Replacing a window

[boiler717]

Our new (hopefully) house has all original 1921 leaded glass windows except for the sunroom addition which uses Pella architect series windows with the lead lines. All the original windows are inoperable but beautiful! We are okay with this.
I really want the window over the kitchen sink to be operable. It overlooks the backyard and I would like to be able to hear and talk to my son (4y) when he’s in the yard.
We met (distanced) to get a quote on repairing the original. The guy recommended that we replace the window as he didn’t think it was reparable.
He gave us a quote of $2445 using a matching Pella architect window. This is for one double casement window. I did not expect it to be that expensive. Is that normal? Any recommendations for a less expensive option?

[tottenham]

I'm not sure what a new casement window costs, though I've heard it costs about the same to restore. For comparison, we had our original (1924) double casement windows restored 4-years ago and paid $2,000 per double casement. They were in terrible condition with a lot of rot. The company we hired removed the windows, repaired the wood where they could and used salvaged old-growth wood to replace sections that couldn't be repaired. They also created a custom router blade to match the detail on the mullions, re-glazed the glass, and stained and painted the frames. It took about 16 weeks for the work to be done.

The companies we got quotes from charge by the number of lights. Ours have 8/window/16/double window.

We were also given the option to do a mechanical restoration. In this scenario, the contractor just gets the parts in working order so you can open them. We were quoted $1000/double casement for this option.

[boiler717]

Apr 8, 2020 13:58:54 GMT -5 tottenham said:

I'm not sure what a new casement window costs, though I've heard it costs about the same to restore. For comparison, we had our original (1924) double casement windows restored 4-years ago and paid $2,000 per double casement. They were in terrible condition with a lot of rot. The company we hired removed the windows, repaired the wood where they could and used salvaged old-growth wood to replace sections that couldn't be repaired. They also created a custom router blade to match the detail on the mullions, re-glazed the glass, and stained and painted the frames. It took about 16 weeks for the work to be done.

The companies we got quotes from charge by the number of lights. Ours have 8/window/16/double window.

We were also given the option to do a mechanical restoration. In this scenario, the contractor just gets the parts in working order so you can open them. We were quoted $1000/double casement for this option.

This is good to know. I am going to push for another company who will restore. The wood is actually in really good shape, they are just single pane and unable to open.

[tottenham]

Sounds like yours will be much easier to fix than ours were. Hope you can find a restoration company. It's worth the effort.

[simpsongal]

That's definitely a job for which I would want multiple quotes and perspectives. Good luck!

[sparty04]

I can’t comment on the price, but we just went through the process of getting quotes for new windows and we definitely were able to get them to come down considerably in price by doing some research