New windows let style and sunshine come in

We must be content until spring fully arrives.

Inside we watch from our windows.

Just as with the careful landscape you construct around your home, windows decorate your outside walls.

Restore, upgrade or change the design ù today's homeowner isn't limited by the age, shape or dTcor of the house.

If your house is more than 100 years old, perhaps on the historic register, reconditioning or restoring your windows is a solution for both appearance and insulation.

"I've seen an amazing resurgence within the last 10 years for old wavy glass," said Bill Miller, owner of Residential Business Service for 30 years in Haverhill, where he was born and brought up.

"I'm dumbfounded by it.

I can count on my hand the number of new pieces glass I've put in over the last several years.

"Everyone wants old wavy glass," he continued.

"I go out to find it ù I find old pieces people have thrown away." Miller does a lot of work on the North Shore for people with older homes, those with an interest in maintaining the period look of their homes.

"People who are cognizant of the appearance of older homes elect to restore rather than replace their windows because of the look from the outside, the three-dimensional appearance to them.

They have depth," he said.

"A lot of the homes I work in ù in Manchester-by-the- Sea, Andover or Salem, Mass.

* when you look at those wood windows you realize the house was designed with that particular window in that house.

If you change that aspect, the appearance and view of the house from the street changes.

To appreciate the difference you need to see the view through wavy glass, especially when the sun is hitting it.

To really see it is to understand what I'm talking about." Years ago homeowners were wont to take out the wavy glass and replace it with clear glass, Miller said.

"Every window has a value to it besides just being a wood window, especially with older windows," he said.

"People don't realize wood windows have a look about them." Get a clue from air leaks and water stains around your windows ù they might call out for rehab and restoration.

Miller makes a clear distinction between restoration, which is a very involved project, and reconditioning.

"I do both," he said.

"Restoration is a unique term vs.

reconditioning.

For a restoration I remove the window from the house and take it into my shop, take apart the wood, strip it down and make repairs.

I reset the glass, putty and paint the window and return it in mint condition, all restored.

Reconditioning is a milder case.

I wouldn't charge for a restoration if the window didn't need it." Those windows that do require restoration give a house more than a face lift, Miller said.

"Restoration and reconditioning increase the value of a house significantly," he said.

"The increase is not so much a dollar value, but anything that is restored is improved, just like a car.

Once you fix up the window the overall look of the house is fixed up, too." And if you're lucky enough to have an older home with window glass authentic to the times? "Don't change the glass," Miller advised.

"Now people have seen the value of that look and it's extremely important to them." Miller prices a job based on the amount of wood involved and the number of window squares.

Prices to restore window run from a low $150 per set to a high $450 per set.

"Sometimes the windows just have to be painted or primed, or need to have the cracks filled in," said Miller, who listens to Dean Martin while he works because "He puts me in glazing mood.

I swear when I put him on I can lay that glazing down and it runs right off." Reach Bill Miller for a quote on your window project, old or new, by calling 978-372-0303.

Something new and different Perhaps you have a newer home, or even a home under construction, and you want to make a difference with windows.

A spot to start is in the kitchen.

Make the space brighter over your kitchen sink with a wider view.

Extend your reach into the back garden with a special window.

"Garden windows are mostly used over the kitchen sink; that's their most common application," said Chris Costello, vice president of the Building Center's Gloucester and Essex stores.

"Usually what we recommend people to do is consider the space they're looking to fill in the wall, and the space they're looking to light up in the kitchen.

Some go with too large a window and it restricts the amount of available cabinet space.

The window and cabinets need to be even balance; you don't want to lose storage space." A garden window is made either of wood, for a very traditional look and stained to the color desired, or vinyl.

"Vinyl is an excellent material, very low maintenance; it never needs to be painted," Costello said.

"And they've come out with a fullwrap vinyl, which never needs to be painted on the inside, either." Since the successful debut of the garden window, quite a few sizes are available, and the cost runs from about $1,500 to $2,600, with an option of a wood or glass shelf.

"We supply references for area contractors qualified to install the window," Costello said.

"For the removal and installation it will not take more than a couple of days, less time if no reframing is required fit to the existing space.

It could be one-day project, but each remodeling situation has different areas that are unique.

The contractor will look at it to judge the extent of the work." Speaking of unique, Costello said, consider a "feature" window to enhance an existing window on your home.

"Feature windows are not something we saw in a house until a few years ago," he said.

"Now every house we supply gets a feature window, be it an elliptical top over the front door, a touch of gothic windows, or curved and arched French casements.

Even a classic farmhouse gets a special look with a simple oval window over the farmer's porch, to replicate an old Victorian look." Andersen Windows pioneered specialty windows by offering a lot of different features, sizes and shapes in stock, he said.

The company markets standard sizes with standard lead times * your window does not have to be manufactured to spec.

"You can buy a circle top for a French wood door right off the shelf," he continued.

"You can even design your own grille to go into the feature window.

On the far extremes, I've seen a family crest designed into a window grille." Andersen's custom grille program allows customers to design their own patterns, called muntins, available with a natural interior or prefinished exterior, or prefinished on both sides.

"Get a historical or traditional look by having muntins in your windows," Costello said.

Get some advice on your window project from the Building Center by calling 978-283-3060.

Windows can personalize Another way to add your signature to your home is with Art Glass, another of Andersen's unique ways to work wonders on your windows.

"The glass is very unique and very beautiful, made in sizes specifically to fit over Andersen windows and patio doors," said Jack Miller, millwork operations manager for Moynihan Lumber and affectionately dubbed Mr.

MOM.

"If you've chosen Andersen Windows, then the Frank Lloyd Wright-registered art glass is an option.

It ends up being more costly than the regular type of art glass because it is architecturally licensed.

A portion of the proceeds go to the Frank Lloyd Wright Society." If you're looking to fit your current Andersen window and are unsure of the size, the best way to find out is to look at the screens for your double-hung or casement unit.

All Andersens have codes marked at the bottom telling the size of the window, Miller said.

"We're an Andersen Circle of Excellence dealer, specifically trained more than the average dealer," he said.

"And we're an authorized service center for Andersen, which makes a little more knowledgeable and quicker with the information you need.

We can tell you exactly what size glass you need." Miller suggests you tap into the Moynihan Lumber Web site at moynihanlumber.com, which offers a gateway into the Andersen Window site.

"Click into the Art Glass section to see the different choices ù- colors and patterns.

See the amount of designing you can do on your own with color, even with the leaded portion between panes of glass," he said.

"Choose from gold or silver or patina, which is a dark black.

Also choose different colors of glass and textures * which come in clear or crackled or a raindrop water finish." Make your choice from seven patterns, then choose your colors, texture and type of glass.

Then comes the caming, the leaded portion that creates the outline of the design.

Moynihan Lumber, with locations in Beverly, North Reading and Plaistow, N.H., has installers on staff, and "we use also use good customers as subcontractors," Miller said.

Cost depends on size and type of window, casement or awning or patio door, he said, and ranges from $350 for a simple window to as much as $2,000 for a patio door.

"The special order takes about four to six weeks to deliver," he said.

"We don't ship anything unless you're ready for it ùwe'll take responsibility for it until you're ready." Installation is fairly straightforward.

The art glass has a little bit of a wooden framework which piggybacks onto the sash.

Your custom design window is not just for outside windows either.

"Use it as a partition in your home by hanging it," he suggested.

"You could have a half-round window over your doorway and then have similar art glass in a rectangular shape as a wall partition.

Art glass has all kinds of purposes.

We do the custom millwork in our shop to make a frame for them." Good news ù if you become attached to your work-of-art window you can take it with you when you move.

Simply detach it and fill the holes where the screws were.

Unsure of where to start? You can always call Mr.

MOM at Moynihan Lumber in his North Reading office at 781-944-8500 or 978-664-3310.