There is nothing in this world like fine craftsmanship.

Today we received my replacement window from the Weston Millwork Company. This is no ordinary replacement window. This is THE replacement window. All sugar pines should be so lucky to suffer a fate as the one that gave its life for our window.

Somewhere along the line in the history of our home someone replaced the window in the study. Unlike normal fill-in replacement window jobs, when the window was replaced, the jambs and all were removed. In its place was put the most egregious, vile-looking replacement job. It didn’t even fit the space. When the trim was put around it, you could still see the aluminum frame and its other sins. A window like that has no place in a fine Victorian home. I spent the better part of two years looking for someone to make a window just like I wanted. I wrote more than a half dozen shops that did similar work to Weston Millwork, but no one did what I wanted, or worse yet, asked enough questions. Dozens of phone calls and emails were sent back and forth between Bill and Celia Hewitson and myself. As silly and simple as it sounds, this is what ensured that my window was perfect. If that isn’t enough, the way the window was crated and shipped was superb. I have no doubt that most people spend as much on a replacement window as Weston Millwork did on my packaging.

The City of Ypsilanti’s Historic District Commission has guidelines on what makes an acceptable replacement window. The HDC needs only to point to Weston Millwork.