Warning: touch() [function.touch]: Utime failed: Permission denied in /home/allebasi/domains/buyreplacementwindows.net/public_html/wp-content/plugins/unique_articles/unique_articles.php on line 888
Warning: touch() [function.touch]: Utime failed: Permission denied in /home/allebasi/domains/buyreplacementwindows.net/public_html/wp-content/plugins/unique_articles/unique_articles.php on line 673
If you window-shop while strolling neighborhood sidewalks, you may conclude that your windows don’t measure up aesthetically. Having to buy replacement windows may take on an urgency if utility bills are a painful reminder of leaky panes when payments come due.
Depending on your point of view, the No. 1 consideration for buying new windows is either energy efficiency or aesthetics. After all, new windows affect the buyer’s wallet at the time of purchase and for many years (and heating and cooling bills) to come. And the right replacement windows can give a house a long-term face-lift.
Like any major home-improvement project, installing replacement windows is costly. Prices vary from contractor to contractor and brand to brand, but the average ranges from $350 to $600 per window including installation. And generally, single-hung windows (only the bottom portion slides) cost less than double-hung options (both top and bottom slide).
Replacement window contractors (along with the Environmental Protection Agency) claim that thermal windows give you a return on your investment by reducing heating and air-conditioning costs 30 percent, and sometimes as much as 50 percent. Updated windows also can increase the value of a home and make it more appealing to potential buyers.
Homeowners who need a quick fix for windows but won’t live in a house long enough to reap the long-term benefits often turn to storm windows. They’re not the energy misers that replacement windows are, but they do offer some relief at half the cost of replacement windows. After deciding to buy replacement windows, why not consider changes in window design as well? If you’re tired of the same old rectangles, let your creativity guide you to a new vista.
For example, picture windows can be divided and turned into working windows, often with stationary panels on each side.
Bump-out garden windows can be installed in kitchens, bathrooms or breakfast nooks. On a larger scale, these bump-out styles are also used to make room for a window seat; many feature copper or cedar shake awnings.
Changing the look of the window can be as simple as updating the shape of the panes. Or think bigger and convert a large window into a set of French doors.
My home was built in 1962, and it came with aluminum windows and doors that were not thermally insulated and just made the house look old and out-of-date. I wanted the energy efficiency plus more options for opening picture and bay windows, and I wanted a very small bathroom window enlarged to create a more open feeling. Buying replacement windows gave me the updated look and options I wanted and cut my air-conditioning bill by more than half.
By definition, thermal windows consist of a two panes of glass placed 1/4 inch or more apart that are sealed in a single casement or frame. The space between the glass panes creates a buffer of air, and the sealed frame prevents drafts.
There are three parts to the quality thermal window equation: frame, seal and glass. And with only those three components, a homeowner can come up with almost 26,000 different replacement-window possibilities. You can get any degree of energy efficiency, any level of durability and certainly any kind of look they want. The only real limit is how much you want to spend. The frame is probably the most important part of the whole replacement window. The cost is totally dependent on the look you want, the energy efficiency and the durability. For people who are choosing between aluminum, vinyl and wood frames, the following are a few considerations about each type.
Aluminum frames are most often found on older homes. On the plus side, they are usually the least expensive and the most durable, especially in North Texas’ sunny and dry conditions.
However, because aluminum is so good at conducting heat and cold, the frames literally bring the outside temperature right into the house.
If you like the durability of aluminum but don’t care for this drawback, consider ATB (aluminum thermally broken) frames. These frames, which cost about 15 percent more than standard aluminum, feature a polyurethane buffer between the inside and outside frame.
The buffer breaks the conductivity and stops much of hot or cold from passing to the indoors.
- Vinyl tops aluminum in the insulation factor, but it is not as durable.
Because vinyl can expand and contract with temperature changes, it can easily loosen or break the caulking that surrounds the window – creating gaps for air to pass through By far the most popular units being sold today are constructed with vinyl frames. They can be easily and inexpensively customized to fit the window space and they do not conduct heat and cold, so the frame and the window are both serving as a barrier to the outside temperature.
- Wood frames are the beauty-contest winners. And if you want window frames to be one color on the outside and another on the inside, wood is your only option. But the very idea of painting puts them in a high-maintenance category.
Wood makes for a good insulator, sealing out heat and cold. And wood frames can last for the life of the home when protected from the elements and pest infestations.
But wood frames are commonly the most expensive. Be sure to ask what kind of wood you’re paying for; it makes all the difference in durability. Harder woods, such as ash, hold up better than less-expensive options, such as porous pine.
A successful window replacement is only as good as the sealant used to fill gaps and help hold the frame in place. High-quality, flexible vinyl or polyurethane caulk is necessary to seal any small air spaces around the window and allow the window to expand and contract with temperature and moisture changes. This is an important consideration when you buy replacement windows.
CLEAR DIFFERENCES IN GLASS
- Standard glass: The most common window pane glass is 3/32 inch thick and has a R-value (the number signifying heat transference) of 1.61.
- Thermal glass: Thicker or thermal glass usually has an R-value of about 3.5, meaning that it provides more than double the insulation value of standard window glass. It costs about 15 percent more.
- Tinted glass: Glass with colored coatings meant to keep out UVA and UVB sunlight is growing in popularity in North Texas – especially for homes facing concrete patios or driveways that reflect sunlight and heat into the house. Tinted glass usually costs an additional 10 percent.
- Low-emissivity glass. Clear coated glass used to filter out the sun’s rays is also growing in popularity in North Texas. A north-facing window usually needs a thin coating because it gets less light than a south-facing window. The latter needs a thicker coating, perhaps even tinting. Low-e glass generally costs 20 percent more than standard glass.
- Decorative glass: Beveled glass and leaded glass are also available in thermal frames, and are priced according to size and detail.
- Noise-reducing glass: Homeowners can purchase argon gas-filled replacement windows that do increase thermal insulation but are used mostly to reduce noise penetration. These gas-filled units cost about 25 percent more than standard thermal units.