<p>I would say you got your money’s worth out of those lol </p>
<p>Veruca…it’s not so much how long the windows last but what you expect them to do…and how. Very old houses often have single pane windows. IF they have storms or screens, they are separate pieces. Even with the storms, these are often drafty. I loved in a house built in the early 1800’s. Every room was drafty, and it was a PITA to put on the storms in the winter and take off the screens. I couldn’t wait to get those windows replaced with thermal pane windows that actually had a nice lightweight full screen…and no drafts!</p>
<p>It took some shopping around to find windows that kept the integrity of the old house, but it was doable.</p>
<p>My next house was a 1975 split level with builder grade crappy windows. Those all got replaced by 1986. They were junk.</p>
<p>My current house is almost 20 years old. We were very careful with window selection. Ours don’t have any drafts, close perfectly, thermal pane with argon between the panes and low e glass. Unless something happens, I don’t see them needing to be replaced any time soon.</p>
<p>Original windows in an old house can have well-made storms with integrated screens that remain in place all the time. No labor involved. That’s what we have now. I would have considered replacing the windows–with lots of original glass!–in our 1790 house sheer vandalism. The house still had all of its original floors, also. It was wonderful.</p>
<p>There are good windows out there, and they are expensive. There are a lot of crappy windows that will be lucky to make it 15 years in decent condition.</p>
<p>The house I referred to above (post #35) was built in 1984. The conditions of the windows on the west side of the house became so bad over the years that they could not be fixed. (At least I was told so by the people from the company.) They need to be replaced. But it would cost a lot to replace all of them. So we decided to replace a part of them only. I forgot how much we paid though. But I remember they were not cheap.</p>
<p>I second the suggestion to consult with a few real estate agents locally. I would then spend money based on their suggestions.</p>
<p>So much depends on expectations in your individual market- the price you might get for doing things and how long it would take to sell. Local agents know your competition. Any money spent may not be in a future owner’s taste so the advice on what to change will depend on how shabby things are.</p>
<p>Addenda. When we put our 20 year old house on the market I priced new carpeting of the quality I would want instead of the cheapest, left it as is and realtors thought it looked fine. A few years before moving I had various things fixed and replaced some vinyl and the Formica in the kitchen ( worn out and blue). I did not do granite as I had a 50-50 chance of picking the color the next owner would like and that I liked as well. Painted several rooms to help neutralize the place. Finally had one buyer whose inspector thought there was hail damage (it was me chopping some ice over the garage doors) and wanted us to replace the roof. We refused and he spent his 10 allowable days fixating on that (he had replaced the roof on his house) instead of a couple of sticky windows I was sure an inspector would say needed replacing. We took his low offer as we had moved and it was the first one in over two years.</p>
<p>The 25 year old house we bought needed renovating. It was PINK- counters, cabinets, wallpaper, carpet (mauve). Plus the dropped kitchen ceiling (like many in the subdivision) with half the fl. tubes not working. I am glad we got to choose everything. We saw houses with renovations leaving cabinets over the sink and soffits instead of 8 ft ceilings and taller cabinets… I replaced some ceiling fixtures in our taste as well. But- the lot with its view, layout and location were so much better than similar houses in the area it was worth the work. We ended up doing a lot more than we thought we would- windows and all doors (inside and out). Doorknobs and so many things to update it. We kept the popcorn ceilings since we were living in it during the renovations and H liked them, sigh. Left things for the next owner. The landscape changes are still a work in progress.</p>
<p>Selling a “fixer upper” is different than selling a house that needs updating. Doing some things to fix what is shabby or broken plus improving the curb appeal with pruning, mulch and flowers is worth it. Your realtors can help you determine what to do and what to give allowances for. I personally would want to choose my own carpet and some other things.</p>