Our Old Windows

Our Old Windows:

Spring-like weather at the end of a long winter is wonderful. The sun pours through our large windows and fills our home with warmth. One hundred year old windows are beautiful! Why would anyone want to replace old windows?  When we moved in I cleaned them and attempted to open any that weren't painted shut. Most of our windows are original rope-pull windows.  You can hear and feel the weights slide down the sides of the windows when you open them.  Ahhh…the sounds of old homes.  :)  When properly cleaned, painted and maintained, these windows last forever.  Two of our original windows have leaded glass, one of which has beveled leaded glass that really sparkles in the morning and leaves rainbow prisms all over our living room when the sun shines through it.

Two windows were added during the 60's after the home was moved. We couldn't figure out why the upstairs was cold. The two windows from the 60's are in the master bedroom and are the newest and worst windows in the house.  They are drafty, small, and require plastic in the winter months. I'm researching how to bring back the original sized windows and large trim that was taken out and replaced with these cheap little bedroom windows.  People may think that old windows make a home cold, but I would argue that bad/cheap windows make a home cold.  The original 1910 wood windows are the best in the house! Instead of spending money on replacing perfectly good original windows, I looked at other ways to improve the efficiency of our home.

One thing that we did right away was insulate the attic and have the attic door sealed. What a difference!  We were told that old homes were built to breathe. If the attic isn't properly insulated the heat will escape right through the roof. There was some insulation in the attic, but not nearly enough to meet today's standards.  Adding more insulation and sealing off the attic door helped to prevent precious heat from escaping through our attic.  Now our home is nice and toasty in the winter.  The original plaster walls also keep our home warm in winter and cool in summer. We rarely run our air conditioning.  In fact, I want to add the old wooden screen doors on our front and back doors for summer so the house can breathe and create a nice cross breeze.  It's amazing how much air we can get to flow through this house with the windows open.

All this talk of windows makes me want to get out my favorite window cleaner.  The best thing I have found to clean windows is called Invisible Glass. It is better than windex products and even better than the old newspaper trick my grandma talks about.  Invisible Glass in the aerosol can is found at most stores in the cleaning aisle or at auto parts stores.  I first found it and used it on my car windows.  Best product on the market for cleaning windows.  Check it out!

http://www.invisibleglass.com/Products/household/aerosol

Disclaimer...No, I'm not getting paid to promote this product.