I hate my old windows

[rncx]

I am going through the window blues right now. I hired a guy to help me restore a few that are a mess so hopefully it will go well. Then when the weather dries I need to do all the sills. Just to do the sills it will take me months. And the summer only lasts 3 months NOT ENOUGH for the massive reglazing I need to do. And I am not that good at glazing....But there is hope. Always there is hope.....The guy that I hired told me that those windows left abandoned and still survived 107 years so I should relaxed!

So, how to you make the inside storms to fit the frame "snug"?

how wide are the jambs? or i guess i should say, how much is left on the inside subtracting the original window?

you can feasibly make a storm window 1" wide. a 1/4 deep cabinet door profile + a 3/8 deep glass rabbet would leave another 3/8 of "meat" in the middle and thus a 3/8 tenon. should work fine.

what kinda tools you got around? assuming power tools, only takes a table saw and a router table to build a window.

for making it fit snug, you'd do just like you would with a double hung. you size it 1/16 to 1/8 short all the way around and put spring bronze around the jamb and sill where it winds up.

[s.kelly]

If you decide it will work, having someone walk you thru one would certainly be one of the cheaper ways to go, and give you plenty of confidence in finishing the job.

[rodpaine]

Thanks Rod.
Could you tell me how much those storms cost?

Best to use the link on my website and contact Climate Seal directly. Talk to Matt Petit and give him the window sizes your working with and he'll tell you what they cost, given the material types involved, like UV filter level you want, window material thickness, mounting style and most important, the dimensions involved. Tell him your calling at my suggestion, as I've worked with Matt for quite a while and he'll know you've looked at my website showing a typical installation... he won't have to go through a product description with you.
-Rod

[Vaso7]

Now, that I remember, one of the contractors I talked to in the past told me that if I want those "climate seal" storms installed in my windows it will cost me 630$ a window (double casement), which is ok if I only had to do one window but kind out of the question for the numbers I am looking at.

[whispertalos]

We have double hungs, and we took 1/8" plexiglas and mounted it on the window trim on the inside of the house with some weather stripping between the plexi and the window trim.. seems to be working fine..and only cost $48 per window, not sure if that would work with casements, we will have to remove them when the weather warms up to open the windows.. but its keeping us warm this winter!

[Don M]

We had similar plexiglass windows on our aluminum sliding casements in our first house. A lumber yard sold the parts called "Insiders" & included plastic strips with adhesive backs that snapped open to allow easy installation & removal of the plexiglass sheet. It also had a snap on strip with a rubber seal that allowed the base to seal to the sill & provided rigidity to the base of the sheet. They worked quite well & I covered some large windows in that manner. They were a little cumbersome to install but once in they were quite nice. I haven't seen them in years (this was 1979-80). Don

[rodpaine]

Now, that I remember, one of the contractors I talked to in the past told me that if I want those "climate seal" storms installed in my windows it will cost me 630$ a window (double casement), which is ok if I only had to do one window but kind out of the question for the numbers I am looking at.

I can't relate to that cost because I have no idea as to what size windows you are talking about. I just dug out my original invoice from July 2002 for the windows I show installed here, which measured 35x64 inches and they cost $224.40 each, plus shipping and about $10 in material I used for the new window stops configuration. The cost you were quoted is absurd, or you have huge windows compared to mine, or a greedy contractor... perhaps both.

After this past bad winter with its 82-inches of snow, very cold temps and strong north winds, these thermal windows have again proven their worth, as they have for the past 8 years.
FWIW,
-Rod

[Vaso7]

The 630$ quote was for twin casements windows. That's 2 storms 22x48 each. I am having the contractor that "climate seal" recommended giving me a quote next week to compare.

[rodpaine]

It'll be interesting to see a breakdown of your quote, so that I can tell other people who are interested, what the cost range appears to be for various sizes of these windows. I get quite a bit of Email about my installation, but very little follow-up from anyone who has also installed them.
-Rod

[Vaso7]

I will let you know as soon as I hear. The previous quote I got did not clarify how much of the money was for material and how much for installations. This time though I am asking the contractor to make that clear so I know what I am paying for.

As I calculated briefly it will cost me about 250 to make them myself. It is about 100$ each for the polycarbonate (UV treated) and then some money to buy material for the frame. I found a carpenter that done it before and he is asking me about 100$ to build a set of frames and show me how to do it myself. I think it is reasonable. So 350$ for the first pair and then 250$ for the rest assuming the plan will work.