Those of us attracted to this forum have an appreciation for original window sashes and such. The problem is that most in the marketplace do not. We have all seen it, around here beautiful, 19th century houses are routinely razed and replaced by McMansions. A big part of the problem is lead paint and where do we always find lead paint- on the sashes. For those few who actually restore original windows (such as me) where do you get the storm windows? They're gonna have to be custom made right? I searched and searched and finally found The Burch Company in Baltimore, still in business only barely. Another grievance of mine is the slate roofs. I live in an area with beautiful, black slate roofs on all the buildings build before 1920, even sheds and barns. New people who move in don't recognize slate and pull it off and put on the cheap stuff, it happens every day. These actions are governed by the marketplace, so many times the work goes to the low bidder.

Having actually researched this I can say that the best windows are quadruple glazed windows. However Triple glazed is excellent too. Just ensure that you buy from a manufacturer that uses a gas fill. I got some from Klearwall and they used Argon gas which has great insulation properties. To ensure that your triple glazed windows are good quality I would suggest you look out for a Passive House certified product

With your glass being so large, you've got "double strength" insulated glass units (IGU). When one of the pieces breaks, not only has that glass been destroyed, but the sealed airspace has been destroyed as well. The whole unit usually is replaced in such cases. Is it possible to reseal the glass in the same frames? The answer is possibly "yes" from a technical standpoint, but 'no' from a practical one. The time and cost involved to retrofit such units would be much more expensive than buying new ones. I don't think any glass replacement companies would take the risk of trying to do this. No matter how you look at it your going to have a hefty price tag on replacing this glass. It's well worth the extra couple bucks to get a new IGU with LOE/Arg. The heat you see daily in Florida can be very extreme. By not having the protection of LOE film & some type of inert gas such as Argon or Krypton, you'll spend more money trying to cool the heat that will bypass clear glass. LOE or Low Emissivity coating blocks heat loss through normal clear window glass. It substantially increases thermal window performance while maintaining the appearance of uncoated glass. It reduces summer heat gain, and is also known to reduce the harmful ultraviolet rays, which cause fading of interior finishes. The coating reflects 40% to 70% of the heat that is normally transmitted through glass, while allowing light to pass through. To see if you have a LOE coating on your existing glass just wait until it's dark out and grab a lighter. Hold the lighter up to the glazing unit and observe the reflections of the flame. There will be one reflection for each surface in the glazing assembly. A single pane of glass will have two reflected flames and a simple two layer insulated glass will have four reflections etc... Any surface with a low-e coating should reflect back an image of greater intensity and a slightly different color than the rest. Noting which reflection has shifted in color will tell you which surface is coated. Try the same experiment from the opposite side of the glazing. This should confirm your identification of the low-e surface. These reflection effects are the result of the fact that low-e coatings are somewhat more reflective than glass alone across the spectrum and so will appear to reflect back an image brighter than the other surfaces, and because they selectively reflect greater amounts of longer wavelengths and so they reflect back more red. This second effect is more noticeable in some coatings than others. Hope you understand this and it helps you out in some way. Good Luck!!!

There have always been good and bad design, builders and materials. I see it being built everyday with the garage as the front door. The main house of my project is fairly well built - to the standards of the day (balloon framing - bricks on their side for the footing etc) - the garage and studio above was not. there are many great homes and buildings that have deferred maintenance often ironically because they were a cut above - lots of trim and detail. Went to Pittsburgh and Philly a couple weeks ago - many unremarkable homes (unpretentious) in wonderfully vibrant communities. Our friend's home - pictured - was a row house - they shared a lawnmower, ladder etc. If it was the sabbath they turned on the stove for the neighbors - if they locked themselves out of the house they would borrow their key from the neighbors. No McMansions, just people that care. These people are wealthy beyond measure. Single pane glass.