Need help with old house and old windows.?

Question

My problem is I live in an 1920's house and the windows don't work. They dont stay up on their own. I have to prop them up with a stick. I need help deciding what to do or who do I hire to fix these windows.

Answer 1

This "rope" and "weight" is called a sash balance. Many (most?) times this is a really big pane (get it, as in window?) to fix.

The window and most of the wood around it must be removed (a lot of it WILL break in the process) and the sash balances will need to be replaced or repaired. This is labor intensive and hard to do without needing to replace much of the wood trim that holds the window in, and repainting or restaining the new wood.

Plan on paying about $125-$200 a window...at the minimum. Most shops don't want to do this job, so screen the shop and see work they have done before. If you don't like the way the guys appear or work, get someone else to do the job. It sounds harsh, but this job requires some patience and skill, you need the right guys (gals) on the job.

Or, you could go the REALLY expensive route and replace them. Of coarse, you need wood windows to match the house and the style. If you do this, drink some whiskey before they give you the price...it's gonna be a doosey! If you don't pass out for the price, ask for "seeded glass"...that should make you hit the floor, but it looks GREAT as this glass closely matches the texture and imperfectness of the old glass.

Good luck. I wish you the best. These homes are awesome, but are hard to keep up and get in working order. I'll be keeping a good thought for you.

Answer 2

while i know the house looks quaint with the old windows, know that they are FAR from efficient. the best thing to do would be to replace them with a newer double paned low e argon filled window.

BUT - if you don't want to do that, you need to do a lot of research from neighbors and friends. dealing with the old windows is an art. typically they stop working because the rope that caused the tension that held them open has long ago frayed and broked. the window will have to be dismantled, which in itself is a major task. all parts should be cleaned, oiled, glazed, whatever, depending on the part of the window. replace the rope and reassemble.

in my experience, it is actually more expensive to repair properly than to replace.

Answer 3

In older homes, the windows were held open by a counterweight. Getting these fixed involves tearing into the walls to retrieve the weights and reattach them to the window. Not cheap. Any window contractor can give you an estimate on this.

Answer 4

welcome to aging. That stick needs a patent on it. Fixing the mechanism costs more than replacing the window with a new one. If you have to keep windows orignal "for heritage value" STICK with it.