Support Window Preservation at MacIntyre Park Middle School!
- Wed, July 21, 2010, 9:25
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Thomasville City Schools recently received a grant for weatherization activities at MacIntyre Park Middle School. In many cities, this would mean wholesale replacement of every old window, but not in Thomasville, where appreciation for history and architecture runs deep.
The current plans are to "restore the classroom windows that are in place now and replace the auditorium and media center windows with a modern type window that will be energy efficient but which will look like the original windows." The project will likely unfold in three phases: the auditorium first, then the media center, then the classrooms.
Voice your support for this plan by contacting your School Board representative.
Why not replace all the old windows? Here are a few good reasons:
1. Windows built prior to 1940 have a much longer lifespan than new windows. The costs to repair the existing windows are generally much lower than replacements (spread over the lifespan of the window) and more environmentally friendly. Window salesmen are paid to SELL windows and their marketing materials are very convincing. But replacement windows are called 'replacement' windows for a reason. They'll need to be replaced again in about 20 years.
2. Money spent to REPAIR windows stays LOCAL where it is spent again: in taxes, in stores, in restaurants, in giving to churches and charities. Money spent to purchase windows goes to wherever the windows are manufactured and is spent there. Keeping money local strengthens our local economy.
3. Old windows just LOOK better. They have substance and character that is hard to duplicate with new windows.
Read more truth and hype about replacement windows on PreservationNation.org.
