Reclaimed windows have been hovering around the edges of the central-Wisconsin design scene for about five years, but in the last twelve months something shifted. They're mainstream now. Remodelers in Wausau, Marathon and Stevens Point are calling us before the truck unloads, and three styles in particular keep selling out the same week they hit the floor.
The first is the divided-light double-hung. These are the classic six-over-six and nine-over-nine wood sash windows out of 1920s and 30s farmhouses across the county. They're heavy, the glass is wavy and old, and they have a presence that vinyl simply cannot fake. We've been pulling these out of teardowns in Athens, Edgar and Marathon. They show up on the floor for around $80 to $140 per sash depending on size and condition.
The second is the steel-frame casement. Mid-century commercial buildings and the occasional Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced ranch home used these. Black steel frame, single-pane glass, often with a quarter-light operable. Designers are repurposing them as interior partition walls: bathroom glass, sunroom dividers, even kitchen pass-throughs. We had a pallet of fourteen come in from a Marshfield warehouse demo last month. They were gone in nine days.
The third (and the one we get the most calls about) is the leaded-glass transom. These came out of doors and tall double-hung stacks in Victorian-era homes. The lead came is the patterned strip holding the small panes together, and original leaded glass simply cannot be reproduced affordably new. People are using these as fixed accents above modern doors and over kitchen sinks. We see one or two a month at most.
If you're considering reclaimed, the math you have to do is restoration cost vs. a new equivalent. A wood-sash double-hung at $120 might need $200 in stripping, glazing compound, sash cord and paint to be re-installable. That puts you at $320 all in. The new equivalent isn't actually a new equivalent. Vinyl doesn't look like that. So you're comparing $320 to whatever you'd spend chasing the look in a custom shop, which is usually four figures.
We hold reclaimed inventory in the Reclaim Loft above the door aisle. If you're driving in from out of town, text us a photo of what you're looking for and we'll tell you what's on hand before you get in the truck.
