Window Replacement
Window Replacement
Benefits of Replacing your Windows
One of the most beneficial home improvements you can make is to replace old, outdated, underperforming energy inefficient and leaking windows. Window replacement may have one of the highest returns on investment profiles of any typical home improvement, especially if the existing windows are dilapidated and problematic.
As with anything related to remodeling your home, it is critically important to hire an experienced licensed installation contractor to do your window installation for you. Not a handyperson or someone who has done one or two window installations prior to yours. Although it is not rocket science installing replacement windows, there are many ways to screw it up and end up with a disappointing result.
New Window Unit Considerations
It is not just about thermopane glazing and all the various energy performance coatings on the glazing. It is also about the window construction. Well-constructed windows reduce air infiltration in both directions which is typically a large source of energy inefficiency in most windows in homes. In addition to installing the appropriate replacement windows, it is important that they are professionally installed as well to maximize the improvement in energy efficiency.
Pocket Insert – Replacement Method
We usually perform what is known as “pocket” window replacement, which means the existing window sashes are removed, but the entire existing window unit framing and jamb may be left intact. This has many advantages including not disturbing interior and exterior trim and siding as well as reduced labor cost of installation.
When we measure your project for window replacement, we take this into consideration and unless there are overriding reasons to tear out the entire window structure. We measure for the custom-made replacement “pocket insert” unit to fit accordingly.
R-Value – Misinformation and Myths
There is a lot of misinformation and myths out there regarding the actual R value for various thermopane glazing systems. The absolute highest R value that can be achieved with clear glass, meaning absent mirror coatings etc. is in the neighborhood of R-5 to R-8, and that includes triple-glazed thermopane units as well.
So, considering that most external wall construction in homes must be at least R-13 to R-23 if not higher, for example in 2 x 6 framed walls, the window openings are always relatively large energy leaks even with the best window units and glazing and window construction available. You just can’t have a beautiful opening which you can see through to the outdoors and get anywhere near the insulation effectiveness and quality of insulation of a wall that has no window opening. So, it is all a trade-off and compromise from the get-go. It is usually ill-advised to eliminate the existing window openings merely for imagined energy efficiency gains because the loss of the window opening, and its benefits always outweighs the downsides to having the window opening.
We can help perform a simple “energy audit” on your home relative to air infiltration from window openings and also a humidity related evaluation when we come to meet you at your home to discuss window replacement.
Condensation on the Interior Side of Windows
One area of controversy about window insulation issues revolves around humidity in the home condensing on the inside of the windowpane glazing during the winter when it is cold outside, hot, and humid inside relatively speaking. And “relatively speaking” is the key phrase. It is all about relative humidity inside the home and the temperature gradient between the outside air and the interior air in the home.
To be clear, even the best window units and glazing will still experience condensation on the inside glazing if the humidity inside the home is too high, and the temperature outside is too low at extremes in weather conditions. The right window replacement units and glazing, including triple-glazed units can help minimize condensation but nobody can guarantee they can eliminate condensation.
Homeowners can take other measures inside the home to reduce indoor humidity during the frigid winter weather season, such as using bathroom vent fans during showering and cooktop vent hoods that are exhaust vented to the outside when boiling water and such on the stove. Even the use of dehumidifiers can greatly improve the odds of avoiding condensation on the inside glazing of your windows.
Tempered Safety Glass May Be Required
Another thing to consider with replacement Windows glazing is that some windows will be required to have tempered safety glazing. This includes Windows in wet areas within proximity to showers or bathtubs, Windows within 3 ft horizontally of doorways and stairs, and windows that have windowsills lower than eighteen inches above the floor.
All these types of Windows, whether they are operable or fixed have to have tempered glazing to protect someone who may fall through that glass either from the outside or inside. The cost is small for the tempered glazing as opposed to normal glazing.
But the other possible issue to consider is that the window glazing may appear a slightly different color or tone both when you’re looking through them and how they appear from the exterior. If you find that objectionable i.e. that two windows side-by-side might have a different color and tone due to the tempered glazing when one is tempered and one is not then you could just opt to have both of the windows tempered glazed so that they will match an appearance.
What Window Colors and Hardware to Choose
Some other considerations regarding your window replacement selection are the colors of the window unit material and structure and sashes both inside and outside and types of screens. For example, there are picture windows that are fixed panels and do not open or vent. And there are double-hung windows where both the upper sash and lower sash are operable. Single-hung windows have the upper sash fixed and only the lower sash moves up and down to vent.
One advantage to double-hung windows is that you can tilt into the home both the upper and lower sashes for easy cleaning of the outside glazing. Casement windows and awning windows which are hinged on the top or one side and crank out, outside the house went open.
As with all types of windows, casements have advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the window sash is vulnerable to wind damage and also to being rained on when open. An advantage of casement windows is that when the window is open, you have the full window size of an opening for venting, not just a partial opening as with other types.
Egress Window Requirements per the Code
GO SEE This Page for Egress Windows =
https://www.cookbroswyo.com/window-replacement-and-egress-window-wells-2/
Another issue that often arises regarding window replacement and building code compliance in areas where codes and rules apply, for example, in the city of Cody. And that is the subject of replacement windows having to meet current ingress and egress window requirements.
The international residential code (IRC) has an exception that grandfathers existing Windows in bedrooms and basement areas that otherwise require windows to meet egress requirements. Existing homes having existing windows replaced do not have to meet egress requirements if the new window is in the same opening as the existing window opening.
However, as is the case within the city of Cody, the building official and City can require more stringent rules and requirements than the IRC code provides, even if the City has adopted the IRC code otherwise.
So, regarding replacement windows in Cody, Wyoming, any windows you touch, meaning replacing them, requires those windows to now be brought up to meet ingress and egress window code requirements as if they were in a new construction home. This can seem an onerous and unfair requirement to a homeowner when many other jurisdictions do not require this code exception to be overridden.
But in the end, it is all in the interest of safety for you and your family and other inhabitants of your home and for first responder personnel like firemen who have to come through those windows in an emergency action event. So, it is what it is.
The takeaway from that discussion is that if in the City of Cody, you have us perform whole house window replacement for you, but you decline to alter the egress windows per code, then the windows that require egress compliance cannot be included in our scope of our project with you. UNLESS you want us to alter the opening to satisfy egress requirements.
We can do all the other non- egress windows. Or we can also do window egress replacement, but we will have to enlarge the opening to meet all egress code requirements for the windows in bedrooms and basements. Sometimes that is agreeable to the homeowner, other than the additional cost. Other times it may be objectionable due to the complications of furniture placement for which a lower windowsill would create conflict, etc.
Be SAFE – Install New Egress Window Wells for Your Basement
GO SEE This Page for Egress Windows =
https://www.cookbroswyo.com/window-replacement-and-egress-window-wells-2/We also do a lot of Egress Window Well Installations on homes that have finished basements and bedrooms below grade level. Or just want for safety and natural light infiltration, to add Egress Windows to the below grade spaces.
This improvement can be a particularly HIGH Return on Investment as it will permit you to actually claim the below grade rooms as legal bedrooms once each has an egress window well installed. This can be huge. For example, turn your 2 Bedroom House with illegal bedrooms in basement, to a true 4 Bedroom home!
We can do them in poured concrete foundation walls, cinder block foundation walls, or any other type you might have. We have a lot of experience installing Egress Windows Wells properly and supporting the house structure above throughout the process.
We provide a turn-key installation including finishing off the interior and exteriors completely, and providing a small ladder, steps, metal grating over the window well outside and regrading the excavation area so you can do your final grading and lawn repair after we are out of your hair.
The typical (Although not ONLY) type of window unit and size we install, is a 4ft x 4 ft sliding window. This meets ALL code requirements, as long as we keep the bottom of the new window sill at the maximum allowed sill height (so little children can climb up and out from the inside without a step).
I would guess that most home fires begin in the kitchen, and the stairs to the basement are usually in the kitchen. This is the big danger. If a fire blocks the stairs out of the basement, anyone in the basement is trapped, unless there are code compliant means of egress from the basement sleeping areas, such as Egress Windows and Wells.
