Windows for addition to historic home

17 years ago

I posted this in Windows - hoping to get more feedback here.

We are in the planning process for an addition to our 200yo home and are feeling a little overwhelmed with the simulated-divided-light window decision. We love the fact that the main house has all the original windows with the wavy glass and super skinny muntins (and sticky sashes, lol) and want the windows in the addition to look old, at least until you're right up next to them.

So far we have looked at Andersen Woodwright, Pella Architect, Jeld-Wen Pozzi and Marvin Infinity (or maybe Ultimate?) at local lumberyards. The Anderson looked the "cheapest" of the bunch, the Pella looked better but the muntins look kind of clunky, the Marvin was beautiful but very stiff to operate and too much $$$. Truthfully, I thought the Jeld-Wen looked as nice as the Marvin. IMO it captured the historic look the best, but I know Jeld-Wen doesn't have the same reputation for quality as the other three. Really comparing them is hard because we haven't found a place that has more than two of the choices side-by-side and nobody seems to have the Marvin Integrity at all.

Can anyone who has experience with Pozzi and some of our other choices comment on how the Pozzi holds up over time? Are there any other manufacturers we should be considering?

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Comments (7)

kec01
17 years ago
Earlier this year, when we unmuddled the 1980's addition to our 1917 bungalow, we went with Marvin Ultimate Double Hung (solid pine) in 6 over 1. We also chose the combo screen/storm. These perfectly match the other original windows and storms on our house. We've been thrilled with Marvin so far. They aren't stiff to operate, They are a breeze to open for cleaning (not that I clean them too often!). When we were shopping, every dealer and contractor we spoke with said Marvin is the best. We can already tell now that the weather is changing, that the room with the Marvin windows is the warmest in the house - these windows have great R and U values. Yes, Marvin is a bit more expensive but I'm a firm believer in there being a price to quality. We are sooooo glad we went with these windows!
User
17 years ago
We used Monarch and they match exactly too. We have 2 over 2. Noone knows we had to replace several and added 2 next to an original.
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We're in the Delaware Valley. From reading in this forum, I thought the Integrity was something we should look at. We just need to find a place to look at one. I kind of think the lack of internal spacers will spoil the look for us - when I commented to one window salesman that I couldn't put my finger on what about the Jeld-Wen made it look so good, he suggested maybe it was the fact that the spacer was a little darker than the Andersen. I do like the idea of a fiberglass exterior though. Our neighbor's fiberglass shutters look as good as our cedar ones - better actually because ours really need painting. :-)
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@overhear Before the last two summers' restoration work, many of the sashes were painted shut, and a lot of the aluminum storms didn't open more than 20 cm (8"), so we have a lot more air movement in the house now. Most of the summer, we're able to keep the house cool by closing everything up during the day, and then opening windows and putting window fans in the bedrooms at night. Considering that the house has no insulation in the walls, this is no small feat! I was initially concerned about whether enough breeze would get in because of the way the casements open, but it wasn't an issue last summer. As for maintenance - the house is covered in original, 140-year-old wood trim, including a lot of "gingerbread" that I've been stripping and restoring over the last two years. The old growth wood is in amazing condition, (other than a few areas with rot that I repaired with Rhino wood repair - an amazing product!) In general, new growth wood doesn't last nearly as long, but when primed and painted, new wood windows will last longer than vinyl replacement windows, which are rarely guaranteed for more than 10 years. Mine are made of accoya, which is a specially treated wood product that is supposed to last up to 50 years! I'm estimating that touch-ups to paint will be necessary every 5 years or so, but the trick is to keep up with touch-ups so that a major repainting isn't necessary. Putty should be replaced every 20 years (mine have gone too long!) but my storms have wood stops so they won't need to be redone. This website has a lot of good information about wood windows: https://www.oldhouseguy.com/windows/
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Miss EFF
17 years ago
And we have used Adams Architectural. They are strictly a custom company -- solid wood -- no finger-jointing. They are spec'd by many historic architects for restoration work all over the country.

we love them!

Cathy
mightyanvil
17 years ago
Pozzi is Jeld-Wen's best window and a very good one but I am surprised that it is available under that name and that it is much cheaper than Marvin's Ultimate DH. Marvin offers a narrower muntin bar which looks more historic.

Jeld-Wen used to make Pozzi, Norco and Caradco but now calls them Jeld-Wen Custom, Siteline and Tradition Plus.

I have used Norco/Siteline but not Pozzi/Custom. The waterproofing detailing seems better than Marvin's and the installation instructions attached to the glass of every window are far better than those of any other manufacturer (including DuPont) IMHO. It's nice to be able to tell the contractor to follow the manufactruer's instructions and dare him to say he can't find them.

None of these windows has a thick enough sill to be considered historic and of course all nail-fin trimless windows don't have a sill that extends under the casing trim. They also have a sealant joint between the casing trim and the frame. Let's face it, a modern clad window only has a superficial resemblance to an old style window.

Personally, I would use a wood framed window with factory attached casing trim and a continuous thick projecting sill but put an aluminum clad sash in it. Marvin and Eagle offer that option, perhaps others do as well. Painting a small amount of frame and sill is a small price to pay for a beautiful old-style window IMHO. This option costs about $50 for an Eagle and it saves the cost of installing trim in the field. Eagle is now owned by Andersen and the cost is more than the Andersen Woodwright but less than the Marvin Ultimate DH. I've used both many times with great success.

Here is an Eagle wood frame with a clad sash while the trim is getting painted.
Vivian Kaufman
17 years ago
We have 2 over 2 windows as well. When we did our addition, we went with Kolbe & Kolbe custom, aluminum clad, true divided light. They are EXTREMELY close.

In the picture, the top window is a replacement, and the bottom window (no longer there) is one of the old ones. They were an excellent match.
jejvtr
17 years ago
We matched our 75yo 6/1 simulated divided light windows - w/Marvins - single pane W/energy panel -
Very pleased w/results - I don't think most people would know they are not orig - from outside view.

Glad you are taking your time with trying to match your windows - I see big mistakes here w/remodeling

once we decided on Marvin took extra time really examining the options of divided lights and what they offered -
USE CAUTION this I found quite enlightening and critical - some of the offerings that actual individual divided panes start to get squatty or horizontal looking - That is not historic - as most windows/panes are on the vertical plane

good luck

Here is a link that might be useful: double hung specs
maddiemom6
17 years ago
Alas our budget did not extend to matching our downstairs windows which are wood and very wonderful even if a bit balky at times. Up stairs since we could not get a match for less than totally custom ( $2000 each x 10 windows!) we went with some Jweld that have been very nice and should we ever get back into some $$ we can replace them with feeling that we wasted tons of money in the process.

Maddie

Windows for addition to historic home

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kec01

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