I’ve been so busy with other things that I forgot to write about replacing the storm windows. We’ve decided to replace all the storm windows with high-efficiency storms and repair the interior sashes rather than replace them. Someone from the Des Moines Rehabber’s Club recommended the Corn Belt Aluminum company so I got a quote from them and then took that quote and compared it to a quote put together at Lowe’s for what it would cost to install them ourselves. Corn Belt with the installation and hauling away the old windows beat the Lowe’s quote hands down, and in my opinion had better windows.
The total job is going to cost about $2800 to replace all 20 of our storm windows, including the porch, plus replace the old attic windows completely with new awning windows that actually vent all the way. We’ve paid the $1400 advance payment and they’ve given us a 3-4 week lead time to manufacture the windows (here in Des Moines!) and schedule the work. I’m so excited! And I gotta say, it feels good to be going with a local company. They’ve been completely professional and helpful all along the way, including letting us try out all the features of their windows in their showroom.
I’ll come back with more on this in a month or so when the work begins!
Technorati Tags: storm windows, windows, budget, Des Moines Rehabbers Club, future plans
3 users commented in " Storm Windows "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackExciting! I hate our storm windows… so ugly, and the black stands out really badly against the house colors. I should switch with our neighbor… they have black trim and white storms!
Hi..
Just your thoughts, or help if possible—–
I came across your blog while looking for pictures of homes with storm windows/shutters which would have been used on a North Dakota two story school house style?? home built in 1920.
My grandfather taught me how to build a very functional and nice storm window/shutter casement to hold seasonal removable windows and shutters–he had to periodically repair and replace them on his farmhouse built in the early 1900s in eastern Oklahoma and that house was a two-story with a 360 degree covered porch with at least 30 windows between the two stories, and it doesn’t even remotely resemble this one in North Dakota which has only 8 windows, all facing South except for an upstairs hallway window (or it might be a doorway???–odd since there is no stairway outside), all clearly cased for removable shutters and storm windows–but I found none stored in the garage.
I apologize for using up your time, but if you have run across photos of houses from that era in the upper mid-West, it would be helpful to me in reproducing the window treatment. The people in the area are all very nice and helpful, but when I asked, the response was pretty uniform: whatever it takes to keep the wind and cold out is OK–”winters are harsh up here.”
Thank you
John White
Hi John,
I was lucky enough to find one of the original storm windows stored in my house. It has the original hardware and I think the original hardware may still be on the exterior window frames. I’ll take photos of them and post them here on the blog next week so check back soon.
Here’s a brief explanation that you’ll understand better with the photos:
The storm windows are one solid window that covers the entire window, both sashes, from the outside. The window has two squarish brackets at the top that would hang on two hooks at the top of the window frame. You’d hook these on first and the window would hang there. There are two or more turning knobs, kind of like wingnuts halfway down or at the bottom of the frame. You’d turn these to be horizontal and they’d hold the bottom part of the window in place.
From what I understand the screens worked the same way, though in the photo of my house from 1941 it looks like they didn’t have any screens at all. Here’s a link to that post:
http://www.ournewoldhouse.com/our-new-old-house-as-a-young-house/
Keep in touch and let me know how your hunting comes out.
Thanks for reading!
-Kelli
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