Flat Window Warning: Don't Fall For This Dangerous New Window look. 

I call them Post-It Note windows. They look like they're just stuck on and can be easily peeled off.

Thanks Brent, the world needs to know. I live in an historic neighborhood and I'm about the last home in my block that still has original double hung windows, which I am slowly restoring with original finishes and they look amazing! Vinyl is a pox upon the earth and a sin against God, as far as I'm concerned!

My wife and I bought a 1936 Brick French Tudor in Badin, NC and are slowly remodeling. We did sacrifice a bedroom to expand the kitchen and created a main bedroom closet and a small powder room for guests. Our windows are original six over one wooden double hung that have fifties storm windows outside, I am slowly restoring the windows and the storm windows with much intensive labor but we will keep as original and never replace with junk!

As a former window/door contractor for 30+ years, I totally endorse everything this guy has said!

From Canada... keep your glass closer to the center of the insulation for less heat loss. Glass that is set in is less exposed to wind and have less heat loss. Less exposed to hail damage. It is not all about the look.

Hull=inspiring. 1882 Italianate 10K sq. ft. mansion in the UP of Michigan here. I’m restoring our 60+ double hung 142 year old original windows and screens, even still in remarkable condition getting very intimate with them. It’s a love affair and privilege to restore them. Brent you are more of a mentor than you know!

Just had 90 yr old Craftsman windows restored and installed in a new build. Initially the young builder thought it was crazy to restore them since "new is better" but I think he has been converted. He was proud when the phase inspector said it is rare to see wood windows that opened and closed so smoothly.

It's is the cheeping & loss of wisdom, knowledge & understanding in art, music, architecture, agriculture, and Marriage, biology... Respect for healthy traditions. The last leg of a 4th Turning. Much planned & on purpose to dumb down & control. Thank you for these videos & historical content. ❤️🙏

Hurray for this ! I am tired of seeing people rip out these pre 1940 windows . We have a government here in Canada that is pushing for this AND giving people money to rip them out ! All for energy efficiency and being ‘more green ‘ ! So we rip out the old growth wood windows that have lasted for over 100 years ( and will be around for another 100 if you just put a little effort in fixing them) and toss them away and replace them with plastic or aluminum . Then in 20 years you are tossing out these new “ greener more efficient windows because they have reached their life expectancy ! This drives me up the wall !! How does this even make sense ???? Grrrr! Thank you Brent for all you do and your passion in doing it !

Big problem is all the mega builders.... pretending to be custom.....

I think part of the problem is most people will follow the path of least resistance (or automatically go for a cheaper choice). Their contractor will present his preferred option, which may or may not be the best choice long term. It just may be less expensive, have lower labor costs to install, and probably be lower quality. Unless someone plans on spending 30-40 years in the same house, it just might not make sense to spend the money up front if you expect to move in 5 or 10 years. I will say almost every time we’ve gone with the budget friendly option we wind up being disappointed. Either performance of the material or the quality just isn’t there.

I live in a historic neighborhood, and the thing that's driving me crazy is these windows and contractors coming in, removing a lot of the interior walls, and just making it one big open space. They strip it of just about everything. They might leave in a token fireplace that doesn't work, or a pair of double doors, but they are ruining these old homes.

Completely agree. And then they will do sheetrock returns on the inside. No style, no character. 😢

$4,000-5,000 per window is a budget we can never afford. In my entire region, we use Aluminum frames for all windows and exterior doors. Profiles come in all kinds of designs and are powder coated with a huge array of colors to choose from, including metallic and wood looks. Glass shade color of your choice is fitted, rubber seal is applied from inside and outside, then silicone bead around where the profile meets the walls, both inside and outside. In addition to choices openings/closing mechanisms, they offer a minimum of 10 year guarantee with free maintenance. Prices vary based on profile sizes, factories and origin. From $180-520 per window (the size shown on this video). The larger chunk of the budget goes to plumbing, electrical, and air conditioning.

If I ever build a new house, I will definitely choose Brent's line of windows.

I lust after Hull windows for my 1930’s home in Wilkes County, North Carolina, home of Window World. I hope to be calling in a few years for those windows!

And lets just say the word..those windows look like crap. I worked many, many hours to save my 80+ year old six over six double hungs in my 1941 Tudor style home. The flipped homes in the neighborhood have all had theirs ripped out and replaced with garbage plastic single panes. One with a beautiful half-round top was framed in for a smaller rectangular unit.The charm and significance of the house was destroyed. Thanks for this and other great videos.

Brent is a NATIONAL TREASURE - protect this man!! 😂. I’m currently restoring my windows on 1925 Highland Park home and have watched hours of Brent’s videos - thanks for creating this content and sharing!

I bought a home built in 1890, the windows are single pane original windows & need repair, my son keeps complaining about the windows & hounding me to replace them with new popular vinyl windows yet doesn't understand that new is not always better. I forwarded your video to him, thank you for explaining it in such detail 👍

yes to everything! old growth is gold! thanks for educating people!

Quality is rare these days. Thank you for keeping your integrity.

This is great when you have the money. And the house has the value. I've heard it said. And it kind of makes sense that in a run of the mailhouse, wood windows are actually a deficit because they require maintenance and upkeep people would rather see vinyl windows that work. And they can forget about. Unless you're building a top notch house; windows that open and close are mostly what people look for. ( Maybe with an exception if the local area has some extreme situation that requires extra wind protection or heat. Or whatever)

Our small city has a hundred year old courthouse and downtown. Some genius has recently replaced all the courthouse windows and part of the downtown with completely flat, black framed, giant paned windows. It's horrifying.

One hailstorm away from a damn mess.

Brent, come on. 99.99% of houses aren't built to last 100 years. They're full of OSB, asphalt shingles, Hardiboard, etc etc. So why should anyone buy decent windows if the house will crumble before they do?

Thanks, Brent, for all you do. I appreciate your channel and the information you give us. I'm making historic sashes for an old army mess hall and I can't agree more with what you are saying. Thanks again Brent.

Great post, Brent. In the custom world, if clients choose vinyl or some mass produced windows, that's a shame but something they can afford to fix after they've seen your videos and realize the mistake they've made. But in the world of mass production houses, where price per square foot makes or breaks the affordability of a house or subdivision, aluminum or vinyl windows are what will be found and accepted. Custom houses are works of art and building science, but production houses are commodity products built to a price. As with so many things, you get what you pay for. That said, great video, as usual. I really appreciate your passion for the art and the science.

I have noticed over the years that the feature that really gives a room the "wow" factor from the interior is the windows. Glad to have found these tips!

I spent about 20 years as a window guy on top tier homes. I was one of the most knowledgeable in the country for a decade at what i did. I was very happy when Brent started his window company. They're the real deal. Like most things normal people cant afford to use what they install on their own homes. Recomend Brent on jobs you do and you may end up with some extras.

Brent. Your passion for quality design is infectious. You continue to lead.

Some people do not want to pay the price for high quality wood windows, or they just don't have the money. Also if you are fixing a house up to flip, depending on how much the homes in a neighborhood sell for, you may not be able to fit expensive windows into the budget. Sometimes it means the difference in whether you are able to also afford to do the kitchen or something like that. Like you may have to choose between high-end windows or leaving a kitchen that looks terrible I've installed high quality windows and also the cheapest stuff you can get. If you do a good enough job with the cheap Windows you can make them work pretty well. But a lot of people who are redoing these old houses don't have a clue and just slap them in and they don't last. They have to be installed very square, plumb and level and mounted solid where there is no movement. Personally for my own house I'm using the good stuff with wood frames, because I know the difference. Our home is a 1,700 square foot built in 1999, so as you can imagine the windows and doors that the builder installed are bottom of the barrel and pretty horrible. I've replaced all the doors but still need to do the windows and case them out.

Totally agree with all you say here Brent Hull. I actually restore old windows with other old windows people toss to the curb because beauty matters on the home. I have sent many window "Expert" salesmen away with this simple statement, "I will only consider your new window if you give me a 100 year warranty as my windows work and are over 100 years old." They always walk away knowing they could never offer anything near that. I also heard there are specs on old growth windows with a properly fit storm outer window performing on par with new dual pane windows. Do you have info. on that? Thank you as always.

Thank you for time . Being a student of craftsmanship . The videos you post are much appreciated .

I would encourage people to look for old windows in their local house parts recycling stores. Most every city has at least one company that recycles doors, windows, trim, stairs etc. from pre 1940 buildings. Old windows can be taken apart to either replace or repair your own damaged windows. I had several warped window sashes in my 1930 home and I was able to replace some of them with complete windows from the same era and a couple windows I rebuilt using the old stiles and rails from another window. The old glue used in pre 1940 windows can easily be removed making disassembly easy.

Great video Brent, this is so important to know for helping to keep homes looking correct for nice neighborhoods, especially for window replacements in established historic areas.

It would be interesting for the guys on the podcast to roughly price out a “new-old” house build with available materials to show how they think it can be done. At current material prices it would be extremely painful to build anything historically sized or historically accurate. Love the windows though.

We have a thin profile vinyl window from the 80s and they suck water into the inside wall, so 50 years later we need new sub floor and have to remediate mold under the window

This guy is TOTALLY right!

I need a Brent Hull book on how to restore AND how to build pre-war era double hung windows.

Thank you so much! Absolutely need to replace some windows from an 1865 house and had no idea what I should be looking for.

Thank you for all that you have taught us. Would love to hear you talk about roof pitches and what pitch is historically accurate for Georgian vs. French vs. English etc. Thanks again!

Two features on home construction I see differentiating build quality: Roof overhangs and inset deep windows. Cheap developments have the roof edge right at the siding and these flat windows. Where the problem reveals itself is on a hot muggy rainy day, the overhangs and inset windows allow you to have the window open some without getting wet inside.

Im just going to have to learn how to make some sashes myself. My old home has wooden sash windows and one absolutely needs to be replaced, but the others probably just need to be reglazed. I doubt I'll ever be able to spend the money comfortably to get one of those 100 year windows in.

Cheap vynal windows have been like this for years, but on Long Island where I’m from even fairly expensive homes have these crap windows. But along with the flattening of windows, all of the trim has also been eliminated or reduced to awful false representations of what they should be.

Excellent video! Thank you

Those cheap flat vinyl windows might work for a very small storage rooms for tools or storage but it does not belong in a nice home. Vinyl also melts in a fire fast and becomes fuel that burns quickly.

I just told my clients that replacing their wood windows with Vinyl would not be an asset. That they were better off replacing their broken wood sash windows with replacement sashes from Lummus (a local builder supply house here in GA) than to deal with not so inexpensive vinyl. If you are going to replace your windows go with fiberglass and skip the vinyl.

Thanks I support you I greatly appreciate your fight against but taste.

I will keep my M&W historic mutt windows built in 1988. Adding PVC moldings has added life time. Now some companies are saying "even if you have replaced your windows 7 years ago you may need new ones". That is a beautiful window you show but it is very expensive. On the other hand, all new windows from even largest sellers appear to be pure ugly junk.🦇

Your windows are works of art. Vinyl windows are garbage.

It’s just terrible, I remember when I was living in Switzerland, and they were building a new house close to where I was living in Zürich and I would walk by at every day on my way to work. And the craftsmanship I mean, I would just look at it in and wonder why don’t we built like that here in America?

I also advise clients with original wood Windows in good shape to keep them and not think about replacement.

Preach it, brother.

My 2012 mass-builder house has the hideous vinyl windows that stick out about 1/2 inch proud of the exterior trim. I hate everything about the look, and I'd eagerly replace every window with proper custom wood windows if this was my forever home.

Wood frames require so much more maintenance over the life of the window. I don’t like the flat look, but you can get vinyl windows that install further in.

Gotta admit, I really like a good window snob. Seriously. Thumbs up.

This was very interesting and informative. I much prefer the look of the older windows but I'm still waiting to find out what is "dangerous" about the new window look. 🤔

OK - I'm with you. But in Canada, exterior walls are 2x6 - an even bigger reveal. One tip I came across was to have the rough opening formed with 2x4s within a 2x6 'main'rough opening, such that the window is now set back 2". A window manufacturer happily told me how that would reduce the effect of air blowing across the facade, and reduce heat loss. And, of course, it looks far superior... a little more work trimming out, but quality shows.

Whenever I say "those windows look bad in that house" to people restauring their houses´front some others jump against my comment saying that I am a ·hater". It´s the opposite: I try to tell them to choose a right window. Those flat windows are ugly and ruin the style of pretty all houses.

Hell yes!

waiting on this next video

Yes Cost is a major factor, but it what customers are looking for. As far a the depth of jam, a window buck can be used to increase the depth. I don't think the average homeowner is going to spend $2K or more for double hung window, when they can get a factory window for a fraction of that cost. If its for esthetics, a Window Buck can be used to add depth, & The other & better option is to have larger roof overhangs that protect the walls & windows from the weather as well as reduce summer radiate heat hitting the walls.

Flush window. Yeah, they look like old fashioned "storm windows" which were actually set slightly proud of the surface of the building. They could still be thin AND set deeper into the wall.

Mind blown 🤯 just got back from Colorado and we couldn’t figure out why the new builds looked “ off”…….

Where can we buy the windows you are suggesting? I find sourcing is a big challenge

The flat window has a cheap look, so I wouldn't want it anyway, but thanks a bunch for giving me this info.

I've noticed this. I assume that double and triple pane glazing drives some of it, and with thin siding on the outside and drywall on the inside, the walls are thinner on cheap houses. It makes houses look like trailers and I suspect that it's the reason why so many newer houses leak around the windows. If the glass is set in, a ledge at the top is properly flashed and the sill at the bottom protrudes beyond the siding, most of the water will be diverted to the ground, but if the window is sticking out, and even worse, surrounded by the J-channel they use with vinyl siding, much of the water is going behind the siding and the only thing keeping it out of the house is the seal between the housewrap and the window. Not good.

Hey Brent, i opened my old barn and found a 1969 corvette stingray. Its a little rusty, needs tires and some engine work. Should i throw it in the garbage and buy a new Kia Rio?

Looks like the retrofit storm windows from the 60’s that were added onto the outside of the main window.

We have a set of windos that need to be changed in our sunroom. Its good to kow what to avoid... bth way, this part 7:20 reminded me of Norm MacDonald 😊

Makes sense for looks Brent, but any cheap argon filled window will unfortunately outperform your expensive beautiful single pane window; it’s just the way it is…that glass will fog up in cold outdoor conditions with heated interiors and in direct sunlight like on a summer day in the south, good luck reading a book by that window.

What about for my house that’s built in 1994 30year old it’s a craftsman style house. What’s a good window or brand that’s in the 1000$ range

The new style of windows remind me of storm windows of the 1960s. I especially abhore the old bare aluminum ones.

My biggest regret on my house build (there are many) was going with a PVC window that was made to look old instead of just springing an extra $10k on real wood. :(

what about double or triple pane windows? it would insulate for temperature and outside reduce noise.

Even with PVC windows there are cills and depth on the outside, here in the UK we have a lot of PVC windows, if you have a period or a graded property they usually put in replacement wooden windows as to maintain character, I agree if you use cheap looking windows it can make the property unsaleable!

I got an estimate from Anderson for my 1,200 sf condo in IL. 4 windows (1 of which is a large picture window in living room) and a sliding door - over $20,000 (on sale!). I was expecting expensive, but not that much. ...I'm all for quality; but I can only afford so much. (I can't imagine doing the 2 story 3,600 sf home I grew up in! The spiel is that they are better because of material - not vinyl but a composite. What's your opinion on composite?

“For the beauty”

Thank goodness someone else saying what I’ve been saying for over a decade!! I hate these cheap and ugly architecture!!! 😣

it's like premanufactured homes. The "bumpouts" are like less than 5". They look like adult-sized play houses.

Is there a video for replacing windows?

Those vinyl windows have a service life of five to twenty years. I don't understand the finger joint thing, framing grade soild lumber would be better.

Can I get an old looking window with triple pane glass. A live long Alaskan would like to know. European triple pane windows look pretty well built.

I'm curious to know, does the cost of these windows increase the value of the house? I'm not saying that's the point of doing it, but would an appraiser recognize the value of these windows you promote? Just curious.

Hi Brent. A lot of people are choosing flange-less, European style windows which are set back from the face of the sheathing rather than being out at the surface. How do you incorporate a sill and window trim detail that looks like your 100 year window frame with one of these flange-less windows, especially if the house has a couple of inches of exterior insulation on it? Have you ever done a detail like that, when the homeowner has already bought the windows but wants a more traditional looking exterior trim-out?

The thin-trim and flat look is an extension of modernism. Yet they have fake muntins, making it an incoherent mix of styles. Maybe nobody knows the difference any more because the multi-decade dominance of modern architecture led people to lose interest in architecture.

Oh not to mention they don't let down from the top either. Hot day no way to get the heat out quick. No go. Raises your cooling out the roof.

National Register requirements tell us to match the exterior dimensions of the historic old window to within less than 1/8” variance if possible. Energy saving good design has the insulated portion of the glass and window frame in line or set back from the wall insulation. These thin windows allow a thermal bridge around the perimeter defeating the true R value of the wall.

I like stucco, Hardie, and flat windows 😅

Amen, amen!

Lard amighty. These things are terrible looking.

I'd love to use your windows in project. I wrote a long note and lost it when I bumped the mouse. Anyway there are hurdles to doing so and one is cost. People don't build for 20 years let along 100 years.

Finally! Someone else who is not on the hardie band wagon!

The flat windows look like storm windows...no protection or insulation, what a night mare!

How do these windows handle a storm?

i watch cy porters vids , i cant believe million dollar houses have vynal anything in them

I have renovated a number of historic properties. The flat face windows look cheap and will in fact fail in about 15 years. Also I don’t like the asphalt imbedded tape they use to water proof the flange. I prefer old fashioned metal flashing. When applied properly it will last decades. I worked in the trades for 41 years and not one of my windows have leaked. The building trades have gone to hell. Cheap materials and unskilled labor have turned even million dollar home communities into trailer parks. Poor insulation, shabby plumbing, dangerous electrical wiring and roof vents that are non existent or poorly flashed. Your video was most informative. Tell your viewers when they are ready to purchase a home to hire a thorough and professional home inspector. New or old homes have hidden problems, either from past diy projects or house flippers. You can no longer trust new home builders. They are cutting corners and leaving buyers holding the bag. Across the country many new home buyers are forced to seek legal counsel to force builders to do the right thing. The thing to remember is the laws and codes in house building are absolute minimum standards and the county and state are going to side with the builder. Structural problems are very expensive to repair and your local city or county inspector will never admit to overlooking major issues. They have immunity and are protected as government employees from legal liability. Have your new home inspector check every phase of construction. A multitude of sins can be covered by dry wall and caulk and will not reveal themselves for years.

These windows look like the things people during the 50s - 80s were putting up as screen windows. They were not good for heat/cold on their own. They were used to keep the rain and snow out.

Common manufactured windows on a older house are the visual plague of renovation. They tend to looks like the windows of a child' s drawing. They never look quite right on older houses. One of the best investment of my life was a decent router and the compound bit to make my own original style windows (and door).

If wood isn't rotten, it indeed can be made beautiful again. Don't replace if with plastic or fiberglass - they never look as wood, despite what their ads claim. I didn't know that and tried to replace horribly-looking wooden entry door with a "wood-looking" fiberglass. Despite $3K, it didn't look like wood and was defectively assembled, so I ended up completely sanding off and finishing the old door and it now truly looks like brand new! I have to cover it from rain, though, but it's the price to pay for beauty. I just keep s sheet of transparent plastic in the garage and cover it when rain comes, which isn't very often in TX.