Back to the Future – Traditional Old homes and Sustainable Remodeling

Posted by: Ken Mariotti

The building industry has transformed over the past decade because of new technologies and designs that make our homes more comfortable and more economical. Traditional homes valued for their quality craftsmanship or architectural significance can now undergo renovations to bring them up to modern building standards without compromising the beauty of the original home.

Remodel with Marvin Casements

The benefits of remodeling or building a new home using modern windows, skylights, doors, siding, sunrooms and other building products means you can create sustainable designs that enhance your life and support the environment.

Keep the vintage façade of your traditional home while upgrading everything else. Windows and doors are indisputably one of the most important elements to focus on in order to improve the efficiency of your home. Marvin Windows and other manufacturer’s can replicate the scale, proportion, profile, configuration, and appearance of the old windows in your traditional home.

Begin by focusing on insulation, draught proofing, ventilation, and the orientation of windows and doors, and you can create the efficiency of a modern home without loosing the beauty of a traditional home.

Insulation

Wood is still the best insulating material for window frames and with Argon gas filled double pane glass makes the biggest insulation impact. Today’s high-end windows such as Marvin and Andersen use warm-edge spacers and weather stripping materials to further insulate their products. Lastly, professional installers,like Woodland, install the windows using high-grade insulation, caulk and weather stripping, and their years of experience to ensure an airtight fit before they close up the space.

Transoms For Air Flow - Marvin Windows

Draught proofing

All windows are not created equal when it comes to draught proofing your home. Pay attention to good-quality detailing around the window, which includes the window design, the fit, and the quality of the installation. Another important consideration is how the windows operate because some operating types have lower air leakage rates than others. Consider how that north wind whistles through your old windows in the winter and replace those windows with awning windows that hinge at the top and open outward. Since the sash closes by pressing against the frame, they generally have lower air leakage rates than sliding windows do for example. Casements also have better leakage rates than double or single hung windows.

Ventilation

Operable vents are back. Remember your grandparent’s old home with the dusty louver windows? Natural ventilation is a key design principle of modern sustainable homes because; who can argue that the simplest form of ventilation is as simple as opening a window. Select from a wide assortment of awnings, hoppers, and other operable venting solutions that allow you to have a cross breeze through your home, while keeping out the elements. Worried about security by leaving windows open at night? The added benefit of the new louver and awning window solutions is that you can leave vents or high awnings open overnight to cool down your entire home during the hot summers.

Orientation of windows

Louver Windows are Back - Australian Home

Carefully planning the location of your windows to allow more natural light to flow in, while at the same time reducing intense heat gains, is the art and science of passive solar design methods. Don’t just replace your windows with new, but identical window sizes or locations. Rather, use this opportunity to make larger window openings on the north side of your home to let more light into dark areas and add a special low-e coating or laminated glass to a south-facing window to prevent overheating a room. Conversely, use your south facing windows to collect heat to warm your house in the winter. If you hear too much street noise, remodeling is the perfect time to select custom windows designed to dampen sound.

You can have the perfect house by remodeling with the new technologies and designs. Preserve the visible beauty of your traditional home while completely upgrading your windows, doors and other elements of your home with cutting-edge products and sustainable design practices. Love your old home and enjoy the conveniences of a new home.

Replacing Your Windows? Review the Advantages of Wood.

Posted by: Ken Mariotti

The surest way to use up two idle hours in a day is to Google ‘replacement windows’. After researching replacement windows for hours at home, homeowners come into our showroom more confused than ever. The last thing Woodland Windows and Doors wants to do is to add to the confusion, so we've pledged to make the subject understandable and help you make an informed decision about the option you choose.

Making the subject of replacement windows understandable begins easily enough, but informing customers about specifics that will make a difference for their application is our goal.

After talking about your home, the subject of replacement windows naturally progresses to the following categories.

Do you need a partial or full window replacement?

What material do you prefer, wood, fiberglass, composite, vinyl or aluminum?

This is the end of simple categories that make things understandable because your answer to the two questions creates a rubric cube of possibilities. Most salespeople will focus on explaining the differences between window materials, but we’re not like most because we know everything there is to know about the products available in the market. Woodland thinks it’s more helpful to focus on our customers’ home and explore the range of products that meet and exceed their expectations. Each product has unique attributes and options that go beyond the type of material, so our goal is to introduce our customers to the right products from the start.

Wood replacement windows are the preferred choice if you want to preserve the original character of your home. Woodland recommends clad-wood, not all-wood replacement windows. Even when a customer wants to perfectly match a historical window, we can recommend a product such as Marvin Signature Series, which can replicate an original custom milled window. In most cases however, clad-wood, which has an exterior layer of aluminum or vinyl to protect the frame from weather and minimize maintenance, is the best premium wood replacement window.

Marvin Ultimate comes in double-hung or casement styles and offers a superior clad-wood replacement window.

Wood interior finish options offer six different wood species including cherry and mahogany in six different stain choices. You have other options as well, painted, primed only or clear coat. Customers who select the primed only option can have the windows finished in their own custom color. 

The exterior of the window features an extruded aluminum clad-wood finished in commercial-grade anodized paint that resists fading or chalking. Customers can choose from nineteen colors or order a custom color. The anodized finish is said to be as hard as diamonds and is one of the most durable finishes made. The anodizing process places the aluminum in a chemically stable and non-toxic bath. An electric current is passed through the bath, causing the surface of the aluminum to oxidize and form a stronger coating than the original aluminum surface. The result is a surface that is resistant to abrasion, erosion, and ultraviolet light degradation.

Aluminum cladding can be rolled or extruded – the two are very different and Marvin Ultimate products have extruded aluminum cladding. The standard for roll-form aluminum components requires only a 0.9 mil finish thickness instead 1.2 mil coating required for extruded aluminum. Imagine a typical Midwest storm with hail and debris knocking against your windows and you’ll understand the difference in aluminum cladding. Roll-form can dent far more easily than an extruded finish, which is why Marvin stands behind a 20-year warranty against loss of adhesion, chalking or fading.

The double-hung tilt-wash style allows the sashes to tilt in for easy cleaning like many new windows and, unlike most manufacturers, the Marvin Ultimate casement window can also rotate inward, making both sides of the glass washable.

The sizes and styles are numerous, including multiple glass options most suitable to your home and your personal preferences. For example, Woodland most often recommends Low E1 for our northern climate because it blocks heat loss and reflects heat back into the room. Or depending on whether the window is a south wall, north wall, upstairs or downstairs, we may recommend another glazing option to take advantage of the sun’s radiant heat.

Woodland also carries other recommended clad-wood replacement windows such as Marvin Integrity as a less expensive alternative to the Ultimate or Signature for a highly custom design. We can also show you a comparison of top products like Andersen 400 Series or Woodwright and Pella  Proline (standard sizes only), Designer or Architectural Series.

Replacing your old windows can be as fun as selecting windows for a new home. So stop Googling and come in to our showroom where you can touch and feel the products.


Next week we’ll review the fiberglass replacement windows.

Chicago Homeowners’ Views on Vinyl vs. Wood vs. Aluminum Replacement Windows

Homeowners who choose vinyl to be their favorite material for replacement windows reason from the fact that vinyl is a high quality material and very flexible when it comes to usage.

With vinyl windows, regular painting is not necessary. Moreover, you only need to periodically wash the windows to keep them in good condition.

Vinyl is made from Polyvinyl Chloride, which is a very efficient heat insulator. Therefore, vinyl windows will keep heat in during the winter and keep it out during the summer. This will always save you the burden of high energy bills as devices like heating and cooling systems will utilize less energy. Vinyl is cheap, yet very long lasting. Vinyl windows also come in different colors, designs, and shapes to choose from – you are not limited to just a select few colors or sizes.

However, there are some downsides to this window material. For example, vinyl windows can potentially fade in extreme weather conditions, especially in too much heat. When this happens, the window must be wholly replaced because vinyl cannot be repainted.

For some homeowners, wooden replacement windows are the best choice. Why? Unlike vinyl, wood can easily be shaped into various styles.  Wood is also very strong and durable and can withstand adverse weather conditions. Some woods, for example Mahogany, can last for decades without rotting. Wooden windows are also good insulators, thus, they can regulate temperatures during the summer and winter to save on energy bills.

Wooden windows have also got their own downsides, however, as well. Number one, they have to be painted regularly. This means an increased cost of maintenance. Number two, they are susceptible to molding which can interfere with the fiber of the wood. Lastly, wood can be affected by termites.

There are also those who are of the opinion that aluminum replacement windows are the best. It is resistant to rust, making it unnecessary to do regular painting. Aluminum windows are also very easy to clean. This way, the homeowner can use his time to engage in other activities instead of spending it all with cleaning the windows. Aluminum is typically less expensive than wooden windows.

The only tangible disadvantage of aluminum window is that it has low energy efficiency. It easily allows heat to pass through it. This increases energy bills as there will be a need to use HVAC systems more often.

In conclusion, every homeowner must look at the disadvantages and the advantages of these three materials before choosing on the one that will best suit him or her.

Vinyl vs. Wood vs. Aluminum Replacement Windows: What You Need to Know

Homeowners who view vinyl as their favorite window replacement material argue from the point that it is of good quality and is very versatile. With vinyl windows, regular painting is something not necessary. Furthermore, you only need to occasionally wash the windows to keep them in good shape.
 

Vinyl is made from a material called Polyvinyl Chloride which is a very powerful heat insulator. Therefore, vinyl windows will keep heat in during winter and out during summer .This is what we call high energy efficiency and it will always save you the pain of high energy bills since there will be minimal usage of heating systems and air conditioners. Vinyl is cheap, yet so durable, and they also come in a variety of colors to choose from.

To some home owners, wooden replacement windows are the best. Unlike vinyl, wood can easily be shaped into various designs. Wood is also arguably stronger and more durable, and can withstand extreme weather conditions. Some woods, for example Mahogany, can be last for several decades. Wooden windows are also good insulators, thus, just like vinyl, they regulate temperatures during summer and winter to save on the energy bills.
 

There are also those who think that aluminum replacement windows are the best. It is a material that is resistant to rust, making it unnecessary to regularly paint it. Aluminum windows are very easy to clean. The homeowner can therefore use his precious time doing other activities instead of spending it all on cleaning windows. The windows are also very affordable, sometimes even cheaper than wooden windows.
 

In conclusion, every homeowner must weigh the pros and the cons of these three materials before settling on the one he or she will best suit him or her.