 | Bob Crager of Lewis Street Glass is a 26 year veteran in the glass business. Lewis Street Glass is a leading Wichita Glass company, serving the entire Wichita/Sedgwick County area since 1919. They do anything and everything having to do with glass, both residential and commercial. They also do Auto glass. They are located at 743 South Market, facing Kellogg on the South, and you can reach them by phone at (316) 263-8259. You can email Bob Crager at bcrager@lewisstreetglass.com |
Glass
2009-12-01 10:17:00
Repairing old windows
Question: My husband and I recently inherited an older home from his aunt. It is a beautiful, older home but is in need of repair. We are deciding what to do about the windows. He thought he remembered an article you wrote some years ago on things to do and to watch for. Can you run that by us again?
Answer: Thank you. It is always a good feeling when people read my articles, but when they remember them…it’s even better.
Replacing cracked window panes in an older home can be tricky, especially if you’re trying to preserve the integrity and look of a home that was built, say, around the turn of the last century. But it is possible to tackle this job and win. The key is to be very careful in removing the old panes so that you don’t destroy the wood. Sometimes the wood is less than pristine. You should determine that the wood frames are solid and worthy of being retained. If they are, then you can use a knife to remove the old glazing around the glass, and take the pieces to your local window glass dealer, and have the new panes cut to fit. If the panes are totally broken out, measure the dimensions carefully from side to side, then up and down, to determine the size of panes you will need. With summer heat just around the corner, now is a good time to fix leaky window panes, and the frames, unless they are deteriorated beyond repair. A lot of heat and cool air goes right out the leaky frames of windows and doors of older homes. These are the weakest link in your home’s energy loss chain. Vast amounts of your energy loss goes right through the windows of your home. Sometimes we get requests for changing out the old single pane glass windows with new double pane insulated glass. Using your existing frames, this can be a tall order, because the original windows were made to accommodate a single pane of glass, normally an eighth of an inch thick…whereas an insulated glass component is normally about a half inch thick, and would require mortising out the frames to receive the thicker insulated unit. Typically, absent a lot of experience at doing this kind of retrofit job, a novice can mess it up beyond repair. Clear insulated glass usually runs in the neighborhood of $10 per square foot, whereas the upgraded insulated “low-e” glass runs on up into the $14 per square foot range or higher. The alternative is to replace the entire window unit with a new insulated unit…the downside is that you normally will lose the original look of the turn-of-the-century architecture of the home. It all depends upon the outcome you desire. Sometimes saving money wins out over preserving the look…sometimes it’s the other way around. Your local window glass dealer can assist you in deciding what is best for your particular situation, and will provide the expertise to get the job done right for whatever outcome you want for your home.
