Last Updated on March 23, 2024 by Aiman Emaan
If there’s one home improvement project that often flies under the radar until it’s too late, it’s to refurbish windows. Replacing or refurbishing windows isn’t a small project by any means, but it’s one that can help you increase your home value, save on bills, and even prevent buyers from negating in the future! Keep reading to discover five warning signs that it might be time to refurbish your windows finally.
Table of Contents
1. Refurbish Windows When Bills Start to Climb
Your home is supposed to be a place of comfort, not somewhere you have to sacrifice being too cold or too hot to save some money on your energy bills.
If you wanted to be cold, you could just go to the freezer section at your local grocer!
Homes with older windows are typically single-pane. That means those homes lose a significant chunk of money on keeping their home at a comfortable temperature.
Depending on your location, you can get up to two to three times savings on your annual energy bill when you install energy-efficient windows. But that’s not all.
Detecting leaking windows can be difficult. Even aged double-pane windows are susceptible to minor and major drafts. If you feel an area of your home colder or hotter than the rest of the house and there isn’t a vent nearby, it’s likely time to replace windows.
2. Rotting Frames
Having nice windows and window frames is essential in maintaining your home’s curb appeal. Imagine you’re looking at houses, and you get to one that has crumbling window frames with cracked paint and looks like it’ll break apart with a flick of your pinky finger.
Would you want to take a single step into that house?
Your home exterior is the first thing prospective buyers see, and it’s not just the paint they take into consideration. In addition to the exterior paint, you also need a well-maintained lawn and windows.
The first sign that clearly says it’s time to refurbish or replace windows is if the window frame feels spongy. Take your fingers and press around the perimeter to feel for any spongy spots.
This occurs when there’s a leak and water starts to collect within the frame, ultimately causing it to rot slowly.
Another sign your window frames are rotting is if they don’t properly open or close. Typically, when this happens, it means gaps are forming in the corner joints.
That means water has gotten into the frame, causing damage to the entire window structure and the wood itself. If your windows are fine now, but you want to prevent rotting frames, the best bet is to install window flashing properly.
3. Cracked Glass
It may seem obvious, but it’s time for a fix when you have cracked glass. But depending on how bad it is and the type of glass you have, you may not need to replace the entire pane.
Single-pane windows can be effectively and cheaply repaired by yourself or by a professional glazier.
However, when it’s multi-paned glass that gets cracked, you’ll likely need to contact a professional window service like Richmond Window Corporation or your local window company for a sash replacement.
But if you’ve had to deal with drafty windows, sagging frames or even minor leaks, a cracked window is a good time to get the job done right and replace the entire thing.
4. Problems With Water and Moisture
Water in any form, leaks or fog, is a sign to take a closer look at your windows for any damages.
For example, foggy windows present an immensely annoying problem that you can’t simply wipe away. This happens when water starts condensing between the panes on a double or triple-paned insulated glass unit.
Modern windows come prepared with self-sufficient insulated glass units. That means the panes arrive permanently sealed, so they can’t be disassembled and rebuilt.
While in most cases, window replacement is the only option, you may be in luck. Although uncommon, some local companies offer services to defog multi-paned windows.
They drill small holes in the glass to remove the moisture and seal it back up again. Again, because the number of companies that offer these services is so uncommon, it’s more worth the time to simply replace the entire window.
The same thing could be said for any significant leakage problems. It might not be immediately apparent, but any major water leaks are a problem with the exterior casing rather than the window itself in most cases.
On the other hand, if the water leaks are minimal, it could be because of damaged seals. First, check the drainpipes and gutters to determine the water flow to see if it’s possibly routing the water towards your windows when there’s heavy rain.
If so, reroute the pipes away from windows, and if there’s still leakage, then it’s time to consider replacing your window seals.
5. Stuck Sashes
Do you remember the frustrating attempts at opening or closing a stuck window in your childhood home? If you’ve ever experienced this, it’s likely because your house had older windows, which commonly had problems with their upper and lower sashes being unable to move.
It might be from layers of paint blocking the path, or that it came off its track. If your window has spring-like sashes, the problem is likely due to the spring failing or becoming loose. Both of which are easy fixes you can complete yourself.
To Refurbish or to Replace
As you can see, you can often refurbish your windows yourself, but only if you fix it before the problem gets out of hand. It certainly pays to conduct a detailed inspection of your windows now and again to keep your home’s curb appeal and value high!
If you enjoyed reading this article, check out some of our other recent blogs!
Apart from that, if you are interested to know about Different Types of Window Frames for Your Home then visit our Home Improvement category.
