The Good and Bad of Replacement Windows

House Needing Replacement Windows  If Your House Needs Windows




WOOD Replacement Windows 


How About Wood Windows?

Wood windows have been around forever and there is a reason for that. They are strong. They will last thirty, forty years or more. Wood windows are also an excellent insulator as far as conduction is concerned. The government rates wood at 1.2. The lower the number the better and they are all directly proportional. Wood windows have the lowest (and best) conduction figures of any type of window. Their strength gives them a long life expectancy, which is also good.

As far as the not so good points concerning wood windows, there are several. One of the major problems with wood windows is that they require maintenance. They must be scraped, sanded, and painted or stained periodically. They are not maintenance free like vinyl windows. They will swell on a damp day, which is why they get tight. Then they dry out and they shrink, and eventually from this they warp. Then they get drafty. This cost you money for heating and cooling. You're wasting energy, which as we all know, in today's world is expensive. Then to top it all off, eventually the wooden windows rot.

Another problem with wood replacement windows is that they can be expensive if they are truly custom sized replacements. Most wood windows are "stock new construction" windows. These are less expensive because they make thousands at a time the same size. Like a cookie cutter, very efficient as opposed to making one at a time like custom made replacements. Custom wood replacements can also take some time to manufacture because it is millwork. They often take 4 to 6 weeks or more for delivery. If you're under a time deadline, this could be a problem for you. The major manufacturers of wood windows are Andersen, Marvin, and Pella. Andersen is a very popular wood window. They now have a replacement division, but these are composite windows. People also confuse popularity with quality. Anderson as an example, and this is my personal opinion, is not popular because it is the best. Rather t is popular because it is one of the cheapest. And that is because they make thousands the exact same size. Very efficient. The second reason why it is popular is because every contractor recommends it. There is a logical reason for that. The contractor makes more money. How does he do that you ask. Simple, the average contractor is getting $200 to $300 per man-day for his labor, depending on where you are located. Let us not forget, his labor is his real product. Now a good window installer will install about a dozen custom windows per day. That same man will install three "stock" Andersen's per day because of what he has to do. Since he must make the house fit the window, there is sheetrock, tape, spackle, molding etc., and that's just on the inside. Outside there is new shingles etc. So the math is, as a contractor selling his labor, do I want one days labor or four days labor. That's why they recommend Andersen wood windows. They make more money! Now in a new construction situation, the Andersen's can save you money.