Do you have old window sashes or old doors you want to get rid of?
Maybe you bought an old house where some previous owner ripped out the original wood windows and replaced them with shiny white plastic replacement windows, and left the old ones in the basement.
If you didn’t replace the old windows you are not the guilty party.
But future owners will still shake their heads in disbelief at whoever committed this crime against the house.
Why? Because those “maintenance-free” replacement windows are disposable products.
In another 15 or 20 years they will fail and require complete replacement all over again, while the original wood windows they removed were capable of lasting centuries with simple maintenance
That, however, is not the main point of this article.
Why You Must Save Your Old Windows & Doors.
Yes — this is extremely important. They may be trash to you but gold to others!
The previous owner of my house operated a home repair business. He finished off the attic with sheetrock and packed insulation tightly against the underside of the roof. The result? The roof rotted out from lack of ventilation.
He also committed another offense by installing a vinyl window in the attic gable.
Fortunately, while exploring the attic eaves, I discovered the original 1910 diamond-pane window carefully hidden away. I felt like I had struck gold.
Any educated homeowner can instantly see the dramatic improvement once the original window was reinstalled. The house immediately regained part of its soul and architectural integrity.
This is what the homeowner/contractor preferred.
This window was found stored in the attic eaves. Thank you, previous homeowner!
Any educated homeowner can instantly see the dramatic improvement once the original window was reinstalled. The house immediately regained part of its soul and architectural integrity.
“But Old Windows & Doors Take Up Space”
Yes, and so does every other valuable thing worth keeping.
Eventually, a caring and knowledgeable homeowner may buy your house and want to restore it back to its former glory. If you care at all about your home, your neighborhood, or architectural history, this should matter to you.
The best place to store old windows and doors is usually in the attic eaves. That awkward space is rarely useful for anything else anyway, so why not use it to preserve important architectural features?
The next best location is attic storage above a garage.
After that comes the basement. And yes, most basements are already full of things people refuse to throw away. That simply means you must become creative.
Be Space Efficient and Make a Table.
This is one of the smartest storage methods possible.
Lay the windows flat on 2x4s to keep them safely off the damp basement floor. Then place old doors horizontally across stacked wooden crates or supports to create a table surface above them. You now have protected storage below and usable storage space above. If you need a flat work surface, place a sheet of plywood on top.
How much more efficient can one be?
If some terrible previous owner made the mistake of replacing the windows — or if you made this unfortunate decision yourself — at least do one thing correctly: save the originals.
Do not send these priceless architectural features to the landfill. Preserve them for the day a good homeowner finally comes along and wants to restore the house properly.
If you do not have old doors, this same method still works using only windows with a sheet of plywood on top.
You will not only save valuable historic fabric, but you may someday make a future family incredibly happy when they discover the original parts of their house still exist.
Eventually your house will have to have a good homeowner.
Should You Sell the Windows & Doors?
No. They belong to the house.
In most cases, original windows and doors were custom-sized for that specific building and will rarely fit another properly. Removing them permanently only continues the destruction of the house.
If circumstances absolutely require selling them, they should practically be given away — perhaps $10 apiece at most. Profiting from the removal of original architectural features is rather distasteful. One should not destroy the beauty and integrity of an old house and then financially benefit from it.
Helping someone else restore an old house is admirable.
But it does not erase the original mistake.
Quite frankly, people who cannot appreciate the importance of original windows and doors probably should not own historic homes in the first place.
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