Doublepane glass in old sashes windows#

Doublepane glass in old sashes windows#

Now, what's true is that it often doesn't make economic sense to tear out a bunch of old windows and replace them with new windows. There's a reason that it was a standard plot device in Victorian novels to have a draft of wind blow out a candle at a key moment Victorian houses really were that drafty. If you live in a place where it's windy in the winter the wind will whistle right through that combination.

Storm windows are not air-tight at all, and wooden windows tend not to be much better. You'll always find someone who says that wooden windows with storms is as good as a double-glazed window. Wooden windows swell in the summer and shrink in the summer, which means in the summer they stick in their frames and in the winter they rattle in the wind. If you love that look, rejoice, you'll be enjoying that look every five years or so for as long as those windows are in your life. Yes, a freshy painted wooden window looks great. I have painted many, many wooden windows. Now it's true that some modern windows also feel like they're going to fall apart in your hands, but the nicest ones feel like fine pieces of machinery when you operate them. Storm windows have an even worse tactile interface, opening and closing them feels like unpeeling a can of spam. They stick, they slam, you feel like you have to baby them to keep from breaking the glass. Old windows have a terrible tactile interface. This means things like doorknobs having the right heft in your hand, doors opening and closing with the right amount of effort, cabinet pulls not feeling like they might come off in your hand. Part of what makes a house pleasing is a good tactile interface - the places where you come into contact with the house are pleasing to the senses.

And there is more to aesthetics than just appearance. I've never seen storms that don't look far worse than modern windows. I agree that from an interior appearance standpoint there is no equal.

I grew up in a house with double-hung wood windows with storms, and I currently own a house with them as well.