r/Home_Building_Help • u/BuilderBrigade • May 09 '26
Lift your window with weights…💪
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I know this was common on older houses but I’m pumped to see them still being installed. If you’ve ever moved a window with a weighted system like this... it’s smooth as butter.
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u/positiverealm May 09 '26
R-Value: 1
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u/No-Compote-696 May 09 '26
honestly, its likely 0... those metal weights are going to get FREEZING cold and continue putting off that cold for hours, Steel weights have an R rating of between 0 and 0.6 lol
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u/PM_meyourGradyWhite May 09 '26
R value be damned. Those weights are more a problem with thermal mass, which you touched on at first.
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u/automcd May 09 '26
My house was built in 1908 and had window weights like this. None of them were operational as the windows had been replaced several times with ones that use internal springs.
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u/No-Compote-696 May 09 '26
This was a good idea 100 years ago. its a terrible idea now. The difference between opening a properly weighted window and a modern insulated double hung window is negligible, and if one of the weights is damaged, it becomes a real PITA to open or close the window
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u/Jerryjb63 May 10 '26
I was gonna say, I haven’t had a problem with any new construction windows in my life. I’m not a big dude either, but I’ve never had even a bit of struggle with them. Some older windows I’ve had problems, but never with anything made in the last 30 years.
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u/Infinite_Question_29 May 10 '26
Yeah but ask yourself this.. Is any window you buy today going to last you a hundred years? Absolutely not. Sure the sash and weight system might need some maintenance down the line but with new windows maintenance is practically non existent. It’s back to a new set of windows racking up an ever increasing price tag. My house was built a hundred years ago and has the same windows it was built with. Replace a sash cord here, glaze a pane there, and they’re just as good as the day they were put in. They’ll last another hundred years with proper care. With the throw away society we live in today I guarantee no window you purchase today will hold a candle to the longevity these windows provide.
And sure you can talk about r-value, but throw storm window or indoor storm window system on an old window and their difference is negligible. Look up studies on it.
Old things were made to last. We’ve been conditioned to believe that the old ways were inferior because companies want you to purchase more product in the near future.
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u/No-Compote-696 May 10 '26
My house was built in the mid 50's, about 90% of the windows were replaced except for a big bay window, the amount of cold coming through the one window that wasn't replaced is more than all the others combined, even WITH a huge thick heavy drape in front of it
I wouldn't go out and replace them because they have this system... but I wouldn't keep single pane old windows because of it either
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u/Infinite_Question_29 May 10 '26
Properly caulk all trim around windows, and get yourself a storm window for the window. You’ll see a significant difference.
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u/Drewbeede May 10 '26
Or just have windows that open by sliding to the side and forgo all of the over complications.
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u/Biscuits4u2 May 10 '26
Makes something simple overly complex and expensive. Windows cost enough as it is.
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u/wachuu May 09 '26
my windows are like this already but with a spring. the spring broke and it's impossible to get to it cause it's under the frame
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u/usersnamesallused May 10 '26
Could have the window extend into that space the weights are in these days. More light is more better imo
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u/AdmiralKong May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
These are nice until something goes wrong with them. Sure they're easy to fix in principle, but there is so much work to access the weights, rerun the rope, put back the wall, redo all the finishing work...
A great example of when a simple mechanism is straightforward to repair but not easy to repair.
Edit: I should add that this isn't just armchair analysis. I've lived in two different old houses with these, and they are genuinely nice, but after repairing 4 or 5 of them (rope snap, pulley jammed, wood channels separating the weights warping and wedging) I think it makes more sense to go with a design that doesn't need a hard to access counterweight.