Most homeowners who call us have already gotten at least one quote for replacement windows. And most of those quotes come in somewhere between $800 and $1,200 per window. The salesperson is usually smooth about it. "These windows will pay for themselves in energy savings," they say. "Vinyl lasts forever, wood is just going to rot out on you." Here's the problem. The math doesn't back any of it up. ## What Replacement Actually Costs A typical Baton Rouge historic home has 12–20 windows. At $800–$1,200 per window, you're looking at $9,600 to $24,000 to replace them all with vinyl. That number alone stops most people in their tracks. But the real problem is what comes after. Vinyl windows last 15–20 years. That's being generous. Heat, humidity, and UV exposure age vinyl hard in the Deep South. If you're in a 1910 home and you replace all your windows with vinyl today, you're going to be doing this again in 2045. And the cost will be higher, and the windows will still be vinyl. Old-growth cypress sash — the kind that was installed in Baton Rouge homes 100+ years ago — was cut from trees that took 80–150 years to reach harvestable size. The grain is tight, the density is high, and the rot resistance is genuinely exceptional. A properly restored cypress sash, with fresh glazing and new weatherstripping, will outlast you. It will outlast your kids. And when it eventually needs work again, it will be restorable, again. ## The Energy Efficiency Myth Vinyl window manufacturers love to talk about energy efficiency. And honestly, modern vinyl windows are more energy-efficient than 1950s double-hung sash with missing weatherstripping and cracked glazing. That's a low bar. But a properly restored wood window — with modern compression weatherstripping, a new counterweight system, and a tight-fitting storm window — performs within 5–10% of a comparable vinyl window. There is no meaningful difference in practice. And unlike vinyl, a wood window can be weatherstripped again in 30 years. When a vinyl seal fails, you replace the window. The old-growth lumber in your existing sash has a thermal mass that vinyl simply cannot replicate. Wood windows, properly maintained, dampen temperature swings and reduce thermal stress on the glass. This is physics, not sales talk. ## The Historic Tax Credit Problem If your property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, or if it qualifies as a contributing structure in a Baton Rouge historic district, the math on replacement gets significantly worse. Not because of the cost of the windows — but because of what replacement does to your eligibility for the 20% federal historic tax credit. The National Park Service reviews all work on certified historic structures. Replacement of original windows with vinyl is typically treated as a disqualifying event. The Standards for Rehabilitation require that replacement windows match the original in design, materials, and appearance. Vinyl generally doesn't qualify. Louisiana's state Historic Residential Property Tax Credit covers 25% of qualified expenditures, capped at $25,000 for primary residences. If you're doing a full historic renovation and planning to claim both credits, replacing original windows can kill the application's approval entirely. And once a renovation has been deemed non-compliant, getting back on track is expensive and time-consuming. The window replacement company that gave you the $12,000 quote doesn't know any of this. They sell windows. They don't do tax credit compliance work. ## Baton Rouge Specifics: Why Wood Still Wins Here Baton Rouge's climate is hard on everything. Heat, humidity, and heavy rain put every material to the test. Termites are a year-round concern. And the soil conditions in many historic neighborhoods — especially in the Beauregard Town and Spanish Town areas — create a moisture profile that pushes some materials hard. Old-growth cypress was the default window material for Baton Rouge builders for a reason. It has natural resistance to rot and insects. Heart cypress, the dense center of the log, is genuinely durable in these conditions. We see cypress sash that have been in place for 90+ years with only the glazing and weatherstripping needing work. Vinyl does not handle this climate as well as its advocates claim. Vinyl expands and contracts significantly with temperature swings. In a Baton Rouge summer, that movement puts stress on seals and hardware. You will see this show up as warping, seal failures, and operating problems within 10–15 years in many cases. Termite damage to wood windows is real, but it is also repairable. If termites have damaged a frame, a good contractor can apply treatment, reinforce the affected areas, and leave the original structure in place. You don't pull original sash out of a wall because there's termite activity — you fix the termite activity and restore the sash. ## What Restoration Actually Looks Like A typical wood window restoration addresses four things: the sash cords and counterweights, the weatherstripping, the glazing, and any localized wood damage. These are all repairable, all restorable, and all reversible. If you don't like the result, you can do it differently next time. Vinyl replacement is a one-way decision. Once the original sash are in a dumpster, they are gone. And the $800–$1,200 per window figure rarely accounts for the trim work, interior/exterior casing adjustments, and the potential need to modify the rough opening to accommodate modern vinyl units. The original sash in a Baton Rouge historic home is not a problem to solve. It is a feature to maintain. The window you are looking at replacing was made from wood that took 100 years to grow and craftsmanship that has gotten more rare, sure, but is still exists. You can restore it for less than the cost of replacement, and it will last longer. If you want a professional assessment of your windows before you make a decision, [request a free quote from Sashmo](/book). We will look at what you have, tell you honestly what it needs, and give you real numbers. No pressure, no obligation. --- *This article is part of Sashmo's ongoing series on historic window restoration in Baton Rouge and is autogenerated by Polsia AI. As with all AI, verify information. For a full list of resources, including preservation directories and tax credit information, visit our [Historic Homeowner's Resource Page](/resources).*