With hundreds of window and door options, the dilemma for many homeowners is choosing stylish, high-quality products that will stand the test of time. Jeld-Wen, the largest manufacturer of windows and doors, offers the following tips to help homeowners make the right choices.
* Recognize reliability. One indicator of reliability is the warranty. Don't settle for a one-year warranty on interior molded doors when a five-year warranty is available. And don't settle for a short-term warranty on vinyl windows when some manufacturers offer a lifetime warranty.
* Set a budget. Costs vary based on the material used to construct the window or door. For windows, prices are lowest for aluminum, followed by vinyl. Wood is generally the most expensive. For doors, prices are lowest for steel, then composite and fiberglass. Wood tops the list.
Be sure to examine overall value, however, and not just the price tag. Energy Star-qualified windows and doors cost about
5 percent more, but can save money in the long run by reducing yearly energy bills by up to 15 percent.
* Pay attention to performance features. Useful features increase the comfort and safety of a home. Consider ergonomically designed options like one-touch, automatic-locking windows that lock and unlock with almost no effort. If privacy is important, look for solid-core interior doors, which significantly reduce noise transfer.
* Consider climate. For regions with high heat in the summer or extreme cold in the winter, choose windows and doors with low-E glass. Low-E is a microscopic metallic coating applied to the glass that diminishes the amount of heat that can be transferred through it.
In humid regions, look for wood windows and doors that are protected against decay and insect damage and backed by a 20-year warranty. In arid regions, immediately seal and finish wood windows and doors to maintain their moisture, or consider high-quality vinyl windows.
When it comes to selecting the right windows and doors, a little planning can bring major benefits for years to come.
Our residences are often one of, if not the most substantial investment that we make in our entire lifetime. Stopping harm to our home is an essential factor in protecting its value. A major thing that can make the most problems for a house is water damage. Water issues may happen from several individual things. Although the biggest part of us may regularly inspect our water lines and house tops for signs of possible water situations, there are numerous places we might miss all together until it becomes obvious. These areas are sometimes our windows and doors. Other than the house top and exterior walls of our home, the doors and windows are exposed to more water a lot of the time because of weather such as snow, sleet, and above all, rain.
With the doors on the home, which we go in and out of regularly, water exposure may not go unnoticed for long, but with less used doors and windows that are seldom opened, water devastation might take place slowly over time and evade our attention all together. It is necessary to add windows and doors to that regular check list if they are not on it already.
What do you do if you locate a door or window that water is causing destruction to? That depends on how much devastation has already taken place. If doors are exposed to excessive moisture or dripping water, if the door is wood, it might cause the door or its frame to swell. This will sooner or later cause the door to stick or prevent it from opening and closing correctly. You must find the problem and fix whatever is needed to stop it. It may cause rusting on metal doors and frames over long periods of time. Prevention is much better than to delay fixing the problem and having to reinstall an entire door and jam.
Windows exposed to water may create similar destruction. Damaged gutters will many times be the cause that exposes your windows and doors to extra water. With wooden windows, devastation could take place fairly quickly. They also might swell shut and refuse to open at all.
Caulking that is old can slowly shrink up and turn loose from the building, window panes, and doors and allow water in around edges. Keeping these places maintained that need caulking is essential. Make sure you use the correct caulking for outside surfaces. It is especially made for weather proofing and repelling water. It stops it from getting in around the installation areas. Metal windows also have to be caulked at the installation areas too. It might take longer to damage a metal door or window, but it must still be fixed or replaced if it rusts out.
Both Ron Roberts & Dror Klar are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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