On Jun 17, 3:10 pm, franz fripplfrappl wrote:
On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:21:32 -0700, Joe wrote:
I have a 50 year old house and 50 year old windows. This winter I
noticed that the original glazing had been chipping off and the only
thing holding some of the panes in place was paint so I resolved to
reglaze the windows this spring (no summer). Should I just replace them?
They are pretty air-tight and I did not feel much of a breeze coming
through them except for the coldest and windiest days of the winter and
a lot of that I attribute to the old glazing. Each window has a storm
window but the inside window does feel very cold to the touch in the
winter so I'm not sure how much they help. I'm trying to weight the cost
of replacing the windows with the savings that I will realize for
replacing as opposed to the savings I will get from reglazing.

Here's a picture of the window

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4526/windowtl5.jpg

What would you do in this situation?

I'd look at the cost for replacements. Newer windows will be more energy
efficient. Not sure, but you may qualify for a tax credit on some Energy
Star purchases. At least this was the case for 2007. Not sure about
2008.

You mentioned a draft on a windy day. If the wind is coming in, heat is
going out. You could recover the cost of the windows in just a few years.

I found a kit several years ago consisting of two side tracks and two
sashes. I could rip out the old window sash and stops, and install the
kit easily within 20-30 minutes a window. What a difference it made.

Newer windows are also double paned and some even have low-e glass.

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=================================================
Franz Fripplfrappl

I'm also concerned about the heat in the house pushing up against the
freezing cold window and decreasing in temp. I've been putting this
off because I also need to do something about the 60 year old
insulation in my walls that seems to be quite lacking. I'd hate to
replace the windows only to start another project of insulating the
walls. Seems to me that both should be done at the same time. I'm just
not sure which way I should go on wall insulation. Some contractors
tell me that blow in is a waste and that I should rip out the inside
walls and put in traditional fiberglass, others tell me that I
shouldn't bother with the wall insulation and just reinsulate the
attic so it's very confusing on what I should be focusing on.
Everything I read tells me that most of the heat is lost through the
attic and windows but I can't get over how cold some of the walls are
in my house in the winter.