Wood Windows

The wood replacement windows Lehigh Valley homeowners still order tend to go into a specific kind of house: the painted brick and frame Victorians on Bethlehem’s South Side and in the historic blocks near Main Street, the College Hill homes above downtown Easton, and the ornate facades climbing Broadway in Jim Thorpe. On these houses the window is part of the architecture. Sash proportions, muntin width, the depth of the exterior brickmould, and the way a painted frame catches light all matter, and wood remains the material that reproduces those details most faithfully.

Species matters more than most people expect. Pine is the common choice and takes paint well, but it wants a dependable coating on every exposed face. Denser species and factory-treated stock resist moisture longer and hold a stained finish that shows grain. Clad options wrap the exterior in an aluminum or fiberglass skin while keeping real wood inside, which is how most homeowners in this region now specify wood: the interior warmth stays, and the painting moves indoors where it happens rarely. We are candid on this site that composite gives the wood look without the calendar; wood is for houses and owners where the real thing is the point.

The regional test for wood is moisture, not cold. A humid July under a mature maple in Fountain Hill keeps a north-facing sill damp long after a storm, and that is where paint fails first and wood softens. Freeze-thaw then works the joints at the sash corners. None of this means wood cannot last; original sashes from the 1890s are still operating in many of these houses. It means the exposure on each wall decides the specification, and a careful matched installer walks the outside before recommending bare wood, clad, or a mix.

Wood sashes are thicker than vinyl, which gives the glazing pocket room for a full insulated unit with a warm-edge spacer, and on a historic facade that pocket can be finished with a putty-profile bead that looks like original glazing from the sidewalk. Ask your matched installer whether the grille pattern is simulated divided lite with spacer bars between the panes or a removable interior grille; the first is convincing at street distance, the second is easier to clean.

Hardware on wood windows is where the character shows. Sash locks, lifts, and casement operators come in oil-rubbed bronze, unlacquered brass, and matte black, sized to older proportions. Modern wood double-hungs use concealed balances rather than weights and cords, so the sash still tilts for cleaning. Exterior screens can be half or full height in a frame that matches the trim color.

Wood replacements on pre-war houses are more often full-frame than insert. Original frames are frequently out of square, sills have been patched with filler more than once, and the weight pockets beside an old double-hung are empty cavities that should be insulated before a new unit goes in. Your matched installer will check plumb and level at the jambs, probe the sill and lower casing, and look at how the exterior brickmould meets the masonry.

On the day, expect the crew to work one opening at a time so the house is never fully open to the weather. Old sashes, weights, and pulleys come out; the pocket is filled; the new unit is set, shimmed, and flashed; and the interior stops go back to match. Exterior painting of a bare wood unit is usually a separate step after the sealant cures, so ask who handles the first coat and when.