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What to with Windows? Mix of Original and Old Vinyl Replacements - 1905 Shingle
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Apologies if this has been addressed elsewhere, but I could really use some help figuring out what to do with my home's windows and had trouble finding anything relevant in my searches. Details are below, but the bottom line all of our windows need to be addressed in some way, and I'm not sure what the best approach is given that about 2/3 are original and 1/3 are very cheap old vinyl replacements. Any and all input would be welcome.

The home is a 1905 Shingle with architectural elements that make the design tough to categorize. Kind of a blend of Free Classic Queen Anne, Dutch Colonial Revival and American Craftsman. There are 34 windows, 21 of which are original, as far as I can tell, and 13 of which are very cheap vinyl replacements of what appears to be postwar/50s vintage.

The glass in the originals appears to be fine across the board. However, the sash and casements are all in poor shape in various ways: rot, breakage, distention, missing chains, missing weights, misalignment, missing and broken sash locks. It genuinely appears they have not received structural maintenance of any kind since the home was built. Most of the vinyls are broken in some way or another, and the ones that work are just bad and ugly. All of them have aluminum exterior storm windows that are mostly broken or missing.

My wife wants to replace everything with new windows. I'm well aware that original windows should always be restored rather than replaced if at all possible, and I strongly prefer that. However, I'm not sure if the fact that we already have a bunch of replacements means that principle is already compromised anyway, and wonder if the best thing would be to bite the bullet and replace everything, in which case at least their appearance would be uniform. It'd be ideal, I think, to restore the original windows and replace the vinyls with new ones that look as much as possible like the originals, but I'm not sure how feasible that is.

Further complicating matters, we're still working on the exterior of the home, and I'm not certain that white or cream/off-white sashes and frames (which we'd probably need to commit to with vinyl replacements) would be the best color. Right now, there isn't really a coherent color scheme. For the moment, though, it's a yellowish-brown brick structure with a good bit of patina (that we don't want to paint over) with dark gray shingles from the 2nd floor up and a new dark gray asphalt shingle roof that is barely visible from surface level. The foundation is what appears to be limestone, medium-gray. We have various shades of white/cream trim (final shade TBD but it'll be regularized once exterior work is done) and a dark cranberry red accent color we do know we want to stick with.

I can post some images if helpful, but would rather not post pics of my house on the internet for the time being, if it can be avoided. Sorry for the length and thanks to anyone who can chime in.

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7 months ago