What are Interior Storm Windows and why would anyone want to use them?
Windows are the most important character defining feature of a home. Why hide them behind a storm window?
With interior storm windows your beautiful original windows can shine in all their glory and still get the benefits of insulation and noise reduction.
Interior storm windows are meant to be easily removed and stored away during the warm months.
They are also minimally visible on the interior.
Interior storm windows are meant to replace or be used in addition to a traditional storm window .
Interior storm windows save heat and coal. (WWII poster)
We all know that the best way to insulate a drafty window is by using a storm window. While the storm window protects your valuable wood window from the elements it does nothing for its curb appeal.
If you have your original wood windows it would be nice to show then off without anything covering them. You can show off your naked window and save energy with an interior storm window.
Interior storm windows allow your prime windows to face the world in all their glory, solving the “blank stare” problem encountered by covering divided light windows. Here you get the best of both worlds. Interior storm windows can easily be removed for summer storage and cleaning.
As we all know with older houses, while windows may look square to the eye, many old windows are out of plumb. Interior storm windows easily overcome this problem.
Below is a company I recommend that offer top quality interior storm windows that can be ordered and shipped to your home.
NOT RECOMMENDED
Read about Exterior Storm Windows . They are not like those you remember.
Read about Window Screens here. There is more to window screens than you think.
Feeling ambitious? Learn about DIY interior storm windows here .
PS Ken I also wanted to say: our 1910 house has a huge double-hung Palladian window over the front door for which, because of the framing, no exterior storm would have been possible even if we had wanted to cover the curved muntins. So we designed an interior storm window with a piano hinge on one side, that can be swung open to the inside, with storm and screen interchangeable panels below the meeting rail. It is a wonderful thing, and has restored the great ventilation properties of this central, large window on the front stair. The interior window had to be reframed, but it transformed the look in a good way.
Of the 42+ 109-year-old fir double-hung windows in our house, not one is rotted, all are functional. We could not have thrown them in the trash, even though the custom work described above was also expensive. .
Creativity works!
Interior storms made a huge difference in the winter comfort of our family room. And, unlike other DIY window insulating, they are not ugly!
We live in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, so winters are long, windy and cold.
Our 1974 vintage house has brand new triple pane windows on the main floor but the family room level has large original (and very drafty) aluminum double sliders where you could feel the breeze whistle in.
We didn’t have the budget for replacement windows so we used the Island Institute guide to build 7 interior storms. They are made of a friction-fit spruce-strapping frame wrapped with a layer of heavy duty (100 guage) clear shrink wrap on both faces (mail ordered from Dick Blick Art Supply) and trimmed with foam insulating tape. I then added 3/4″ spacer blocks to re-enforce the corners and provide maximum R-value air space and to make sure the storm doesn’t touch the original window. I screwed on handles to allow the window to be easily handled and removed. I also painted the spruce frame in the same colour as the interior trim.
Construction requires only basic tools and skills. The 100 guage film was easy and forgiving to install. It’s also surprisingly robust and scuff resistant.
The hardest part was the friction fit. Too tight and you’re arguing with the storm window. Too loose and, well, it will fall out on a gusty night.
The cost was about $30/ window all-in, including hardware and paint plus about an hour / window DIY effort. The result is basically a double paned, durable, removable interior storm window… I wish I had done this DIY years ago!