[MassHistPres] Window Actions and Resources

[Carol Kowalski]

Other points to consider including in a historic window "most endangered
historic resources" submission:
- the durability of older wood vs. today's plantation-grown,
cellulose-dominant wood, 
- the longevity of repaired windows vs. replacements,
- a list of regional individuals and firms who restore wood windows (I
maintain a list for the Concord HDC and would be happy to share it), 
- the thermal comparison information from the Vermont Division for
Historic Preservation that Christopher Skelly provided to the listserve
in November 2004 
- information from the session on Windows and the Energy Code presented
by Michael Payne and Thomas Riley at the 2004 Massachusetts Historic
Preservation Conference
- cost of replacement windows vs. heating fuel savings
(See, for example, Cornell Cooperative Extension,
http://www.significantelements.org/significant_elem_windows.htm "to
realize this annual $114 savings I would need to invest $8000 in vinyl
replacement windows...Spending $8,000 to save a little over $100 per
year is not a good method for saving lots of money on heating bills. And
vinyl windows will subtract from the beauty of my older home, rather
than add to it as my older windows do. In addition, there are other less
expensive options available to me for reducing loss of heat through my
older windows."
- the beauty and aesthetics of authentic windows vs. the blind, dead
appearance of replacements.

I would be happy to contribute to, or collaborate on, the research or
writing of a submission.  It seems as though it's only a matter of time
before there are no authentic windows left.

Carol Kowalski AICP
Project Planner
Town of Concord
141 Keyes Road
Concord, MA 01742
(978) 318 - 3290