Pocket replacement would reduce the interior glass measurement, but would appear larger given the triple track storm on the exterior. Actually, from just slightly off of center, there is a MUCH bigger difference in aggregate viewable area.

I have tried exterior full frame replacements and the reality that that they rarely work. The trim is nailed into the jamb of the window in a myriad of different places and it never turns out right and is darn near impossible to set the reveals right to the trim.

I realize that those folks that like to sell full tear outs have done a good job of conditioning this idea that you are going to lose all this visible glass area, but the truth of the matter is much less dramatic.

The edge of frame to edge of interior glass edge on that window is likely about 2". If you go with one of the narrower replacements out there or one of the fiberglass products, you can keep that at about 2.5" (or close to). The newer window, even with the 1" less in aggregate glass, will appear worlds bigger and actually will provide far great range of view without the storm window.

You are only looking at the glass area of the inside primary window and are not taking into account the massive amount of viewable encroachment the storm produces. Stand in front of the window is look just off of center and tell me what the actual observed view is.

I would love to tell you that the "exterior full tear out" option works...but you are setting yourself up for failure. I serious suggest that you look at a standard pocket set or if not that route, get some insulated exterior storms.

Hmm, you know you bring up a great point, the exterior storm window does take up a lot of the visible view which I guess 1) I never noticed and 2) would not be solved by a nicer looking replacement

Windows on Washington Ltd, for the OP and for general information, where do you find good insulated exterior storm windows?

@HALLETT & Co. while we did explore that option, we simply have too many windows. There arent many in our area who work on old windows anymore and when we mention how many we have, they all say it would take them several months to a year to finish since its part time. And then to think that they require repainting every 5-10 years for proper maintenance would eat up any cost savings

Trust me about the storm. It is a massive encroachment on the viewable area and often missed in that "interior glass" discussion.

QuantaPanel storm windows is who we have used before.

Unless the home is in a historical area or better than 100 years, the restoration argument gets a bit weaker.

IMO if keeping the amount of glass forget the grids or at best only on the top and there is no way to make those windows energy efficient ever . Storm windows leak air like crazy are a real hassle to store and remove and rehang all the time. New windows will be energy efficient and replacement ones are the most budget friendly, they come in lots of styles and yes you do lose a bit of glass but honestly after the first day it will not really matter the energy savings will be worth that bit of glass for sure .

I hope you keep just the grids on top. I really like the look.

My home is over 90 years old and we just had replacement windows put in the 3 remaining original windows that are in the bedrooms. Not only were the replacement windows less costly, there was really no reason to replace our interior trims because they are still in good shape. My old windows looked very similar to yours. I don't notice any limited views from these windows, as they are so clean and beautiful and function perfectly. I also just have divided on the top and no division on the bottom. I think it's more updated than the grids both top and bottom. Just my opinion...

We are thinking about doing the lites in the top and bottom simply because the rest of the windows wont be changing and I think it will look a bit more uniform

I guess it sounds like people are saying it is NOT worth it to do a full frame replacement? We are open to it as far as cost goes but I think the most important thing would be retaining the original internal trim

If you really want to retain the trim in an undisturbed format, the only guarantee is a sash pack or insert. If you want to torture you installers, ask for a sash pack. If you want the windows to be sealed and work well for decades, do an insert.

I looked at your picture showing the interior trim. The configuration is straightforward. I don't feel it would be too difficult to have that replaced by a shop with a molding maker if standard profiles don't match. Williams & Hussey is one machine I've used. Here.

I agree about keeping the grids uniform on the front of the house. The windows I replaced are on the sides of my house, so I was comfortable with only doing the grids on the top.

Hey, Malcom,

That's a good question. You can do full frame replacements from the exterior of your house. You can get a little glimpse at what that looks like in this post we wrote a few months ago: Do You Install Replacement Windows From Inside or Outside?

Companies have different preferences for installation methods. Here in Texas, most companies that do full frame window replacements like us will do the installation from the outside of the house.

-Ariana