Looking Through the Glass

Looking Through The Glass: Things To Check For If You’re Considering Repairing Or Replacing Your Windows


If It’s Not Broken…The most obvious signs that you need to repair or replace your windows is if they’re visibly, physically damaged: cracks in the glass, rotted or broken window frames, etc.; a simple sight check should be enough to verify whether or not this is the case. It is en-tirely possible, however, that your windows are no longer functioning properly despite visibly appearing to be no worse for wear.

Part1:


It can be easy to convince yourself that you don’t re-ally need to deal with windows that aren’t quite work-ing the way they should, especially if they still look like they’re fine; the price tag for a full replacement of all the windows in your home can get pretty hefty. You should bear in mind, however, that malfunction-ing windows, despite appearing to be fine, can repre-sent a rather considerable safety hazard.

So how can you tell if your windows aren’t quite work-ing the way they should? There are a number of things you can check:

Difficulty of operation:if your windows are difficult to open, such as when they’ve absorbed so much moisture that they’ve swollen shut, or require some sort of prop to keep them open, then this is a sure sign that the window needs to be replaced.

Increased noise levels:if you’re noticing that your windows no longer block out as much sound as they used to, then replacement might be in order. Older single-plane glass windows notoriously provide inadequate protection against outside noise; switching to more modern multi-pane windows can reduce or eliminate noise altogether.

rot in the window frames:with wooden window frames, it can be difficult to tell just from looking when rot has set in. A simple test, with a flat-blade screwdriver (to minimize damage to the frame, or avoid it entirely) can help you deter-mine this. Tap the frame of the window with the flat blade-end of the screwdriver; if you can push it into the wood, then decay has very likely set in and a full window replacement might be required.


Peeling exterior paint:if the paint on the window’s outside frame is peeling, this is an indication that the seals on your windows have deteriorated and that moisture is seeping in (and out) through the window, the accumulation of which can contribute to rot, mold, and/or mildew. While caulking or weatherstripping can address the issue, those are, at best, temporary solutions to the prob-lem and do not address the actual cause of the issue.

Fading furniture or furnishings: if the colors on the furniture or furnishings, such as carpeting, drapes, or artwork, in the area immediately beside the window seems to be fading (either faster than that in the rest of the house, or at all, for that matter), this can indicate that your windows are not providing enough ultravio-let protection. Apart from these telltale signs of dete-rioration, you’ll also have the lack of energy efficiency to worry about, as will be discussed next in Part 2.


If You’re Paying through the Nose…A high energy bill is an almost-sure indication that your house isn’t quite as energy-efficient as it should be. Windows contribute a lot to a house’s energy efficiency: studies have shown that mak-ing your windows more energy-efficient or, for that matter, replacing your windows with more ener-gy-efficient models, can reduce your yearly ener-gy bill by as much as 40%. If you think that you’re paying more for heating (in the winter) or cooling (in the su-mmer) than you should be, then check-ing to see if your windows are wasting energy is something you should do sooner rather than later.

Part2:


The best way to determine whether or not your home, and by extension your windows, is energy-efficient is by means of a professional energy audit. The audit should be conducted by a certified auditor from ei-ther the Building Performance Institute or the Resi-dential Energy Services Network (RESNET). There are a couple of things you can do on your own to help you determine whether or not to contact an auditor, or even to go ahead and start the repair or replace-ment process:

Drafts: a sure sign that your windows are leaking air, increas-ing your cooling (in the summer) and heating (in the winter) expenditures, is if you can feel a draft in front of the closed, locked window. If you’re not quite cer-tain whether or not there is a draft coming in, hold a lit candle at the edge of the window; if the flame flickers, then there is a draft coming in through the window.


Caulk or seal failure:if you’re not quite sure whether or not you need to reapply caulking or weath-erstripping to your window, there’s an easy test to check for caulk or seal failure. You can shine a flashlight along the window frame from the outside; if the light is vis-ible from the inside, then there are cracks or gaps in the caulk or seal, another source of energy loss.

Warm or cool spots on the window: If, on a hot or cold day, you can find hot or cool spots on the inside of the window, then your window isn’t providing sufficient insulation and may need replac-ing. A sure sign that this is the case is if condensa-tion is actually forming in between the glass panes of the window: this indicates that the seal between the panes has failed, and that the glass is no longer pro-viding an adequate barrier, if at all, to outside cold air.


If there’s Something Not Quite right…

Aesthetics and convenience are often over-looked, downplayed in favor of more practical considerations, when it comes to situations re-quiring a substantive, if not substantial, monetary outlay. Nevertheless, look and feel and ease of use can be, and often are, important considera-tions, especially when you take into consideration how they interact with and affect your daily life:

Part3:


Matching windows to the rest of your house can con-tribute greatly to the overall look and feel of your resi-dence. It is not unreasonable to want to improve the look of your house, and this is a perfectly legitimate rea-son to consider replacing the windows on your home.

If you’re looking to reduce maintenance, then certain upgrades might be in order. Newer dual-hung win-dows have a sash (the part of the window that includes the pane and the inner frame that surrounds it, allow-ing it to slide along a rail) that can be tilted outwards, making it easier to wash and clean your windows.

If you dislike having to regularly peel off and repaint your wooden window frames, then you might want to look into replacing them with frames that in-corporate aluminum or vinyl cladding, or frames made from fiberglass or compos-ite materials, as these do not require painting.


If you’re already doing work on your house, or having work done on your house, then having the windows replaced might be in order. In particular, if you’re replacing siding, consider replacing the windows, too, and before you replace the siding. This way, you can fit the siding to the windows, resulting in a neater appearance and improved energy efficiency.

Lastly, if you’re planning to sell your house, then up-grading the windows can net you up to 80% of the investment in the form of a higher selling price, more if you can do the work yourself instead of hiring a con-tractor. Try to match the price range of the windows with the overall price range of your house, i.e., if it’s a high-end house, go for high-end windows; if it’s a rather more modest house, match it with middle-range windows. While someone looking to purchase your home may appreciate better windows, they might not be willing to pay for such an improvement if the price does not match that of the rest of the house.


Renewal by Andersen of San Francisco30800 Santana Street Hayward, CA 94544

(510)-263-3210www.thebayareawindow.com

http://www.thebayareawindow.com/

Date post:	04-Apr-2016
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Looking Through the Glass

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