If you’ve driven by the D. O. Pearson House recently you might have noticed some of the windows boarded up.  Thanks to 2016 Giving Tuesday donations and a Snohomish County Community Heritage Grant this year we are able to repair or “refurbish” the leaking old Pearson House windows to avoid costly replacement. This helps us retain the character of the historic building which has now survived over a century.

The twelve windows were made of cedar and they have withstood a century of weather and not rotted. But old putty was replaced where necessary to seal them and they have been repainted.  To do the job correctly, they must be removed, repaired off-site and re-installed.

They return secure and cleaner brightening up the rooms with light.  And once again they can slide up and down to open.

They can be held open with pins in hot weather. They slide much better now even without pulleys, ropes and sash weights that provide a smooth sliding counter balance in later double hung windows. Some of them also have unusual interesting decorative locks and catches.

Repairing wood windows can be cost effective and energy efficient so if you are considering replacing old wood windows, consider repairing them.  For more information on how to proceed, click here.  And here “Top Ten Reasons to Restore or Repair Wood Windows.  Also another new study on window treatments.

The windows are original to the house. We are lucky to find someone with the special skills and patience to work with the windows so we didn’t have to replace them. The Window King company, specifically, Jeff Zoloth, has 20+ years of experience refurbishing historic windows currently including the Macy’s building in Seattle.  See his website for more examples of historic preservation projects he has worked on throughout Western Washington.