Windows in Manchester are the mill's problem and the house's problem, and they are not alike. Mill buildings are wrapped in tall, large sash that leak at the frames, sweat in winter, and make the unit hard to heat. Worker houses and three-families have double-hung bays and alley sash that were painted shut. North End houses may have later units in older openings. Say which building, because a draft in a loft is not a rotten sill on a side street.
Wind at a tall mill window finds the meeting point and the sill, then the freeze swells the wood. On a wood house, the usual trio is a soft sill, a snapped cord, and a storm that does not latch. Vinyl foamed into a crooked opening leaves a cold cavity. Look at the stool and the apron for the stain. Brick openings and mill masonry openings are odd sizes. A unit that almost fits is how the wall gets wet.
Condensation on a huge single pane in a mill loft is often the glass, the height, and moisture from the unit below, not a failed seal in an insulated unit. Fog between panes is the seal. Know which you see. A window that is also the way out of a sleeping room has to open after the repair. Weights and pockets are worth saving on a house if the wood is sound. If a key sinks into the sill, stop calling it paint.
Replacing one house double-hung is not rebuilding a run of mill sash several stories tall in the opening. The second job is masonry, access, and glass size. Say how the window sits in the brick. Alley windows on the West Side rot out of sight. Mention them even if the street front looks fine. Salt is not the story here the way it is on the Seacoast. Age, size, and weather sealing are.
Count the bad openings and name the rooms. Say mill sash or house sash. Mention bays, storms, and any painted-shut way out. Have the neighborhood. Call the number on this page.