Window woes get our attention: not only problems with old windows that need maintenance but also with new windows that fail too soon, featuring finger-joints that fall apart, non-historic proportions, and poor reveals. Some windows, however, actually fix design dilemmas. While new windows are often the bad actors of the remodeling industry-as when original, proportional, still-serviceable and ever-fixable wood windows are sacrificed for ill-fitting replacements with a projected life of eight to 20 years-the right new window may improve the aesthetics and solve functional issues.
SUBTLE IMPROVEMENTS
With a long history as a barn and carriage house converted to a residence in the groovy Sixties, the building needed finesse. Minor changes to the roofline and glazing tied the design together.
AWNING & hopper
Double-hung and casement windows may be the most common types but many other systems of sash and jamb have a long precedent. An awning window hinges at the top to open outward from the bottom. These can sit high on the wall (like the square windows found flanking bungalow fireplaces) or be used as a transom. Hopper windows are a variation: these small, rectangular windows are hinged at the bottom and open inward at the top. They're familar in basements but may also be used above a door. Larger hopper windows can be used like an awning window in a protected wall (as under a porch). All of the major brands offer these and other window types.
folding, retractable
This story is from the July - August 2023 edition of Old House Journal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July - August 2023 edition of Old House Journal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Navigating the Lumberyard - Here's some lumber lingo you should know before you venture into a lumberyard.
Here's some lumber lingo you should know before you venture into a lumberyard. Almost everyone fixing an old house will end up at a lumberyard-whether it's a local supplier or the organized aisles of a big-box home-improvement store.
a farmhouse renewed
Sensitive renovations and restoration work preserved a house that dates to 1799.
AN OVERVIEW OF METAL ROOFING
METAL ROOFS ARE RESURGENT, FOR GOOD REASONS.
ENDURING BEAUTY IN WALLS of STONE
Now back in the family who had been here since 1830, the old farmhouse is again ready for generations to come. Additions dating to 1840 and the 1950s were preserved.
ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS COME TO LIFE
Owners and their designer celebrate the unique features of a 1912 Arts & Crafts Tudor.
For a Wet Basement Wall
If there's problem common to old houses, it's a wet basement. I'm not talking about occasional flooding, but rather a basement that apparently seeps or leaks after even a rain shower or during snowmelt. Several approaches are available; sustainable solutions will get to the root of the problem.
Patching a Plaster Wall
Fix a hole in the wall with a few common tools and some drywall supplies. Practice your technique!
Roofing & Siding
Make note of these historical and unusual materials for the building envelope.
The Riddle of the water
When water incursion happens, the roof isn't necessarily the culprit. Maybe snaking a drain line, or clearing debris from a clogged gutter, temporarily will stem a leak. But a recurring problem usually means other forces are at work. It takes persistence-and a team with the right skills and patience—to identify the source and apply a solution.
Light-filled Craftsman Redo
For a dark kitchen in a 1914 Illinois house, the trick was anchoring white expanses with woodsy warmth.
