We considered replacing the older windows at the Halsey House in 2023, but the costs were prohibitive. We also had concerns about modernizing a house that is on the National Historic Registry, since we are trying to preserve the heritage.

We opted to keep the windows and possibly replace some of the non-front facing ones in the future. We would instead reglaze the windows and repair the storm windows (all 18 of them!).

We asked our house painters to remove the storm windows, and then took inventory and start an assembly line process to fix every window. The painters declined to remove the shutter hardware that was blocking the removal, so many of the windows were further damaged with their removal, and a few glass panes didn’t survive.

Thanks to online suppliers we found a supplier of the storm window springs and knobs, and proceeded to clean, repair, rescreen, prime, paint, and eventually install the windows. The last two windows had completely rotten sashes, so they had to be rebuilt.

The hardest work was the installation of the storm windows back to the second story. We first had to remove some of the shutter hardware, and most required drilling out the century-old screws. Hauling the repaired windows up was a challenging two-ladder and two-person task, a bit scary at times but cheaper than scaffolding.

It took about eight weekends, and we are delighted to have been able to balance history and being able to reduce the cold drafts. The overall project is only one-half done since this winter we need to disassemble the interior windows and reglaze them.