Window Choices:
Choosing the best window for your home here in the Valley of the Sun can be a daunting task. Rosie Certified Partner, Tyler Green of Freelite Windows, Doors and Skylights tells us there are several options and notes that they are not all equal. Different materials, efficiencies, manufacturers, and price points are the primary distinguishing factors. Tyler walks us through the four popular window types that are categorized by the material the frame is made from.
4 Most Popular Window Frame Materials:
- Vinyl. Vinyl windows are one of the most popular windows chosen for replacement due to lower cost compared to other options. Vinyl windows can be made from one vinyl compound, or blended compounds that tend to give the frame a bit more strength. Another feature that can be added is Capstock. Capstock is an acrylic coating that is on the vinyl surface affording the frame additional protection. The newest generation of vinyl windows have come a long way from the earlier generations. They have been tested in the desert sun and stand up well.
- Fiberglass. A close runner up to vinyl in popularity, fiberglass windows are durable and offer a different aesthetic. They can be made to look like wood windows and are stainable and paintable. The frame stands up well to our desert heat. The price point tends to be higher than vinyl and aluminum.
Aluminum windows with a thermal break are a beautiful choice and help reduce heat gain - Aluminum. Popular with builder models, aluminum frame windows are constructed with a thermal disconnect in the frame. The thermally broken frame reduces the transfer of heat. Tyler mentioned the temperature differences in non-thermally broken aluminum frames can be as much as 15 to 20 degrees.
- Aluminum clad wood windows. Aluminum clad windows and doors are wood interior frames wrapped in aluminum that sits on the exterior. This window choice is usually made for aesthetic reasons. They can be costly, and quality can be significantly different between manufactures.
Tips for window shopping:
- Buy the window that has the highest heat transfer resistance and best warranty that your budget will allow.
- Check the manufacturers warranty – another consideration in selecting a window is the warranty. Check to see if fading, sealant failure, locking devices and even glass breaks are covered. Also ask how long the warranty is good for parts and labor.
Entry Doors
Choosing the right exterior door starts with the location in the house. The front door will likely be selected for its aesthetics. And there are plenty of options to choose from. Tyler tells us that there are basically two types of entry doors they deal with.
- Fiberglass. As with windows, fiberglass doors are popular for a number of reasons. They can be made to look like wood and can also be stained or painted. They are durable in the Arizona sun and heat. They are lighter than a wood door and don’t sag, or warp. When chosen with a color that is an integral part of the door material, they are very unlikely to fade. Fiberglass is also used for patio doors.
- Steel. An up and coming popular door style is custom steel entry doors. These are unique designs and not the smooth steel doors you find in commercial applications or more utilitarian uses around the home, (read back door from the garage). Tyler tells us these are high end doors and are among the costlier options.
Glass Doors for Outdoor Living Spaces
- Sliding Doors. Typically used to access outdoor living spaces, sliding doors come in several different styles. There is the traditional slider with one fixed panel and one active panel. Another trend is to have larger, or wider, openings connecting the indoors and outdoors. Wider openings will require more structural support and the door frames are made from aluminum and fiberglass. The door panels can be folding, as in a bifold or accordion style door, or telescoping. Telescoping doors require wider tracks and thicker walls for the doors to stack properly. These can also include a pocket for the panels to be out of sight.
Skylights
Most everybody, vampires excluded, loves natural light in their home. Skylights offer the opportunity to increase the amount of natural light in our home.
There are several styles to choose from. Roof mounted aluminum frames can be flashed into the roof shingles, tiles or curb mounted. The actual skylight material can be glass or more likely an acrylic bubble. These bubbles tend to be double domed which works to protect against heat gain and act as a second layer of protection. The acrylic material comes in clear, white, or bronze tinting while the glass offers white or clear.
Other increasingly favorite styles of skylights include a venting option, which opens the skylight itself a few degrees to allow air passing through. There are screen options of course with venting skylights.
In some models, dual panes of glass are used just as with our windows. You can also get blinds that sit underneath the panes of glass. To make matters even more convenient, the blinds can be set on a timer to open and close automatically. There are also solar powered motors to open and close them.
Tyler tells us that remodeling a home to include skylights, (a Rosie Right common occurrence), has some challenges. If the roof joists and ceiling joists are not aligned, some extra structural work will be needed.
As with any home project, making the right choice for your home is always easier with the right professional. Never underestimate the value of a Rosie Certified Partner in helping you make good decisions for your home.
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CONTENT PARTNER | FREELITE, Inc
Freelite, Inc has a long history of windows, doors and skylights! They offer beautiful options for bringing natural light into your home. Freelite has adopted the “Free & Easy” approach to selling windows: they conduct a quick needs analysis, show you the product (or products) that will be the best fit, give you an easy quote… and then step back and let you make a decision.
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PHOTO CREDIT
- Freelite, Inc
