Old Fashioned Storm Windows

[Dan Racette]

I was wondering if anyone still makes their own good old fashioned hang on the outside storm windows. You know, painted wood, Double strength glass, metal hangers, little brass numbers inlayed on the bottom.

Any resources out their for cool patterns?

How about interior windows? the ones with Brass Stays? (is it a stay?)


Dan

[Josiah Bartlett]

That's my fall project this year. I have collected the hardware and I'm getting ready to mill the frame and glaze them. I have the little hook and strap type top hangers and I'll use casement sash locks to latch the bottom.

The 1899 vintage double hungs I have upstairs are needing attention and having storm windows in place lets me pull the sashes out to restore them at my leisure. I'm not following any particular pattern, I'm making a variation on one of the original wood-framed screens I have. The windows are tall and narrow, 1 over 1, so I'm just going to do a rectangular frame with a center bar. I've been trying to decide how to glaze them. I have a molding head similar to one of the sashes I have, so I'll just use that and set the glass with glazier's points and putty.

The difficult part is getting to the exterior of the second floor dormers. I have a 12/12 pitch roof. I'm going to make cardboard templates for the frame so I don't have to keep scaling the roof to hang them. I'm going to try to figure out how to get them installed from inside the house.

[Warren Clemans]

What kind of glass are you going to use? I assume you can't use normal window glass--too heavy and too fragile? Or maybe you can...no idea.

[Josiah Bartlett]

Normal plate glass is what I'm using. Sure, it will be heavy, but I rarely open those windows anyway. Glass is quite strong as long as you don't subject it to unusual loads. There isn't much strength or load difference between a window sash and a storm window. If you use glazing compound all the way around the glass adds a lot of torsional rigidity to the storm frame. Its also flexible enough to allow the frame to expand and contract with seasonal variations that it doesn't crack the glass.

Besides, window glass is really cheap.