andersen Woodwright insert windows - a historic look with maximum energy efficiency. Easy choice, since Dan work's for Andersen Windows? Actually, no. Andersen neither provides a discount for its employees nor requires them to purchase its products. But then, would Dan work for a company that produced products he wouldn't support? Probably not for very long.

In the midst of installing the Woodwright inserts, Dan noticed a sticker on the side of the original window frame: Andersen White Pine Frames. In 1905, Andersen (known then as Andersen Lumber Company) began making these 'two-bundle' frames that could be assembled on the job-site in just 10 minutes. Andersen did not make complete units until the introduction of the casement window in 1932, just 7 years after our house was built. It seemed fitting to put new inserts in the original Andersen frames.

The five windows we installed turned out great; even Chip approved upon inspection. Now to seal the interiors, repaint the exterior trim, take care of the condensation issue... The work never ends.