If you are among the many people who fell in love with the ambiance of an old house, there are DIY ways to restore the original windows. Consider the following reasons restoration might further the peaceful enjoyment of your home.
If you possess some carpentry skills and a good set of tools, there's a good chance you can effectively complete this project over a lot of weekends. Old homes typically have wooden casings that are relatively simple to remove. And if they are already painted, versus a natural wood finish, there's no reason to worry about cracking or chipping casement lumber.
Once the original models have been removed, you can cover the opening with a standard plastic insulating wrap or a sturdier material if needed while you work on restoring the older windows.
One of the driving reasons that property owners replace old windows stems from a perception energy efficiency cannot match newer models. But how much energy efficiency is enough, and can you upgrade the originals?
Starting with the drafty casings, a wide range of insulation options remain available. Spray foam ranks among the most popular and effective products for closing air gaps. DIY homeowners can also tuck fiberglass insulation into spaces to shore them up.
The top reason many homeowners give up on older windows involves glass as thin as 1/16 of an inch. Modern replacement windows typically employ thicknesses of 3/16, as well as double- and triple-pane options. That may seem like a huge difference, but older window panes can also be removed and casings fitted with new and thicker glass.
Aryn Hellmund is an Austin native and graduate of Westlake High School. Growing up as the child of a realtor exposed her to Austin’s residential real estate scene early in her life and today she still finds herself bouncing marketing ideas off of her mom.
Aryn holds a GRI* designation and brings all of her experience and valuable skills to COMPASS RE || Austin Residential Group. Working with Heather Hudson and a dedicated team of realtors who work together seamlessly to always exceed their clients’ expectations.
Although she feels comfortable assisting clients in many areas of Austin, Aryn is especially familiar with her old Westlake neighborhoods of Rob Roy, Lost Creek, Rollingwood, Thousand Oaks and Commons Ford. In addition, she has lived in and is familiar with Barton Creek, Tarrytown, Pemberton, Circle C, Northwest Hills and now lives in Southwest Austin near Bee Cave, Spanish Oaks, and Lake Travis.