| Wanamaker Restoration

While walking around Burlington I can’t help but notice all of the beautiful historic homes. The first feature that I notice on these old buildings are the windows, also thought of as the eyes of the building because they allow us to see out, as well an invitation for light to enter. It’s like Paul Clerkin from Ireland once said, “If eyes are windows into a person’s soul, then the opposite must be true for architecture: Windows are a building’s eyes, and its soul can be lost forever if the wrong kind are installed during a renovation.” When I see an historic building with replacement windows, I think, well, a home lost its’ soul and a landfill gained weight, another thoughtless act.

Old windows consist of old growth lumber which is more rot resistant than any new wood window available. Historic windows that fall victim to deferred maintenance are often thrown in the trash and replaced with some new product that fails within 15 years after installation. Another contractor once said to me, “We’ll never run out of work replacing replacement windows.” True, that may be, but I do not replace windows, I restore windows because I have not met a window that could not be returned to its original glory, both functionally and aesthetically.

It is important to be educated about your home, especially if you own an old home because there is differing information out there and it is necessary to consider the motivation behind the information you receive. My personal motivation is a love for historic buildings, passion for restoring windows, preserving our heritage and decreasing landfill amounts.
-Amy Mentes May 6, 2008