Our house still has several original wooden windows. Some have minor rot at the lower corners and others are in reasonable condition but drafty. Replacing all of them would be expensive and change the character of the rooms. I'm weighing targeted wood repairs, weather stripping and secondary glazing against replacing only the worst frames. What condition would make you stop repairing an old window and accept that replacement is the responsible choice?
Choosing between repairing original wood windows and replacing only the worst ones
- home-improvement
- choosing
- between
- repairing
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2 replies
I stop repairing when the effort becomes a cycle instead of a fix. If I'm sanding, filling, painting, and then finding the same failure next...
I stop repairing when the effort becomes a cycle instead of a fix. If I'm sanding, filling, painting, and then finding the same failure next season, that's the sign the window is telling me something.
The window is not being subtle at that point. It's basically tapping the sign and saying 'try again'.
I would still keep the best original ones and replace only the hopeless frames. That seems like the middle ground the house actually wants.
2 replies
If the frame is sound and the rot is local, I'd repair before replacing. Lower corners are common trouble spots and often fixable. Once the...
If the frame is sound and the rot is local, I'd repair before replacing. Lower corners are common trouble spots and often fixable. Once the sash or frame has structural failure, then replacement starts making more sense.
Agree, but I’d add that hidden rot matters more than the visible patch. If you probe and the wood is soft deep into the joint, you're not really repairing a window anymore.
And if the glass is single-pane but the windows are otherwise decent, weather stripping and secondary glazing can buy a lot of comfort. Peop...