Historic windows are a great way to give your home your own unique style. It is impossible to preserve the historical appearance of buildings without the restoration of the windows. Without proper care, they eventually cease to perform their direct functions, the windows do not open and close well. It is often tempting to replace problematic old windows with modern designs, but don't rush. This will destroy the historical appearance of the building, the only possible option is to restore the windows or replace them with exact copies. ARGO Glass&Windows employs the best craftsmen and restorers, they are able to return the original appearance to any historical window.
Problems, which you can face, having historic windows
Over time, even the best windows lose their pleasing view and cease to protect from the cold and noise from the street. This is mostly influenced by nature, namely the so-called bad weather, such as rain, snow, hail and others. The most common problem that can be encountered is blowing around the entire perimeter of the window. It is also faulty fittings, peeling paint on the outside and inside and a shabby, worn-out view of the window frame. However, all existing issues can be solved during the restoration of your windows.
Determine if need to be restored
Of course, not every window must be restored. This is primarily a question of the condition of your windows. It should be noted that restoration of your window will cost you an order of magnitude more than installing a new one. Depending on how badly the window is damaged, make a decision about the possibility of its restoration.
- Inspect all its parts primarily to see if there is a moisture.
- Examine the window for areas of paint failure, that can identify points of water penetration.
- Find out the number of rotten components in the frame.
- Check if your window has any cracks or other defects.
How to restore your old windows by yourself
The restoration of historical windows is a job that will require various professional tools to accurately carry out all restoration work, and this is grinding, painting, replacing fittings, seals, and so on. At the same time, the new glazing must meet modern requirements for energy saving, be reliable and safe. If you want to carry out the restoration with your own hands, you should understand that this method of restoring windows is often more labor-intensive, long-term and expensive. Follow these steps to do it perfectly:
- It is best to carry out restoration work in a separate room, since after completion of the work everything around will be contaminated with construction dust. To carry out any restoration work, first you need to remove the window sashes from the hinges.
- Further, it is necessary to remove all accessories (hinges, handles) from the window sashes. Do this very carefully so as not to damage the integrity of the wood.
- It is also necessary to remove the glazing beads using a knife. When doing this, be sure to hold the glass so that it does not fall.
- Using pliers, you need to pull out the fasteners that hold the glass. Then the glass or glass unit can be removed from the frame completely.
- Now work begins on the restoration of the surface of the window frame. The construction hair dryer and trowel make it easy to remove several layers of paint at once.
- After removing the paint, it is important to remove all decayed areas of the wood, otherwise all further work on the restoration of the frame will be absolutely useless.
- As soon as the frame is cleaned of paint and damaged areas, the wood must be sanded with sandpaper, and then cleaned from the dust that has appeared.
- Next, the window frame is primed and dried. Deep gaps and irregularities in the frame can be filled with outdoor filler. Then the frame must be dried for at least a day and it will be necessary to sand again, cleaning it from dust with a dry brush.
- Window glass must also be cleaned of dirt and paint, washed and dried. It can then be reinstalled into the frame using silicone sealant. The sealant is applied exactly along the glazing line to keep the glass clean.
- After the sealant has dried, glazing beads are nailed. In the corners, the glazing beads are trimmed at 45 degrees.
- Now you can start painting the window frame. It is necessary to apply paint in at least two coats. After the paint has dried (for this it is best to wait a couple of days), you can install the window in the opening.
Useful Tips
- In the process of restoring the appearance of wood, you can additionally treat it with antiseptic agents. They will prevent the appearance of mold and mildew, as well as a fireproof impregnation.
- If the old window hardware is already out of order, you can replace it with a new one by integrating it into the old window frame. Finally, a seal can be installed on an already updated window, which will improve the heat and sound insulation properties of the window.
- It is important to understand that timely repairs are still not enough, it is necessary to preserve the architecture and authenticity. Restoring historic windows is a delicate piece of jewelry that requires a certain amount of knowledge and experience. And our company makes its contribution to this work, restoring old historical windows. Various restoration methods imply a huge number of subtleties and nuances that are characteristic of each individual case. When repairing and restoring work, the most important thing is to enlist the support of professionals!
Benefits of restoring historic windows with ARGO Glass&Windows
If you want to see how the beauty of ancient architecture is being revived, how graceful windows emerge from many layers of paint, contact ARGO Glass&Windows. Thanks to modern technologies, windows after restoration are getting better: sound and noise insulation increases, they perfectly retain heat in winter and cool in summer. Let's give historic buildings a second life together!
Historical buildings are being restored and protected to preserve cultural heritage for new generations. Many of them are still active; they have enterprises, shopping centers, offices, museums, educational, cultural and entertainment institutions, as well as citizens who have received such property by inheritance. Like any real estate, these premises require maintenance and regular repairs.
Nothing lasts forever, and even our stately buildings - architectural monuments wear out over time.
Over time, the windows installed in them, cease to perform the necessary functions - reliable protection from cold, wind and noise from the street. In order to restore all the necessary functions of the window, and at the same time to reproduce the former architectural style of the building, you need to use the restoration service from our company.
Window restoration is needed not only for architectural monuments, but with time and for all houses built before 1990. The windows installed during the construction of such houses not only ceased to protect against noise and cold, but also lost a decent appearance.
The problems of old windows are primarily in blowing through the entire perimeter of the window, in the failed fittings, peeling paint, both outside and inside, and in a battered and worn-out window frame. All these problems can be eliminated during the restoration of the window.
Restoration of wooden windows is a job that will require various professional tools to carry out all the restoration work carefully - grinding, painting, replacing fittings, gaskets, and so on.
Of course, not any window may be subject to restoration. It is necessary to examine the condition of your old window - check for the number of rotten parts in the frame, cracks and other defects. And depending on how badly the window is damaged, make decisions about the possibility of its restoration.
Our company offers the manufacture and installation of "historical windows" for the restoration and reconstruction of cultural heritage objects.
Our "historical windows" are made with all the features of the architectural style of the building and meet all the requirements and established standards. We officially received a license to carry out activities to preserve cultural heritage objects (historical and cultural monuments).
Each window is exclusive
We make "historical windows" by the individual order. Before starting our work, our specialists study in detail the object being restored, and the features of its architecture. Based on this, the manufacturing technology, the appropriate profile and materials are chosen. Then design the window and create an exclusive sketch. Only as a result of such painstaking preparatory work is it possible to recreate the window designs in their original form so that they correspond to the project of restoration work at the historical object.
The new window completely repeats the appearance of the former - the color, shape, light transmission, the type of wood, the shape and color of the fittings, and if it is, the sprites, gratings and much more.
Handmade windows
Most of the works in the production of «historical windows» masters of our company perform manually. All specialists are high-level professionals who have extensive experience in working with such objects.
Our workshops are equipped with professional machines and tools that help professionals do the job quickly and efficiently.
Materials and designs meet all requirements
As a material, we use a three-layer bar of pine and larch. Design - with one or two threads of glazing, separate with a wide window box. It consists of two parts of the valves, each of which can be installed separately.
We pay special attention to architectural locking accessories. We use various types of decorated fittings - handles, hinges, bolts, wraps, caps, which bring windows closer to the historical look.
Extensive experience with historical objects
You can view the completed orders for the restoration of windows in historic buildings in the gallery of our company. We know how to put in order even the oldest, dilapidated and unreliable construction.
Why and When to Get Historic Window Restoration
Windows are a face of your home or workplace. They are a necessary part of building’s appearance and functionality. Clean, big glass panes can make a size from outside and a space from inside bigger.
And they definitely make an interior brighter with a natural light from the sun. Yet window frames with cracked paint – a problem that seems a small one – can demonstrate your relationships with a building – people might think that you don’t care of it enough. Even if you just don’t know what to do.
A reason for cracked paint – most of the times – is moisture. Even if it’s not situated between glass panes, it can be a huge problem for both functionality and appearance of window frames. It happens like this: water from a sill eventually gets under a layer of paint. It evaporates under a film and causes a cracking because of pressure. By moisture, we mean either a condensate from inside of a building or rain and snow effect from outside.
Paint can also peel from windows because of poor sealing of frames – ones that were not caulked good enough. A sealing can break due to wearing and tearing – that can allow water to get inside a coating from inside of glass units (if there are multiple).
If windows are not maintained how they are meant to and you haven’t prevented a problem, you might get this kind of a problem. With that, you definitely need historic window restoration – not just to bring back an appearance, but to save a functionality of window frames and warn a problem from progressing.
There are few signs that you might need historic window restoration:
- you started experiencing drafts in cold times and stuffiness when it’s warm;
- bigger bill costs;
- visible problems with frame coating.
About Historic Window Restoration
To get rid of cracked paint, better get help from professionals – doing it by yourself without enough expertise can lead to mistakes. It increases work cost in such companies later.
Benefits of Historic Window Restoration
If a work is not being done in time, this can lead to several unpleasant situations. Namely, window frames losing their isolation function because of current’s problem evaluation.
Ordering Historic Window Restoration
As we mentioned above, it’s always better to get a repair job from someone with proper skills, knowledge, and tools. And if you consider replacement of a whole system – remember:
Beforehand to estimate the cost of their restoration on a turn-key basis - it will definitely be cheaper, faster and less troublesome than the installation of new windows.
Choosing a Company to Do Historic Window Restoration
To choose a good company, look at their:
- services;
- portfolio;
- user feedback;
- “About Us” text;
- price of work.
High price often means more value.
Benefits of Historic Window Restoration in Argo
Our clients choose us for a variety of reasons:
- quality of work;
- reasonable pricing;
- high expertise in glass units’ repair.
However, our main benefit is that we offer
10-year seal failure guarantee
We love to help people of Wisconsin, Illinois and North Carolina!
Argo’s Other Windows Services
Historic window restoration is not the only thing we specialize in:
- We take care of your sashes, frames, and window-sills, and repair them;
- We repair glass cracks;
- For not-repairable systems – we can install new ones!
