Restoring Your Victorian Windows

Victorian Window Restoration

You’re perhaps familiar with the saying, “the eyes are the windows to the soul.” Its first use dates back to ancient Rome when the Roman philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero said that,

‘The face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are its interpreter.’

So doth agree Ian Rock in his book The Victorian & Edwardian House Manual as he says that the windows are the eyes and soul of a Victorian house. In a previous article I wrote that one of my pet peeves, was that some owners of old Victorian houses cover some windows, alter the size and shape of others, or replace them with ones totally inappropriate for the style of the house. And they remove original exterior trim! This changes the entire exterior look of the Victorian house, and not usually for the good. How do you want people to ‘interpret’ your Victorian house?

Asymmetrical Fenestration

Let us return to the language of the ancient Roman philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero to define the term ‘fenestra’ – it is the Latin word for window. It used by architects to describe the design and placement of openings in a building, in this case windows. Is there a break in the fenestration pattern of your house, meaning a lack of symmetry in the window placement? If so, you may have ‘lost’ windows. Look for clues that a window was covered over. In a house with siding – window trim left in place where there is no window indicates the opening was filled-in with siding and if the trim was removed you can tell the location of a missing window by telltale vertical lines in the siding. More difficult to detect is if the carpenter removed sections of the original wall and wove in siding. In this case, look for breaks in the fenestration pattern, i.e., lack of symmetry in window placement in your Victorian house. Brick and stone homes lend themselves to easier detection of missing windows. It is easier spot missing windows in brick and stone houses because it is a rare thing for a mason to take the effort of finding brick or stone to exactly match and you will see a distinct outline. Do you want to open them back up to serve the purpose for which they were originally designed? First, let’s talk about Victorian ‘fenestrae’ (plural of fenestra).

About Windows

Windows in Victorian houses were usually ’double hung vertically sliding box sash window,’ or more simply double hung windows – a truly remarkable engineering design. Both top and bottom sashes were movable, and in the days before air conditioning, you could position the top and bottom sashes to allow cool air to enter through the bottom and warm air to leave through the top – effectively ventilating the room.

Sash windows have a number of parts: pulleys, sash weights, sash cords, sash boxes, stops, frames, casings, rails, muntins, sills, etc. Some parts you can’t see because they are hidden by the sashes or covered by years of paint and grime. So, your old original sash windows are drafty, may be rotted in places, stick, have broken panes of glass, and just look unsightly. But, please think before you yank them out and replace them with modern white vinyl or aluminum windows! 

Hanson states in Restoring your Historic House (see references) that vinyl windows are almost never a good choice for a historic house, and I agree. Their bulky sash frames need to be fitted inside the original window frame which reduces both the height and width of the original opening and giving an unbalanced ratio of wall to glass on your exterior walls. Aluminum replacements are a possibility; however, since they require fixed hardwood frames to properly tight fit correctly, why not have appropriately-styled windows made? Another consideration is that wood is a better insulator than aluminum and wood windows do not require subframes. Sash windows can nearly always be repaired and it is fairly easy to do so. Hanson also states that historic wood windows are designed to be repairable, unlike modern replacement windows. 

Near our Victorian Italianate is a vintage home, maybe not Victorian in age, but over 100 years old. When coming upon it in passing, the one side hits you like a brick wall (the house actually has siding). Why? There are no windows on that side -- except for one that has been in the process of being covered (for a number of years now). I believe it originally had four windows on that side as I lived just up the street from it as a child and I remember windows on that side. All the other windows appear to have been badly replaced with no trim. That nice old house from my youth no longer exists and worse it has no curb appeal.

Don’t let this be your house. Look for a window contractor that specializes in rehabilitation of sash windows, or if your handy, there are many books, manuals and online videos that can help you. Some of these are listed in the references below. These resources explain what double-hung windows are, how they work and how to repair them, and why you should keep them.

Energy Efficiency

Ah, yes, energy efficiency is better with modern replacements you say – no, not really. If you have single-glazed sash windows that are in good shape, with only minor repairs needed, consider better insulating your house, instead of replacing windows. That will probably provide greater energy efficiency than installing new, double-glazed windows as your savings in heat loss may be only 5 to 10 percent. If your house is brick, with no room for wall insulation, ‘energy efficient’ windows won’t provide much additional savings, if any -- windows form only a small part of your wall footprint. Double-glazing can be installed in original sashes, so consider rehabilitating the old sashes and upgrading with double-glazing if you want a wee bit of energy savings. As mentioned above, sash windows are easy to repair and rehabilitate, so replacing historic windows should be the last option if only considering improvements for energy efficiency. 

We live in a historic district and are not allowed to change the exterior façade of our Victorian Italianate house. Our original ’double hung vertically sliding box sash windows (with some original window glass)’ could use some additional TLC other than painting to bring them fully back to what they were when first installed. We have kept them as is because we would never alter the character of the house by ripping them out and replacing them. To minimize leaks around our windows, we opted instead to install interior storm windows made by WeatherLock® Snap-on Insulating Windows (see link below). We like to think of them as Tupperware® for your windows – the windows just “snap” in, and are hardly visible. They have reduced window heat loss and yes reduced our heating bills. The company we used is Weather Lock Home Windows and their tagline is “Keep your windows & Snap-on a Weatherlock.” That is exactly what we wanted to do.

Repair vs. Replacement Life Expectancy

Conservators of Victorian houses suggest avoiding vinyl window replacements, with good reason, not only can they detract from the curb appeal of your house; they are not recyclable. Another consideration is that they rarely outlive the payback period of their purchase and installation cost. Modern high-quality wood replacement windows have an expected life of 25 – 30 years, about the same as modern aluminum alloy replacements. Again, weighing their cost against longevity, they rarely recoup their cost before needing to be replaced.

Wood harvested in the Victorian era that America used to manufacture windows, among other items, came from old growth forests. These trees took a very long time to grow and have a higher proportion of heartwood to sapwood, providing great strength and moisture resistance. This keeps moisture from invading and rotting the wood.  Trees grown in modern tree farms may contain more sapwood and as a result are not as strong and moisture resistant. Products made from them are leaving them susceptible to rot. If the greatest portions of your 100+ year old windows are in good shape after having lasted for 100 years or more, why throw them out? Think sustainability here.

Other Considerations

Don’t forget to replace original ornamentation around your windows on the outside of your house as you are renovating your windows – that often gets removed. Look at houses of similar age and style to get an idea of what was likely present. There are manufacturers who can replicate just what you need. It will put a smile on your house.

Even if your Victorian home has been retrofitted with central air conditioning, restoring you sash windows to their original condition may allow you to reduce cooling costs, as you can promote the flow of cool air through your house, before resorting to “turning on the air”. Please, get rid of those in-window air conditioner units!

This article focused on double hung windows, but similar considerations apply for other less common windows such as casements.

The choice between restoring or replacing windows is ultimately yours, but apply caution when selecting replacement windows and contractors. As those old Romans used to say, “caveat emptor” – buyer beware.

-- Joan Hawk, Researcher and Co-Owner Bedford Fine Art Gallery, January 31, 2025; Use only with the permission of Bedford Fine Art Gallery.

References:

• Evers, Christopher, 2013, The Old-House Doctor, The Essential Guide to Repairing, Restoring, and Rejuvenating Your Old House, Skyehorse Publishing, Inc., NY.
• Hanson, Scott, T., 2023, Restoring your Historic House, Down East Books, Lanham, Maryland, U.S.A.
• Johnson, Alan, 1991. How to Restore & Improve Your Victorian House, David & Charles, Newron Abbot, London.
• Rock, Ian, Alistair, 2015, The Victorian & Edwardian House Manual, Haynes Publishing, Somerset, UK.
• Weather Lock Home Windows www.weatherlock.com