[MassHistPres] Wooden Windows

[James Hadley]

Agreed.  Someone in a Sec of the Int. seminar that I attended said that the 
reason these windows you refer to are called "replacement wndows" is because 
they always need replacing.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marcia Starkey" <mdstarkey at crocker.com>
To: <slater at alum.rpi.edu>; <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 10:08 AM
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Wooden Windows


> Hello, this is really a complex issue. Outside the historic district, it 
> is
> an issue of owners of traditionally built/historic age buildings being
> advised to replace windows or side with vinyl backed by language that 
> seems
> to be, at minimum, to border on false or misleading advertising...but 
> until
> someone challenges these assertions made minus a disclaimer for housing 
> over
> 50 years of age or in historic areas and districts, it will continue. The
> resulting loss of market value for these buildings is another aspect that
> may bear a close look. Marcia Starkey, Greenfield HC
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <slater at alum.rpi.edu>
> To: <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> Sent: Friday, July 14, 2006 2:55 PM
> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Wooden Windows
>
>
>>> The cost for repairs and restoration can range from as low as $60 to
>> replace
>>> sash cords to make the window operational to $600-700 to completely
>>> restore a 6 over 6 window including paint and weatherstripping.
>>> A good quality storm window will run about $200 for a normal
>>> size window. Sure, triple tracks are ugly, but they are reversible
>>> should anything better come out in the future, and they
>>> preserve the building and the comfort of the inhabitants.
>>
>> Hi Allison --
>>
>> I agree with everything you said. However this is not always possible to
>> do in Springfield primarily because of the income levels of people
>> residing in many of our historic houses.
>>
>> We have not been allowing replacement of wooden windows under hardship
>> unless the window is beyond what I'd call "reasonable repair" (and that
>> standard is rarely met), and only then if the owner proves financial
>> hardship. As our chairperson has said, we don't give out a "certificate
>> of incovenience".
>>
>> Broken ropes, peeling paint, and crumbling glazing aren't a hardship
>> because they are things that nearly every homeowner or handyman should
>> be able to easily and cheaply do. However, severely rotted windows are,
>> even though most windows can ultimately be saved with a lot of effort.
>>
>> Since Springfield's historic houses number close to 1,500, and since
>> enforcement of the rules in the past has been minimal, I would estimate
>> that close to 15-20% of our window stock has been replaced with white
>> vinyl. Window replacements happen so fast (usually done in a day) that
>> they are impossible to catch in the act, and when such a high percentage
>> of windows have already been replaced it's even impossible to spot a new
>> job.
>>
>> This causes an incredible problem because we not only get people who say
>> "why can't I put in vinyl windows, my neighbor did?", but we also have
>> people who simply assume that since their neighbor replaced their
>> windows, they can do it too.
>>
>> I'm not sure if anyone has been in the position where a low-income
>> homeowner sits in front of you telling you that they just racked up $10k
>> on their Home Depot credit card to install vinyl windows, and there's no
>> chance they can come up with another $20k to put back wooden windows,
>> but I don't see any realistic path out of that situation except
>> preventing it from happening.
>>
>>>My hat is off to the Salem Historic Commission which has begun
>> insisting that
>>>homeowners get a quote on repairs and restoration before they will
>> consider
>>>approving replacement windows.
>>
>> Springfield has also been asking homeowners to explore the possibility
>> of repairs. Unfortunately we have not found a ready supply of craftsman
>> in the price range that is reasonable for the economics of Springfield.
>> While a $700 per window repair job might make sense if your house is
>> valued at $500k+, it makes absolutely no sense for a house valued at
>> $150k, and when the SHC tells homeowners to suck it up and do this we
>> get tremendous negative press and political pressures.
>>
>> The deck is heavily stacked against us because of the endless marketing
>> by the replacement window industry. People CRAVE replacement windows.
>> They are being told that they are losing thousands of dollars a year by
>> not having them. We just got sued because someone wanted to replace his
>> perfectly good wooden windows, we told him no, he sued us, and somehow
>> won in court (I'll post details once I read the decision).
>>
>> I think that this is a great threat to historic districts, because the
>> conventional wisdow is that old window = bad window. I know of more than
>> one person who likes the idea of historic houses but wouldn't buy one
>> specifically because they didn't want to deal with old windows.
>>
>> Unfortunately I don't see any good avenue on a local level to change
>> that attitude, and because of that I think that the Springfield Historic
>> Commission needs to have some fallback options, because when there is no
>> standard of appropriateness for people who are intent on replacing their
>> windows, odds are that the replacement will still happen, and it will be
>> very, very inappropriate.
>>
>> Ralph Slate
>> Springfield, MA
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>
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