Drapes are cheaper in the short-term. And won't destroy the character the way replacement windows do. I completed restoring and weatherstripping all my old wood windows (1907) on my house this summer. It was really worth it. Even with the thermostat at 64, the house isn't drafty anymore. I get Ice only on the storms, BTW. Your storms probably need work if they are letting that much cold in. My lowest overnight temps this winter have only been around 12*, so we'll see if it gets any colder. The material to weatherstrip a window runs about $5.00., but it will take a day of work to strip all the paint and if you want to remove all the glass and strip and prime and paint and re-glaze the sash, you're talking a week to do two windows in your spare time. That's my story. Casey

Ramona, I completely agree with your desire to keep your old windows. That is by far the best, and often the most economical thing to do. Keeping your triple tracks for a fews years will help you identify the best solution. They are ugly but modestly effective as storms. And as the pp pointed out they can be painted to blend them in more. Many old houses had them installed in the last quarter of the 20th c as an energy saving tactic. Whether they actually do much is a debatable question, but they did, at least provide some life-prolonging protection for the primary sashes, and a platform for an all-season screen. (The latter is not to taken lightly. I often open my windows on warm winter days just to change the air. Without screens my indoor cats would escape, so it's handy having screens easily at hand just for that. I am in the process of rehabbing my windows, once I have got the wooden storms set-up, if I need to open a window in winter, I plan to use those small expandable screens to contain my critters.) The old-fashioned thing to do about storm windows is have wooden ones made and have wooden screen windows made, as well, to change out for the summer. Newer wood ones can found that allow you to pop out one section of the storm and exchange it for a screen panel during the summer. However, of course, in both these instances you would still have a wooden frame on the outside of your primary window. The invisible storm windows are often permanently mounted in exterior applications, though removable when installed inside. They are pricey, though, and as you note don't manage the screen issue. And the interior ones leave your primary windows exposed to the elements. You didn't say where you are located, but you may need to evaluate which need is more critical (tight storms or more flexible storm and screen arrangements) depending on your climate. Another good tactic to deal with the cost of wooden storms and screens is to do one elevation at a time to spread the cost, a bit. Sometimes one can find a local carpenter with experince to make wooden storms, and more importantly, fit them on site. Old houses are quite maddening, and few old houses still have perfectly square window openings (if they ever did), so whatever you do will require some skill to install. Use of triple tracks (particularly existing ones) as a transitional strategy when the long range plan is rehabbing the original windows and adding wooden storms/screens is certainly better, in my view than succumbing to the blandishments of the replacement window sales guy who will leave you without an essential feature of your house, with dubious energy savings and probably far-less long-lived materials, if not substantially altered window openings. They are, however, extremely annoying to clean. I curse those beastly tracks three times a year and they, in turn, get revenge by slicing my fingers. HTH, Molly~

The best advice I can give is to get yourself a copy of the book "Working Windows" by Terance Meany. It's the bible for all things relating to old windows. You aren't clear about how/where you're proposing using caulk. Could you explain further?

The provia storms are very good. Price is fine, maybe a hair high if it does not include wrapping, but its a great price if it does. I agree overall with the advice provided so far on replacements vs storms, it really depends on the individual circumstances. It can be hard to justify spending that much without getting he other added benefits of replacements ( ease of cleaning, lower maintenance , potentially enhanced property value, better energy efficiency, etc), however if your existing windows can be reconditioned to the point of operating smoothly and looking good, adding the storm to that can definitely get you pretty close in those areas but with cost savings and maintaining the original integrity of the home. As wow alluded to, you could certainly take those dollars that you save and put them to air sealing , insulation , etc in other areas of he home and increase your energy savings exponentially.