Green Window Restoration

09/01/2025

This week was a hot one in the workshop. Lola has two beds to choose from but ultimately chose this spot . Guard those
old windows, they are priceless !

11/15/2021

Proud to be a sponsor for this year’s tour!

Since 1967, the Irvington Home Tour has been opening doors to our past, present, and future, giving participants an inside look of homes in the Irvington National Historic District, the largest such district in Oregon and one of largest in the country. Now, after a two-year COVID-related hiatus, the...

08/16/2020

They sure don't make 'em like they used to so the original hinges at Thompson Elementary in Bend will be cleaned, polished and returned to service for another 70 years!

08/16/2020

Thompson Elementary School in Bend, Oregon is enjoying an overhaul, including restoration of the original, 1947 mid-century ribbon-style wood windows. From neglected to prepped for paint despite the summer heat! Green Window Restoration is proud to have been chosen to restore and ensure the continued life of these wonderful windows!

12/10/2019

Before and after - Milwaukie City Hall - two original windows were restored. The third is a bespoke replica. Can you guess which one?

10/21/2019

Ever peer through an old window and see ... the glass? The distortions in antique glass are part of the charm of old windows and a historic feature well worth retaining.

10/07/2019

When something seems off but it takes a few minutes to figure out what it is . . . the former L.A. home of Meghan Markle was recently listed for sale. A 1924 Colonial Revival, the listing extolls the installation of new windows as part of a recent massive renovation. While everyone can agree that modern updating is good, completely ignoring the architectural style of the home when doing so? Not so good.

The first image is the Markle house, #2 is how the same style house looks like with the appropriate windows. The third photo is a Portland home mid-project earlier this year. Green Window Restoration was proud to have restored all the original windows in this 1923 beauty.

American Colonial Revival is a distinct architectural style recognized for including specific features such as a paneled front door flanked by bays of windows, which are multi-paned double-hung or palladian, sometimes with louvered shutters.

Everyone is and should be free to apply their own taste to their home, however, most experts will agree that the removal of original windows in lieu of properly restoring and weatherstripping them to bring the energy efficiency up to today's standards harms the appearance of the edifice itself, our rapidly changing environment and the owner's pocketbook as the new "energy-efficient" windows will need to be replaced before the cost of purchase and installation is ever recouped.

What do you think?

BTW, it appears the Duchess of Sussex is not to blame for the windows.

10/05/2019

From the verge of collapse to ready for another 100 years - Leaded glass sash from a 1907 home. Green Window Restoration has been proud to be a part of bringing this grande old dame back to life!

09/29/2019

Interesting piece from 2017 regarding the replacement of original windows on a historic property. A cautionary tale that drives home the importance for homeowners to understand all aspects of owning a listed vintage home as well as local historic districts and city administrators who need to make sure all permits are verified as being for legitimate changes prior to issuing them.

In 2007, Nancy Crabill asked to have her house designated historic by the City of Coronado. Ten years later, that designation has come back to haunt her family as they try to fix up the long-neglected home.

09/25/2019

"We should be proud of using sash windows for our homes. It is rather sad to see that many modern folks who inherit homes from their parents or relatives decide to replace the original sash windows with contemporary ones. One of the reasons given is that the 'window wood was rotting' or that the sash windows were 'beyond repair'.

Beyond repair? In most cases that could not be further from the truth.

Beyond the cosmetic value, there is a historical value to the windows that is meant to be cherished over many generations. New owners of homes that come with original sash windows should exhaust all efforts to repair the original windows instead of replacing them with modern replicas."

Read more here:

The history of sash windows and why we should always try to retain are original sash windows.

09/17/2019

The oldest door in Britain. Hidden away in Westminster Abbey. Made from timber from the original Anglo-Saxon abbey, it is just under a thousand years old. Made from mature oak, that means the trees that produced these planks could have been saplings when the Romans evacuated Britain.

09/09/2019

"If you own a house built before 1960 that has its original windows, be grateful. Nothing will ever look as good. And, contrary to what you may have heard from the building and remodeling industries, new windows will not function better. They will not save you buckets of money in energy costs. They may not even last until you have finished paying for them.

Mathew Cummings, AIA, an architect based in Ipswich, Massachusetts, has worked on some of this country’s oldest houses. He is unequivocal on the subject.

"Never, never, never throw away old windows,” he says. “People replace 200-year-old windows with new vinyl ones that are guaranteed for five years. They are made of oil products and evil gases and soon their useful life is over and they end up in the landfill. Old windows are made of clean wood and glass, and, once rebuilt, are good for another 200 years."

Read the full article here:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/reginacole/2018/07/17/dont-buy-replacement-windows-for-your-old-house/

If you own a house built before 1960 that has its original windows, be grateful. Nothing will ever look as beautiful or work as well.