window PROBLEM SOLVERS FOR OLD-HOUSE RETROFITS & ADD-ONS

Good windows, well designed, can solve problems with function, proportion, letting in the light, and ventilation. Manufacturers are stepping up.

- PATRICIA POORE

Window woes get our attention: not only problems with old windows that need maintenance but also with new windows that fail too soon, featuring finger-joints that fall apart, non-historic proportions, and poor reveals. Some windows, however, actually fix design dilemmas. While new windows are often the bad actors of the remodeling industry-as when original, proportional, still-serviceable and ever-fixable wood windows are sacrificed for ill-fitting replacements with a projected life of eight to 20 years-the right new window may improve the aesthetics and solve functional issues.

SUBTLE IMPROVEMENTS 

With a long history as a barn and carriage house converted to a residence in the groovy Sixties, the building needed finesse. Minor changes to the roofline and glazing tied the design together.

AWNING & hopper

Double-hung and casement windows may be the most common types but many other systems of sash and jamb have a long precedent. An awning window hinges at the top to open outward from the bottom. These can sit high on the wall (like the square windows found flanking bungalow fireplaces) or be used as a transom. Hopper windows are a variation: these small, rectangular windows are hinged at the bottom and open inward at the top. They're familar in basements but may also be used above a door. Larger hopper windows can be used like an awning window in a protected wall (as under a porch). All of the major brands offer these and other window types.