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Wood is a better insulator for the frame itself than either vynil or aluminum. For the glass itself, you update it to something better than a single pane. Or p
by VHRanger 3y ago
Wood is a better insulator for the frame itself than either vynil or aluminum.
For the glass itself, you update it to something better than a single pane. Or put a storm window as needed.
- nemo44x 3y agoAdding a storm window is better. You don't want to replace the old glass if possible as it's very aesthetically beautiful. Although energy efficiency in these homes have other problems. The walls are probably not insulated (and probably shouldn't be without a vapor barrier added outside beneath the siding - otherwise you will get lots of mold over time) and the weight box for the sash's are not insulated and can't be unless you want the window to no longer function, which may be OK as you can seal around it then.
- VHRanger 3y agoI'm going through insulation woes with my 1870 house right now, and people drastically overestimate how their uninsulated walls are the issue. Your walls are most likely at least something like R-9 if not more depending on the old house you have. The actual issues, in order of importance, are: 1. Air sealing the house. So yes, replacing and repairing windows. Not because double pane is so much better, but because your windows and doors are leaking unconditioned air into the house. 2. Roof insulation 3. Basement/crawl space insulation. Yes, this is more important than walls 4. Now you think about the walls. As you said, depending on the climate, from outside in may be safer (which can also be true for roof and basement depending on materials)