Why I stopped believing that "you have to replace old windows" advice

I was at a home improvement workshop in Portland last spring and this energy auditor guy kept saying old wood windows are basically garbage and you should just swap them for vinyl. I get that single pane windows aren't great for heating bills, but I restored three of my 1950s wooden sash windows last summer for about $40 total, using new glazing points and some rope caulk. The guy I bought my house from put cheap vinyl replacements in the back bedroom and they already have condensation between the panes after just 7 years. My old windows slide smooth, they don't rattle, and the storm windows I added cut the draft way down. Has anyone else found that old windows can work fine if you just put in the effort to fix them up instead of trashing them?

2 comments

2 Comments

sanchez.sean15d ago

Heard a similar thing from an old contractor who said most vinyl windows are designed to fail in 10-15 years just so you buy more.

andrew_nguyen6415d ago

Idk man I used to think you just had to swap them out too, but seeing your post makes me realize I was just buying into the hype. That's a good point about the cheap vinyl failing way faster than something you actually fix up.