Windows and Trim

As part of my quest to improve the energy efficiency in my house, I have started to rebuild the window, one window at a time. Keeping the original windows in operable condition is important to me. But this time, we are adding appropriate weather stripping, seals, and sash locks to tighten them up as much as possible. To do this, I am installing spring bronze weather stripping in the slide tracks, and silicone foam tubes to the bottom of the lower sash, top of the upper sash, and on the meeting rail. Here is a link to another house that did the same thing, and now it is Net Zero... 

I also am reglazing and painting the outsides of each of the window sashes. But here is where the two points of confusion come in. A fully operable double hung window will have both the upper and lower sashes to be operable. That way you can open the upper and lower in the summer and it creates a convection air flow. Warm air at the top goes out, cooler air at the bottom comes in. But the combination of aftermarket storm windows and the 3/5^th 2/5^th proportions, it prevents me from removing the upper section of the exterior storm window to install a screen, unless…. I remove the lower sash.

The second point of confusion is regarding the interior of the sashes, and trim. It is a question that we have been asking since we moved in… To paint or not to paint, the trim that is. Almost all of our interior woodwork is not painted, and we have some nice woods. But since the house is 120 years old and was once apartments, the original wood and doors are a bit banged up and some parts did total replacement. Additionally, every time we look at a design magazine, (BH&G and TOH) the trim is almost always painted white.

This winter, we will be working on the living room and front parlor room, and we will then need to decide if we should paint or not.