Replacing Windows in a Huntsville Historic District

The short answer

If your home is in one of Huntsville's locally designated historic districts, you need approval from the Huntsville Historic Preservation Commission before you change your windows. That approval comes as a Certificate of Appropriateness, often called a COA, or through a quicker Expedited Staff Review, and it must be in hand before a building permit can be issued.

Repairing your original windows, or adding exterior storm windows over them, is often the simplest path. When replacement is the right answer, the goal is a new window that matches the original design. Rules and procedures change, so always confirm the current requirements with the city before you order anything.

Which Huntsville neighborhoods have design review?

According to the City of Huntsville's Historic Preservation pages, the city has four locally designated historic districts:

• Twickenham, Huntsville's first historic preservation district, designated by the city in 1972.
• Old Town, designated by the city in 1974.
• Five Points, established as a historic preservation district in 1999.
• Alabama A&M University, the campus district in the northeastern part of the city.

The city's districts page has more history on each. Properties in these districts are subject to design review by the Commission for any exterior changes.

National Register listing is not the same thing

Huntsville also has historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places that are not locally designated, including the Dallas Mill, Lowe Mill, Lincoln Mill and Merrimack Mill village districts. In a post on National Register vs local designation, the city explains that National Register listing is largely an honorary title and does not stop a private owner from altering a property, while local designation brings design review. If you are not sure which applies to your street, ask the city before you plan your project.

What needs a Certificate of Appropriateness?

The city's How to Apply page says that in a historic district, projects that change the exterior of a building or its setting need a Certificate of Appropriateness or Expedited Staff Review approval before a building permit may be issued. For windows, the page draws some useful lines:

• No review is needed to replace window glass when the window is not otherwise being changed.
• Expedited Staff Review covers alterations to windows on the rear and sides of a house. These applications can be submitted at any time and do not need Commission review.
• Other window changes, including those on the front of the house, are not on the expedited list, so expect them to need a full Certificate of Appropriateness.

At the time of writing, the city lists these steps for a full review:

1. Submit the application by the end of business on the last Monday of the month.
2. The Commission hears applications at 4:30 p.m. on the second Monday of each month, in the City Council Chambers.
3. A representative for the project must attend the meeting, or the request will be denied.
4. Approvals are valid for 12 months, and staff may grant a one-time extension of up to six months.

These details can change, so call the city's Historic Preservation office at (256) 650-4779 to confirm before you apply.

Repair before you replace

Huntsville's design review follows the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, the federal standards for work on historic buildings. Standard 6 of the Standards for Rehabilitation says it plainly: deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where a feature is too deteriorated to repair, the replacement should match the old in design, color, texture and other visual qualities, and in material where feasible.

For old wood windows, that often means repair. The National Park Service, in its guidance on weatherizing historic windows and doors, says caulking, weatherstripping and replacing deteriorated glazing compound to seal air leaks should always be done before replacing historic windows is considered. Glazing compound is the putty that holds each pane of glass in its sash, the framed part of the window that moves.

Signs that original windows may be repairable:

• The wood is weathered or has lost its paint, but is firm when pressed.
• The sashes stick or rattle, but are intact.
• Glazing putty is cracked or missing, or a few panes are broken.
• Drafts come from gaps around the sash rather than from damaged wood.

Sash repair and restoration is specialist work, and it is not a service we offer. If your originals look repairable, a window restoration specialist is the right first call, and an exterior storm window, covered below, is the part we can help with.

When replacement makes sense, match the original design

Sometimes repair is not practical. Rot may run through the sash and frame, an earlier owner may have already swapped the originals for poorly matched units, or the window may simply be beyond saving. In those cases the Commission weighs whether a proposed replacement fits the historic character of the house and its street.

Whatever material you propose, a replacement that respects the original design usually matches:

• The opening size. The new window fills the original opening rather than shrinking it.
• The sash arrangement. A double-hung window, with two sashes that slide up and down, stays a double-hung, with the meeting rail, where the two sashes meet, in the same place.
• The pane pattern. If the original is six-over-six, meaning six panes in the top sash and six in the bottom, the replacement shows the same pattern.
• The proportions. Frame and sash widths, and how far the glass sits back from the face of the wall, shape how a window looks from the street.
• The trim. Original casing and sills are kept or reproduced.

On an older house, an insert replacement narrows the glass by setting a second frame inside the old one, which can change the look. Our guide to insert vs full-frame replacement explains the trade-off.

Clad wood replacement windows, with a wood frame protected by a durable exterior cladding, are one option worth discussing for older homes, and our wood windows page explains them. Whether any particular material or product is acceptable is up to the Commission or its staff, case by case, so get that answer before you order.

Exterior storm windows: keep the originals and add protection

An exterior storm window is a second glazed panel mounted on the outside of an existing window. It adds a second barrier against air and weather while the original window stays in place behind it.

For a historic home this can be a very good answer. The National Park Service guidance cites a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study finding that a historic window with a storm window added can achieve thermal performance similar to a new Low-E vinyl replacement window. Low-E refers to a thin, invisible coating on glass that reflects heat. An exterior storm also shields the original sash and sill from rain, sun and hail.

A storm window only works over a primary window that is sound. It will not fix a rotted sill or a sash that will not close, so any repair should come first.

The same guidance offers sensible advice on making storms fit in:

• Line up the storm window's meeting rail and other divisions with those of the original window.
• Paint the storm frames to match the original window frames, so they fade into the house.
• Take care with highly decorative or many-paned windows, where an exterior storm may hide important details.

For those most decorative windows, the Park Service notes that interior storm windows may be preferable. We do not install interior storms. We fit exterior storm windows only, so for those particular windows another route may suit you better. Ask the city's preservation staff whether adding exterior storm windows to your house needs review, and see our storm windows page for more on how they work.

A checklist before you start

1. Confirm your district. Check whether your property is in a locally designated district, not just a National Register district.
2. Photograph your windows. Take clear photos of every side of the house, plus close-ups of each window's condition.
3. Get the condition assessed. Find out which windows are repairable, which need replacement, and where a storm window makes sense.
4. Talk to the preservation office early. Ask which review your project needs and what will help your application. The city's design guidelines page is a good place to start reading.
5. Apply on time. Full reviews have a monthly deadline and a monthly meeting, and someone must attend for your project.
6. Wait for approval before ordering. Do not order windows or start work until the approval and the building permit are in hand.

How we can help

We are a family-owned exterior contractor based in Madison, working across Huntsville and North Alabama. At a free in-home estimate we measure every opening and give you a written, line-item scope with the materials named, which gives you something concrete to show preservation staff when you ask what is allowed.

Please confirm the current rules with the City of Huntsville before you commit to anything, since procedures and guidelines are updated from time to time. When you are ready, request a free estimate or call us at (256) 585-6817 to talk about exterior storm windows or replacement windows for your historic home.