Brent Hull Explores Double Hung Windows 

I love these old windows. Thank you for educating us and essentially defending them in this time where so many are needlessly replaced. One of my first 'jobs' as a young boy, was to do the seasonal swap for an elderly lady. Her screens and storms had external hardware to hook the screen or storm to the outer trim above the window. I had no idea that decades later I would be restoring these beauties for myself..and professionally.

This guy studies and builds with a passion. Im 38 yrs in as a general contractor and still love every day I go to work. Always more to learn and a better way to do things. Great channel!

I would love to see more videos about how to construct these historic windows as our family just purchased a 1911 home and as a contractor and woodworker I would love to replace the mismatched vinyl windows with some historic windows to match the home. I always learn so much from these videos, keep them comming!!!

I still have all the original windows in my 1897 house, and they are still pretty much in perfect condition, including the original glass. Instead of chains or ropes, the weights are attached to a steel strap, which makes them very smooth. I've had to replace a few of the straps, but otherwise, you can raise and lower the sashes with almost one finger. And they are also no leaky. One of my neighbors replaced theirs with modern windows, but the wood rotted after about 10 years.

Very informative wow I mean there's so much advertisement to replace your old windows but this video shed new light on an old system. Thank you. Look forward to more videos!

I own an 1827 (gentleman's)?farmhouse in Upstate New York. It's incredible how well those old wood windows have held up. This reaffirms my decision to keep and restore them

This is a great video! Very informative and he has the same passion that I do with old technology, it has worked for 100 years. And the new crap maybe will last 20!

Love you’re channel, man. Makes me want to sharpen my craftsmanship by a lot. Also, thank you for the reading material recommendations from previous videos.

Another very good video. Your point about sustainability and the economics of restoring existing features should be made compulsory for all specified. Also, your point about the quality of materials is often overlooked. If you look at new windows before they are painted, inspect the timber used. Almost always for us, it’s a softwood and plantation-grown. Neither are, in themselves, a total reason not to buy but, too often, that means rapid growth and, as a result, windows that will not last as long. Sapele is a great choice in that it has the balance between longevity and, given the right pre-treatment, it will take paint nicely. For us in the UK, double sash windows were originally for the better off. The houses of manual workers would not have these; invariably, the houses were rented and built as cheaply as possible. Houses built for sale quite often/ usually had sash or double sash windows. Insulation in windows was not such a huge issue here - winters aren’t that cold and summers not that hot. Go back to the early Middle Ages, and the everyday house would not windows at all. The manor house - here it is called the Wealden Hall, would be a very high structure - equivalent to perhaps 3 Storeys - but have no internal floors and no internal rooms. The whole place was just open plan with areas given to cooking etc. it was heated by a central fire where the smoke rose and dissipated itself through the thatch. The smoke also helped in dissuading rats from living in the thatch. Fire in the thatch was always a hazard but, being tall, by the time the smoke had met the thatch, it had cooled and any spark from the fire long gone. Early on, the windows were small as there was no glass. Some windows could be 3ft high but 2ft across but these would have vertical bars so that no nere-do-wells could get in. These openings would have leather covers which would be rolled down to help prevent wind and rain getting in. There were some people who could afford horn windows. These had horn boiled, unrolled, scraped very thin and translucent, set into lead; by the nature of horn, each pane was small. The use of glass, as with most things, started with the ultra-rich and gradually rolled through the levels of society. It was made by being blown and then, whilst still in that near-molten state, flattened as much as they could. Again, this meant that individual panes were small. The best houses could afford to have stained glass - which was a mixture of painted panes and coloured panes. The result was extremely beautiful but, with each pane connected to the next by lead channels, quite delicate. To allow for bigger overall windows (as in churches and palaces) iron rods would be fixed vertically from lower sill to upper lintel. The ability to produce glass in larger sheets was an enormous step forward. It allowed houses to be built with large windows. This meant that working trades such as weaving could take place inside for longer each day as the light was better. Mainly for religious reasons, weavers from mainland Europe (Flemish, Huguenot) came to England, bringing their advanced weaving processes. Given our local production of fine wool, this led to England becoming predominant in fine cloth making. There are still many towns and villages with true weavers cottages. Usually a row of 5,6,7 dwellings; separate ground floors for cooking, eating, selling goods but with large open plan first floors. This elevation allowed windows to bring in the maximum light and the open plan allowed room for large looms to producing broadcloth. When this industry, as all industries, started to decline with mass production in factories, those first floors were sectioned off, often replicating the ground floor areas. Some houses, as in ours, were not divided quite as neatly as that leading to “flying freeholds”. That is where the first floor of dwelling A is partially above the ground floor of dwelling B. I know of good examples of those weavers cottages throughout Kent; one of the best known is in Biddenden. Google the High Street in Biddenden and you will see.

Thanks, Brent. More info on vintage weatherstripping ie. interlocking zinc would be great.

We have owned two houses with historic double hung windows with wood storm windows and screens. Each set is custom fit to a specific window and identified with numbered button similar to a thumb tack. Some hardware stores still carry replacement numbers and you sometimes see them at garage sales and flea markets.

Brent, I love your video. Most of the guys on selling windows will fight with your theory using low-E and argon gas. The new generation is brainwashed with technology and they though what is newer is better and i just told them time to time that they want it new because they don't want to fix the old. There are things made generations ago in the US is way better than new. Thank you and keep making these great video.

wood windows if puttied and kept smooth running ,ropes un painted ,can last 50-100 yrs, oiled and preserved wood has air spaces that insulate from cold hot rain snow and noise too

Love this channel. Plz keep it up

Glad to see where to put the historical weatherstrip, truly I was wondering how to. Never seen before those type of screens. Where to look for them. Every time I watch your videos my list of homework keep getting bigger.

It's quite sad to see vinyl replacements in historical buildings.

To show you how bad things are, my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore won’t accept old wooden window’s except for craft projects. My architect said the county permitting office will want them switched out. I’m pretty disillusioned about the modern double-paned windows. They’re hard to open, hard to latch, and if they’re not carefully installed, they still don’t seal well.

Thanks Brent. Another great video. I've been debating on whether to replace my old double hung or rebuild them with weather stripping. Do you have any recommendations for where to buy the groove weather stripping? Thank you again.

We call them sash windows in the UK.

Do these windows have an access panel on the weight pocket? The original double-hungs in our 1904 fourplex don't have access panels, so I have to pull all the casing off to fix the broken sash cords. What that means, of course, is that they're still broken.

I haven’t been able to find any info online about the deep window sills in old homes. I have been in beautiful old homes that feel so much better constructed than a typical new house (even in the $3m+ price range), and often they have window sills that one can even sit on, because they’re so deep. I don’t believe the exterior framing is that big, 12 or 14” deep. How do they accomplish the deep set windows?

Is there any way to insulate the weight pockets ?

The pulleys look larger? Maybe 3"? Do you recommend a larger wheel? Thanks for the comprehensive Instruction! ps and chain vs wire core rope?

Can u make a video on Venetian sash window?

Hi Brent, do you have any opinion about cotton vs chain sash cord?

I have 10 windows I would like to replace and curious how much would the window in the video cost as seen also picked up no delivery? Im 1.5hr away from FTW just window assembly no installation.

Please write a script next time. The amount of times the words "awesome" and such were repeated are just annoying. But yes. I do believe it's a great system. Time tested. The hot vs cool air ventilation cannot be done with an European style window. Hence, I feel a little bit down as I cannot make my usual tease "wait till you learn about European windows". If that was done 200 years ago then it's even more impressive. I love that the window is presented outside a house so that I can see the counter balance. I agree with this Texan. You have an old house with original windows. Keep them. Don't swap for new ones. Love from Poland!

Hi Brent. Could you give some book references as mentionned in the video. Thank you.