old windows

[John Harrison]

Todays inspection brought me to a 100 year old house. Renter just moved in 2 months ago and is in the process of getting a new landlord. The home still had the double hung rope sash windows. I could tell from the outside rounds that the windows were in need of repair: scraping, caulking, glazing, painting. While checking the operation of the windows first 2 were painted shut nothing new about this as it was an expected find.

First Dining Room window appeared ok, as I released the lock everything fell apart. The top window immediately fell slamming into the window sill, as the window frame separated the glass began to head outward toward the ground. Quick hands stopped the glass from falling. I placed the window back in the frame, pressed the frame back together and asked the renter to assist me in resecuring the window in its original position. Renter stated that he had never opened that window before, I recommended that he not open it again untill it was properly fixed.

The rest of the inspection I took pictures of the windows, noted any areas of concern and left all of them closed.
Be carefull out there with the operation of old windows, my story today could have ended up much worse than it was.

[ldapkus]

I have a local window repair company I recommend to clients that do not want to replace their windows. This guy specializes in repairs not replacement. No website though.

[John Harrison]

I wrote up a general statement of the window condition of the house.

All windows are in need of some form of maintenance, repair, or replacement. All windows are original to the structure and are common to have some issues due to their age. Due to the condition of the windows not all windows were operated during the inspection. It is recommended that the windows be evaluated by the buyer to set priority as to which windows require repair or replacement.

I then added photos of some problems visible in several windows.

Client was happy.