[MassHistPres] wooden replacement windows

[slater at alum.rpi.edu]

Broso makes all-wood replacement windows, single-pane glass, just like
the old kind. They have many different grid designs. Here's a link:

http://www.brosco.com/showwindows.cfm?mid=41&tid=134

Jeld-wen makes double-pane replacement windows with simulated divided
lights:

http://www.jeld-wen.com/windows/wood/pozzi/product.cfm?product_id=21

Cladding is an option they provide, and is not required. We had a
homeowner install the wood exterior, it looks good, the only difference,
something most people don't notice, is that there is a slight lack of
depth in the grid pattern.

I found a company in Vermont that sells through construction houses:

http://www.greenmountainwindow.com/milestone.html

They seem high-end.

Springfield faces different challenges because, unlike many historic
districts in the state, a lot of Springfield's historic properties are
in marginal neighborhoods where the housing is being purchased for
$150-200k, by people who are economically on the edge.

When a house's market value is $150k, it's hard to justify telling a
homeowner to install $40-60k worth of wooden windows. However, we also
recognize that most homeowners desire to upgrade of the energy
efficiency of their windows, and that we need to offer an "appropriate"
way to accomplish this.

Springfield is moving in the direction that material is not important as
long as the look of the window is substantially similar to what is
historically accurate. That means divided lights (simulated are OK,
grids between glass not OK), if the material is not meant to be painted,
then the permanenent color must be historically accurate (usually dark).

These criteria can usually be met with wood, fiberglass, and
alumimum-clad wood. We have also seen that when done correctly,
replacement windows can look as good or better than original wooden
windows that are hidden behind milled aluminum storm windows, because
the divided lights aren't obscured by a storm window.

If you read MGL 40C, there is no "premium" affixed to "old" materials.
Any window can be replaced under "non-applicability" as long as its
replacement is an identical match. It was a bit of a leap to take to not
consider the originality of the materials (as in "came with the house"),
but the law is pretty explicit about commissions not being able to stop
"replacement in-kind".

I translate this standard to appropriateness as "things can be replaced
as long as they appear substantially similar to the original", and
therefore I'd have no problem installing a fiberglass column over wood
with the same exact design as long as it is paintable.

We have had considerable discussion over whether vinyl can meet this
criteria. We have allowed dark vinyl to be installed as hardship.

Ralph Slate
Springfield, MA

<-----Original Message----->I am looking for information on wooden
double-hung
>replacement windows.
>They need to be wood on both the inside and down. I have only found 
>companies that have wood on the inside and vinyl on the outside.
>
>I am also looking for installers.
>
>
>Since these windows are so hard to find, are historic districts finding
it 
>necessary to modify their requirements?
>
>
>Thank you in advance,
>
>Marie
>
>
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