With all the “hype” about new windows, homeowners sometimes wonder if there is any benefit to keeping their old windows, but replacing the glass. Are new glass options better than the original glass? The short answer is that it depends on what you mean by “better.”

If we are just talking equivalent quality of a flat, single pane of glass, there probably isn’t much difference to the ordinary homeowner. While manufacturing techniques have evolved to reduce visual irregularities, glass is still glass – unlike new wood, which is often of inferior quality when compared to the materials used 60-100 years ago. There probably isn’t much,   if any, benefit to replacing an old pane of glass with an equivalent new one, unless it is broken or damaged.

Historic/Aesthetic Factors

In fact, older glass (especially from 80+ years ago) can have some cosmetic irregularities that are typically viewed as adding to or preserving their historic and aesthetic value. People often pay a premium to get “old” glass or reproduction glass when replacing broken or damaged panes in historic windows. So, old glass may look “better.” (Read more….)