Wood Window Repair in Boston, MA

Restore your wood windows. Don't replace them.

Most window companies will tell you your old wood windows are beyond saving. We disagree. At Whole Window, we specialize exclusively in wood window restoration across the Greater Boston area — saving homeowners 50–70% compared to full replacement while preserving the character of their home.

Why repair instead of replace?

Original wood windows in Boston-area homes were built with old-growth lumber that's denser, more durable, and more rot-resistant than anything available today. A properly restored wood window can last another 50+ years. Replacement vinyl windows typically last 15–20 years before needing to be replaced again.

Repair also preserves the architectural integrity of your home — especially important in historic neighborhoods like Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Brookline, and Jamaica Plain.

What we repair

Our wood window repair services cover every part of your window system:

• Rotten window sills — wood splicing, epoxy consolidation, profile matching

• Rotten sashes — full sash rebuild or epoxy restoration

• Rotten frames — structural repair before damage spreads

• Sash cords and pulleys — restore smooth operation in double-hung windows

• Glass and glazing — replace fogged units, reglaze with traditional putty

• Weatherstripping — seal drafts, reduce energy bills

• Hardware — locks, latches, lifts, balances

• Screens — custom window screen repair and replacement

Reglazing: putty is a wear part

Glazing putty holds the pane, seals it, and sheds water off the glass. It hardens and cracks after twenty to thirty years, and it goes first on the south and west sides of the house where the sun is hardest. Once it fails the glass rattles, water sits against the muntin and the rail, and rot starts exactly where repairs cost the most. Reglazing is routine maintenance on a wood window, and it is the piece most often skipped.

How we reglaze a sash

• Old putty is softened and removed without scorching the wood or breaking the glass

• The rabbet is cleaned to bare wood and primed with oil primer. This is the step most often skipped, and it is why some putty jobs fail in three years instead of thirty

• Glass is bedded in a thin layer of putty so it sits on a cushion, not on bare wood

• Glazing points hold the pane mechanically. Putty is a seal, not an adhesive

• The bevel is run in one pass and left to skin over before painting

• Paint is lapped slightly onto the glass, which is what keeps water out of the putty line

Fresh putty does not cure in a deep freeze or in full August sun, so in New England this is spring and fall work.

Restoration pricing, window by window

Most restoration jobs combine three things in the same visit. These are the prices we charge in the Boston area:

• Reglazing a sash, $275 to $495 per window, depending on the number of panes, the condition of the old putty, and access

• Sash cords, $125 per side and $250 per sash for both cords, or $290 per sash to convert to chain

• Bronze weatherstripping, $175 to $345 per window, depending on whether one sash or both are done

Done together in one visit, a full restoration of a single window generally runs $500 to $1,000. Booked separately that is three trips to the house. Every job gets a written estimate before work starts.

We do not install replacement windows. Repair and restoration is all we do, so there is no version of the estimate where it turns out you need new units.

How to tell if your wood windows have rot

Wood rot hides. By the time paint is peeling the damage underneath is usually years old. Four checks anyone can do from inside the house:

• Press the bottom rail with your thumb. Sound wood pushes back. If it gives like cork or your nail sinks in, the fibers are gone

• Look at the joints, not the middle. Rot starts where the stile meets the rail and where the sill meets the jamb, because that is where water sits

• Check the putty line. Cracked or missing glazing putty lets water in behind the glass, and that is the most common way a sash rots from the inside out

• Dark stains under the paint. Grey or black streaking on the sill is water that has already been in the wood through several seasons

Repair or replace: how we decide

Old growth wood in a pre-1950 window is denser than anything sold today, which is why a hundred year old sash is worth saving and a twenty year old vinyl unit is not. We repair rather than replace when:

• The rot is confined to the bottom rail, the sill or a single joint. Rotted sections are cut out and spliced with matching solid wood, or consolidated and rebuilt with marine grade epoxy

• The sash still holds its square and the muntins are intact

• Drafts and rattling are the real complaint. That is almost always failed weatherstripping, a broken sash cord or dried putty, not a window that has reached the end of its life

A full replacement window in the Boston area runs $800 to $1,500 per opening installed, and it removes original trim and casing along with the sash. A restoration of the same window generally runs $500 to $1,000 and keeps everything that makes the house look right. Replacement makes sense when the frame itself is structurally gone, and we will tell you when that is the case even though we do not sell replacement windows.

Drafty and leaky windows

Cold air at the sash and water on the sill are two different problems. Air leaks come from the meeting rail and the sash perimeter and are solved with bronze weatherstripping. Water coming in means the glazing putty, the sill slope or the exterior paint film has failed, and that is what leads to rotted frames and sills if it is left another winter. We check both on the estimate.

Our process

Step 1: Free on-site estimate. We visit your home, inspect each window, and provide a detailed written quote with no hidden fees.

Step 2: Professional repair. We use marine-grade epoxy, solid wood splices, and proven traditional techniques. Most single-window repairs are completed in 2–4 hours.

Step 3: Quality protection. Every repair is finished with proper priming and painting to protect the wood. Backed by 1-year workmanship warranty (extended up to 5 years available).

Service areas

We provide wood window repair across Boston, Newton, Brookline, Needham, Wellesley, Cambridge, Somerville, West Roxbury, and surrounding towns.

Get a free estimate

Call (617) 982-1211 or fill out our quote form. We respond to all inquiries within 24 hours.