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A group of window-restoration experts has mobilized in a plan to save historic building windows with ordinary maintenance, repair and energy-savings upgrades one window at time, and says the development of national standards is pivotal to their mission.
The group, Window Preservation Standards Collaborative (WPSC), is planning a meeting later this month as part of the campaign to develop standards for the repair and weatherization of old and historic windows.
“The replacement window industry is actively destroying hundreds of thousands of original and perfectly functional old windows every month,” says the Preservation Trades Network, a co-sponsor of the summit.
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Photos courtesy of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Craig A. Benner photographer |
| Craftsmen at work on window restoration at the historic Cornwall Iron Furnace in Pennsylvania. See the D+D story, Industry and Inspiration. |
“Based on the $8 billion spent every year on replacement windows, as many as 12 million classic, old-growth, wood window sashes end up in landfills annually,” Preservation Trades Network says. Saving historic windows “has risen to the top of the agenda” for a number of historic-preservation organizations, the Network says, mentioning the National Trust for Historic Preservation, statewide preservation groups, state historic preservation offices, and local preservation groups,
The summit is scheduled for July 26-28 at the Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, Ky., and includes provision for a limited number of “observer” participants. More information: Window Preservation Summit. Joining WPSC and the Preservation Trades Network as event co-sponsors is the Kentucky Heritage Council.
At the summit, WPSC window preservation specialists Duffy Hoffman, John Leeke, Jim Turner, David Gibney, and Bob Yapp will demonstrate restoration and weatherization methods. Air-infiltration testing will be conducted on weatherized window units, and weatherization systems will be adjusted based on input from technical advisers.
“There is an immediate need for standards that include well-researched energy data as well as a catalog of proven methods used to repair and restore historic windows,” WPSC said.
“We cannot wait for years or decades for a standard to evolve since the replacement window industry is now actively destroying millions of historic and perfectly functional old windows every month. Obviously there is nothing green or environmentally sound about this tragedy.”
More information on the Window Preservation Standards Collaborative and Preservation Trades Network: www.iptw.org.
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