Can you have wood-frame storms made? That's what's used on houses around here. They're just whole window-sized panes of glass with two "eyes" at the top, and two hooks at the bottom. They hook onto two hooks at the top of the window frame, and the hooks on the bottom of the storm hold them snugly in place.

They don't detract at all from the original wavy glass (we still have some wavy glass and I hope it lasts a while).

Historic houses serve the whole community, not just their present stewards. A common rule of thumb is to try to preserve (or restore) whatever is visible from the street. Often, an old house's windows are its loveliest features. Like its eyes.

Sometimes, it's really necessary to make modifications, for a house to continue to exist. Many gems get demolished because they were considered impractical by the present owner, who could get more what they wanted by knocking it down and starting from scratch.

More commonly, people rush to make changes that reduce the beauty of their houses, in the name of practicality. It's often more a loss to the community than to the homeowner. Often, such homeowners would be happier with a newer house.

A rule of thumb is "try to only do things that are reversible." Not always possible, but it's what I'm personally comfortable with.

I like wood-frame storms. They aren't cheap, but then, old houses aren't cheap, if you care about historic preservation. They actually help preserve the old windows. One of these days, when serendipity strikes, I'd like to replace my ugly aluminum storms with wood ones.

--Jonathan

I grew up in a home with a "sun porch". It was a beautiful room with stained glass windows forming a ribbon of colors over all the windows. I wish I had a picture to show you the disaster my father left in the name of making the room more functional and warmer. That picture alone would answer your question. He also removed the leaded glass windows from the kitchen and put those horrible things you can "leave open in the rain". You may not appreciate how much charm your windows add until they are no longer there.

Another vote here for wooden storms. We are starting to replace our metal triple tracks with wooden ones as we restore our windows. You could also look into interior storms which are removeable.

I agree. You will lose a lot of your houses charm if you replace the windows. Besides proper new windows wont be cheap. And they will always look "new". I vote for the wood storms. Originally your porch probably had them. And you need to insulate the walls and the ceiling and the floor.

Another idea besides the storms is to change the material on the floor. I'm not sure what you have currently but since it's CA I'm guessing concrete of some type. Adding a heat holding type of tile could help keep the room warmer,for that matter you could even put in a system that heats from under the tile to help warm the room. That way you won't really change the over all look of the room but you will improve function.
Another trick is to paint the room a warm color. Mentally trick the mind into believing the room is warmer.

Is there any evidence that storm windows were ever installed on your sun porch? It could be that the room was only intended to be used when the outside temps rose above 60 degrees.

You could also look into interior storms, radiant floor heating with a small, dedicated boiler; wood or pellet stoves. The idea of insulated curtains that are drawn at night would also be a good, energy-improving solution. If you visit drafty English manor houses, they often have curtains over the doors (in addition to windows). And drawing the curtains is a nice end-of-the-day-routine to have. You can also equip them with modern computer- controlled mechanicals that will do this on their own.

Unless you have the money to have custom-made double paned sash and perfectly matching the wooden muntin and frame (and this would cost you a fortune to do), your house will look better, and keep it's resale value better, with the original windows. If you do take them out, please, save them intact in good storage so someone else can put them back in.

Oh come on, I can't be the only one thinking -- SF bay area -- how about a wind breaker or a sweater. Sorry, the cold makes me a smarty pants.

With big old windows in our house, we use heavy curtains at night to keep the cold contained. Weather stripping or restoration of the windows may help. Also, you may be able to replace the small radiator with a larger one depending upon the heating system.

Thank you everyone. I hadn't thought of storm windows and will defintely look into it for the sunroom and also the sleeping porch. I absolutely don't want to give up my original window glass. The plumber looking at the radiators also suggested either radiant heat for the floor or a bigger radiator. I know my complaining of cold rooms when I live in California shows a total lack of comprehension for what cold really is. But it seems cold to us. My other realization is that this room wasn't meant to be used in the winter and I should just accept it. It was origianlly a porch that was later enclosed, so no insulation and the windows do not fit very well so lots of drafts.

Leni

During the day the sun heats my sunroom and if I open the doors that warm air flows into the living room. So in spring and fall the doors are opened on warm days and closed at night. In winter, the room is closed off and I add thick weatherstripping to the two sets of french doors which access that room.

I don't blame you a bit for feeling chilly. SF has a clammy sort of cold that is way miserable. I do think your insight about the sunroom (enclosed porch) never being meant for year-round use is very relevant. If you choose to warm it up you could use wood storm windows that fit inside and come off in good weather along with a supplemental heat source (they make radiant in electric too, just for small areas like this). But I beg you to rethink the use of this room. I would give my eyeteeth for one like it. It provides a perfect spot for things like orchids and lemon trees,and all the other true conservatory plants that refuse to live indoors because of the winter heating, yet can't take the cold. It would make a stunning conservatory as is.

I love the conservatory idea and also weatherstripping the doors in winter! Thank you to everyone on this forum for all the help.

Leni

We're in Texas in an historic home (but I grew up in So Cal, lived in CT and IN, so know cold and also heat).

We have had the same problem, but throughout our house. We initially intended to replace all the windows with double pane. Cost make us quickly reconsider, but then seeing these, we realised how inappropriate they would be in our house (c. 1890s). They don't *look* right, and really, they're not necessary, esp. in this climate. It gets chilly, and we even had snow on Christmas and this weekend last year, but it's a rare thing. Sealing the windows with weather stripping, insulating the walls and central heat will help.

Our 'enclosed porch' is actually both bathrooms...

Love my old drafty house in a cold & hot climate.

Some thoughts.
Walls can be insulated, cracks can be sealed. In our home, major insulation in the attic coupled with top-efficiency furnace made a shocking difference in our fuel bills -- a difference you can feel hanging out in the living room as well! Our house has a little foyer before the living room and an original curtain rod for the portiere/curtain. A heavy curtain makes a difference since the front door and side windows leak cold air. Pulling the curtain closed helps when folks are coming in and out. (And it's great for the little one putting on plays from their "stage.") Placing seating out of draft's way and knitting up afghans to throw everywhere warms everyone up. Same in the bedrooms: Moving a bed from an outside windowed wall to an inside wall make for warmer nights. Curtains cut draft, furniture can be kept from blocking heat vents. Bookcases on outside walls, reading chairs on inside walls, and if all else fails, one lap cat per family member. (We've tried dogs but they're too boney and tend to drag us right back out into that weather we're trying to avoid.)

I've noticed over time that sometimes little things make a difference in comfort in our old house.

Keep the wavy glass. Please! Wish I could take it off your hands to replace a couple accidents of time in my home.