The whole point of living on South Hill is what you see from it. The neighborhood stacks up the slope above downtown Bellingham, and its early-1900s homes were deliberately arranged around views of Bellingham Bay, the San Juans, and the sunset behind Lummi Island. That makes windows the most important — and most neglected — feature of these houses. Alpine Exteriors replaces windows on South Hill with a specific goal: better glass, tighter homes, and not one ounce of lost character.
Old Windows in Old Houses
Much of South Hill went up between 1900 and 1930, and many homes still carry original single-pane wood sash, or aluminum sliders swapped in during the seventies that were an upgrade then and a liability now. The symptoms are familiar to anyone who lives here: condensation sheeting down the glass on winter mornings, rooms on the windward side that never quite warm up, sashes painted shut or rattling in their tracks when the south wind comes up the bay. Single-pane glass on an exposed hillside above salt water is simply outmatched.
Replacement in a historic neighborhood has to be done with judgment. A vinyl picture window with fat frames can flatten the face of a Craftsman. We measure for slim-profile frames, match divided-light patterns where the originals had them, and keep trim reveals consistent with the house — from the sidewalk, a good replacement should be invisible.