Window styles can dramatically affect a home’s look and feel. The right choice can help improve energy efficiency, lower utility bills and increase comfort and security.
Local window installation experts offer guidance on which windows will work best for your home. Choose from several styles, including double and triple-pane options for better thermal performance.
Fiberglass
Fiberglass is a durable, energy-efficient window material that offers a blend of aesthetics and functionality. Fiberglass windows are available in a variety of colors and styles, including Bay and Bow replacement windows that protrude from your home’s walls to allow natural light to flood your interior. These windows add value and beauty to your Mandeville home, while reducing energy costs.
Unlike wood, fiberglass does not expand and contract during changes in temperature. That means frames and sashes can be narrower, allowing for more glass and design options. Additionally, they are more resistant to fading and weathering.
Double and triple-pane options provide superior insulation, keeping your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter. They also reduce street and construction noise and help keep your home’s humidity in the ideal range. Double-pane windows also come with a Low-E glass option, which helps reduce solar heat gain and cold air loss. This allows your Mandeville home to stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Composite
Windows are essential to your home’s beauty, function and comfort. Whether you need to add new ones or replace the old ones, a Mandeville window contractor can help you choose the right style for your budget and needs. They can also provide window treatments and draperies that complement your windows’ design.
Window materials include composites that offer a blend of substances for long-lasting, energy efficient performance. They are resistant to rot, mold and mildew and require less maintenance than wood. They are also twice as strong as vinyl and have lower expansion and contraction rates to prevent warping. They are available in double or triple-pane configurations for increased insulation and thermal efficiency.
Other window styles include casement windows that open via a crank and allow more ventilation, awning windows with tilt-out slats that look like blinds and skylight windows for stargazing. Window installation professionals can also help you select custom muntin configurations and hardware to make your windows unique.
Fibrex
The Fibrex composite window material isn’t just more sustainable than vinyl, it’s twice as strong. It resists rot, flame, mold, fungus and corrosion. Its strength doesn’t deteriorate over time, so it can last decades.
This insulating material can be designed to look like premium wood and comes in 47 colors. Its slim profiles give you more glass and a clean view. It also allows for wider sashes that are easier to open and close.
The wood fibers in Fibrex help control the material’s thermal expansion rate. This makes it less prone to warping in extreme climates. The low distortion starting point helps reduce energy costs by blocking heat and cold. Andersen recycles wood byproducts from its own production processes to make this product, making it a more environmentally friendly option than vinyl.
Clad-wood
Clad-wood windows are, at their core, wood windows with a covering on the exterior that reduces maintenance needs. The cladding can be made of aluminum, vinyl or fiberglass and can be painted any color you want. The cladding protects the wood from moisture and other environmental elements that can damage the window.
These windows are a popular choice because they provide the best of both worlds – the warmth and beauty of real wood on the interior with the durability and low maintenance of the cladding on the exterior. They also offer better insulation than many other types of replacement windows, making them a good choice for climates with extreme heat and cold.
There are many different window styles available, including single hung windows, double hung windows and bay and bow windows. Other specialized windows include hopper windows, fixed windows and jalousie windows (which have glass slats that open like blinds). Some of these options are more energy efficient than others.