[MassHistPres] Peabody Town Hall windows

[Alison Hardy, Window Woman]

Just to add to the discussion about replacement vs restoration - there is a story in today's Salem News http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_036064920.html
about the windows in the 1883 Peabody Town Hall that are being replaced - and not for the first time. It seems in the 1970's the taxpayers paid for aluminum replacement windows. Now 30+ years later they are failing so badly that they are going back to wood windows built at a cost of $10,800 each! That cost also includes some extensive woodwork repairs since the 1970's renovation ripped out the original jambs and sills along with the original windows. 

We have dealt with these large size windows before and the cost to restore is anywhere from $1500-2000 each. We recently installed weatherstripping, replaced broken sash cords and panes for an 1873 Town Hall at a cost of around $250 each. 

So for those who think the old windows are "energy inefficient" or too expensive to repair, restore or maintain think of this Peabody folly. Couple that with this from the current issue of Preservation Magazine "The reputation of older structures                              as energy sieves, in short, is simply not justified                              by the data. According to the U.S. Energy Information                              Administration, commercial buildings constructed prior                              to 1920 have an average energy consumption of 80,127                              BTUs per square foot. For the more efficient buildings                              built since 2000, that number is 79,703 BTUs. (The                              energy efficiency of buildings constructed between                              these years was less enviable—reaching around                              100,000 BTUs—reflecting the cheap oil and electricity          
                    of the thermostat age.)"

Alison Hardy
Topsfield Historic Commission and owner of Window Woman of New England




Alison Hardy
Window Woman of New England
www.window-woman-ne.com
978-561-1062