Windows in Detroit fail where old wood meets freeze-thaw and damp air off the river. Morning condensation sits on the stool until the wood stains or the water freezes. A failed seal fogs a newer insert and stays fogged after noon. Wind pushes through the meeting rail on both the street side and the alley side. A cold room with a live heat source is often an opening problem.
Brick openings and plaster returns show a sloppy fit immediately. An insert in a soft frame leaves the rot behind the new glass. Full-frame work is worth it when the sill is mush and wasteful when the wood is sound. Plenty of bungalows still have wood sashes and a storm panel that rattles. Say how the sill feels, and say if the old paint is chalking.
Painted-shut sashes and tired ropes or balances are ordinary in houses that stayed closed for years. Forcing them splits the rail. Hardware and a single sash can be repaired when the frame is solid and the glass is clear. Fogged glass is not automatically a whole-house project. Count the rooms that leak air or show rot, not every opening on a close-set brick face.
Summer humidity off the river fogs the same failed unit that winter only chilled. Bedroom windows over a porch roof take the worst water because the low roof keeps the sill wet. Ask how the brick opening is flashed and what fills the gap around the frame. Interior plaster and an outside cap belong in a finished opening. A handsome unit with a loose edge still leaks into the wall you cannot see.
Say how many openings hurt, which floor, and whether the frames are soft. Detroit lots are tight, so also say if the window faces an alley or a porch roof. Call the number on this page.