Why restore?

#1: Fenestration - Your Windows were designed to fit your home.

Have you ever driven by a home and something just seems off in it’s design? This is fenestration, the design, proportion, and arrangement of the windows and doors in a building. In older homes, pre-1960, great care was taken in the design of the openings in your home and how they visually balance the overall architecture and look.

#2: historic Window Wood, Old Growth Wood, is extinct.

Historic wood windows were made from old growth wood which has many growth rings per inch, and is now extinct. The more growth rings, the more stable and durable the wood is, as compared to fast growth wood, with less rings which is used in today's windows.

#3: Historic Windows Expand and Contract with your home.

Your original windows were designed to fit your house. They have expanded and contracted with the seasons. Replacement windows have a rigid structure that fits within your window openings, however, gaps frequently open up around replacement windows resulting in more drafts than the original windows had.

#4: Historic Windows typically last 50 years before needing repair.

Unlike modern windows, period and historic wood windows were made to be repaired. With restoration and routine maintenance, restored windows can easily last another 50 to 100 years. The typical life of modern replacement windows is 10 to 30 years.

#5: Historic windows are more energy efficient than new windows.

New window manufacturers will tell you that their windows are more energy efficient than older windows. However, this is not true. The slow growth Pine of older windows and the casing around them is extremely dense and compact, making it highly energy efficient.

#6: The greenest building is the one that is already built.

Older buildings represent a previous investment of energy in their manufacture, commonly referred to as embodied energy. When evaluating the entire production, shipping, installation, and removal process, replacing windows consumes a whole lot of energy.

“We can’t build our way out of the global warming crisis. We have to conserve our way out […]; make better, wiser use of what we have already built.” says Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Restoration work is done by local craftspeople, paying local taxes, using a minimum of materials and resources and a maximum of labor. Restoring windows is the best use of existing materials and the best way to support the local economy.