That title might be hard to understand - let me explain. My house has the original 1966 full frame, double pane anderson windows. They have, on the exterior, the old , triple section storm window/screen setup. That appears to be what I would call a cartridge, screwed on and separate from the window itself. I believe these windows are sufficient - probably better than late model vinyl replacement/pocket windows - maybe. But anyhow, the reason I'm asking this is because I need to wrap my wood trim in aluminum because it's all rotting out. I don't want to invest the time in the aluminum wrapping until I do something with the windows. Rather than replace the windows, all I really want is just a full size screen, the type that pop out, etc... What are my options to get rid of the storm window setups? Am I just up against a choice of replace windows or don't replace windows? Thanks!

Hello there, It might have been discussed already… I spent little time on searching for it on the forum, so do not bash me, please. My problem is as follows. House was built in 1982. It appears windows are still original. Currently I have double hung, all wood, single pane with storm windows/screen. They are warm (frame, not glass!!), not leaking air, and look still good. Frame is still stiff, not bent anywhere or such. Since it is MI (today outside is -15C – sorry, I am a metric guy) I get significant condensation on the glass inside (even with the storm windows in place). In order to minimize it I thought about new windows, but the lowest quote is roughly 4k. With windows matching our current exterior and interior it is another 50% more. Therefore, an idea of retrofitting double pane into current frame came to my mind. Initially I made a “double pane” myself – I simply cut a sheet of glass and secured it from outside in the frame. Result – much warmer glass and condensation cut by about 80%. I found double pane (made to order) Low-E. It costs roughly 65 USD per piece (a piece is 32”x24”) and I have 12 of those pieces plus a pair of 32”x16” at 42 USD… so we are talking about 850 USD plus taxes and misc. Labor is an extra 22/piece if I want them to replace the glass. So here we come to a question – shall I replace the glass only and keep the old frames or go for a whole window? Is it OK for the window frame? It will hold the extra weight (I got one “retrofit” done, and it works OK – will stay in place when open). But I wonder, as someone told me that the frames will go bad and the double pane will start leaking within a year or so (it was one of those “quote guys”). Some additional data. Today in the morning I measured temperatures in the two rooms (the regular one and the test one with “new glass”). I used infrared thermometer. Outside is -15C, wind 15 km/h. Inside the rooms is about 19C. All temps are in C. Wall: 17.1, frame 14.5, glass 3.8 (about half way condensation – that is 12”, similar upper sash) Wall: 17.4, frame 14.5, glass 9.5 (some condensation – that is 3/4” on the lower sash, upper minimal, less than 1/4") The product I would be getting is Synergy Series by VPI Quality Windows. U-factor 0.30, SHGC 0.22 (for their window – I am not sure about the glass itself). Please advise. EDIT: the total thickness of the double pane is 3/8", if it matters.