My wife and I live in a 1908 Queen Anne Victorian. It has approximately 40 or so windows. The vast majority are in very good shape and all are original (believe it or not) and they are also mostly 1 over 1s with a handful of 9/12 over 1s. I've read in magazines, and even on forums, that one can expect to pay around $300 per window to restore a typical 1 over 1 but I am having zero luck finding anything near that price.

I've gotten quotes from $600 to $1200 per window. Perhaps I simply misunderstand what people mean by a window, as ridiculous as that sounds. For instance, the contractor who quoted me $600 had originally said he thought my 1 over 1s would be around $300 each to restore. When I received his bid his prices worked out to essentially be charged per PANE. Maybe I am an idiot, but when I say window, I mean the the whole contraption in the frame, not, for instance, one pane of glass and its frame. However, this could be construed as each "window" costing around $300 since there are two literal windows in a double hung I suppose.

Anyway, my main concerns are this issue of definition above and then finding a reputable, trustworthy, and reasonably priced restoration professional in my area. I live in Trenton, NJ. How many windows and how quickly I move through doing them will be dependant largely on the price quoted. So if I was able to get a good price I would gladly give someone the entire job, but I don't know if my wife and I can afford to spend $25K minimum on on these windows right now.... so the prices we are being quoted definitely means we would have to move slowly (something I do NOT want to do if I can afford it since I have twins on the way and I would like to have any potential lead paint/hazard removed from these windows if at all possible).

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Any information would be helpful. Leads to window restorers, helping me figure out if my pricing expectations are correct, etc.

Thanks for any help,
Aaron

What is wrong with the windows right now?

As for condition: every window is structurally sound, which is to say the frames have essentially no rot to speak of. Of the 80+ panes of glass, perhaps five are broken, although I would expect replacement to be a separate price and, in fact, was not included in the above numbers. In general, all of the bottom windows open and move; some with ease and some jerky jerky. Most of the top windows have been painted shut. And yes, I have checked and these should all be double hung as there are two sets of weights in each of the pockets on the right and left. All the weights are present and the larger frames into which the actual windows are set is also in good to very good condition save for years of being repeatedly painted.

This is what has frustrated me so much. The contractor who quoted me $600 per window was simply stunned at the condition of these windows; he had hardly seen so many windows this old (104 years) in this good of condition. I asked him what it would cost to "completely" restore them. His answer: about $300 per window. When the written estimate was given to me, it was $600 or more per window ($600 was for most but not all of the windows, others were higher and any glass cost more still). Perhaps I should have been more specific, but I wanted a worst case scenario of cost to get a feel for what I would expect to pay and his initial number was in line with what I have read.... Perhaps I have been reading the wrong stuff, but I simply don't get how his initial feel could be 100% off. I feel as though he thinks I've got sucker written on my forehead.

Old growth wood is much harder than the newer stuff that is out there. More often times, we see windows that are in better shape that are 100 years old than windows that are 20 years old.

Do you have an existing storm window?

Re-glazing the window is pretty simple and you can handle that section of the work in all likelihood.

Have you considered interior storms? They will be more air tight than a retrofitted wood.

Restoration of wood windows is a bit of a niche industry and the number of guys doing, and doing it well is getting smaller and smaller by the day.

I have considered adding internal storms as well as replacing/upgrading the exterior storms with something like MonRay storms. This would definitely buy time, which would help. Unfortunately, it doesn't cure a few problems: there would still be lead paint on these windows, the tops don't open, etc. Also, it seemed silly to me to paint them again if the idea is to strip them. Otoh, I suppose one more layer won't make much difference. Lord knows how many layers are already on these windows! In any case, my long-term plan is to both restore these windows in addition to adding storms; in the areas of the house that are particularly cold I've even considered using exterior and interior storms simultaneously one day, when budget allows. Still, I take your point about using multiple panes and from what I have read this is a very good idea.

Btw, thanks for the reminder about "sashes" as opposed to "panes.". I think I've done enough reading to educate myself fairly well, but I am constantly forgetting the right nomenclature.

The old growth wood issue is something I have heard from others and it is one of the reasons why I won't allow my current general contractor to replace my windows even though he swears "modern" windows will be better. It seems to me that a high-quality storm and a restored antique window such as the ones I have should perform at least as well as most contemporary windows and for about the same, and even possibly less, money than a replacement window.

I honestly didn't realize that window restoration was becoming a niche. I sort of figure, perhaps naively, that it was something on the rebound, what with the greater emphasis on the environment (eg-keeping historic windows out of landfills while still saving energy) and a growing homeowner awareness in things like maintaining historical integrity, etc. Then again, I am an historian, so I suppose my perception might be skewed.

BTW, what interior, or exterior, storms would you recommend I look into? I am completely open to suggestions.

Thanks, Aaron

also, contact Jade at Heartwood Window Restoration. She is very knowledgable as to restorers in the northeast and may have other local recomendations.
http://www.heartwoodrestoration.com/