Doors and Windows - Old Window Rehab?

I've been rebuilding windows that are probably 100+ years old and am not completely satisfied. With 25 windows left of the 30 total I've been looking for a supplier of replacement jambs and hardware. I have found WindowRenu after hours of internet searching but no-one else. They offer white aluminum jambs only. I would like to compare them to the other vinyl and stainless ones I've read about but can't find. Does anyone have any other supplier info?
Also I'd be interested in the pros/cons about using spring bronze stripping instead of replacement jambs? After dealing with many vinyl replacement windows that have gone bad I'm hesitant to go that route this time. Thanks,............... Billy

Hi Billy, not my field, but I do save links of interest and this one might help if you haven't already found it. The wording on the link is a bit confusing, but here is the title of the article.
"The Repair of Historic Wooden Windows "
Old House Journal: Preservation Briefs: 1 The Cleaning and Waterproof Coating of Masonry Buildings (http://www.oldhousejournal.com/notebook/npsbriefs/brief09.shtml)

If the windows are that old, how is the rest of the house. The reason I ask is during major projects it is the best time to catch many of the other energy efficient details.

Bud

Thanks Bud, for the interesting link. Oh yes, there are many other upgrades needed too. Just need more time to get'em done; insulation, wiring, plumbing etc. Installed a couple of high eff. gas boilers a year ago too. My wife used to help me but now she has to take care of our 17 mo. old and home school my 8 year old son. If I wasn't in the remodeling trades most my life it would have cost a fortune. When I was younger I thought vinyl replacements were the cats meow---but now that I'm replacing the replacements I hopefully found a better solution rebuilding the original wood windows...Billy

I have had folks with old single pane windows and heating bills that would choke other home owners and they'd say, no way am I replacing those windows, I love them. So I'm still searching for a way to keep everyone happy and yield some energy improvement and do it at a reasonable cost. Window quilts have worked for some. Still hard to find and expensive, but the feedback has been very positive and they have the old home charm.

When oil was hitting 4-5 dollard a gallon, new solutions had to be found. With 4" walls there is only so much insulation that can be installed, so projects started adding rigid foam over either the inside or outside of the house and not just 2" stuff, 4 to 6 inches. Those results were very good, but work best when combined with work already in progress.

Keep warm
Bud

Well I'm putting new storms on the 2nd floor and building storms for the first floor. I can reach the storms to remove on the 1st floor but I don't want to be climbing up to the 2nd floor to remove them. I love the look of the old wood window casings but I think more of low maintenance now then before. Now my new gas boilers are 97% eff., so that was my first move in saving energy. Windows are the 2nd. Wiring and Ceiling insulation will be the third. I used 1/2" foam board in my own house, inside and out but don't know if I'll use it this time until I get a feel for the heating costs after those improvements above are complete. This work is being done on a 3 unit brick apartment building. I can't imagine installing 6" foam board then covering it. Thats gotta be labor intensive and costly. My big move toward avoiding $4/gal. oil in my personal residence was to buy a corn stove and switch my oil boiler for a high eff. gas mod-con boiler. I guess we all see things a little different but we all need to be more green.......Billy