Clad Wood Windows
In its simplest form a window may be defined as a device that covers different-sized holes of your home. The holes are essentially needed for ventilation and natural light, and so are windows needed to cover the holes to exercise control on whatever may enter or leave thru those.
Primarily there are three types of windows:
* Wood
* Aluminum
* Vinyl
I will confine myself to describing wood windows and specifically, clad windows as most of the consumers wish to have only clad windows in their house as such windows need no maintenance of their exteriors.
Wood windows are generally made of pinewood, but are provided with a cladding on the exterior to reduce the problems of exterior maintenance. Most often aluminum is the material used for the purpose, though other options appearing on the scene include extruded and sheet claddings of noble metals like as Bronze, Copper and Zinc.
The last three materials noted above are most of the time used only for making custom windows that turn out to be too expensive to be afforded by the likes of you and me. The price is often exceeding $ 400 PSF.
However, economical versions in copper are available that may fall within your budget, but as already said, this time I’ll take only wooden windows, so back to that topic.
The most advertised and thus best-known names include: Anderson, Pella, Weathershield, Jeld-Wen and Marvin. All of them put together cater to 65% market while each has its own specific advantages and disadvantages. One needs to study carefully the features and benefits of each make to know what is best for your project. A brief description of the features that I consider important for reviewing different windows is here:
Anderson –A unique feature of Anderson window is that the wood is provided with a cladding of PVC vinyl that is bound to wood with some adhesive type mechanism, which is effective but I remain apprehensive of its getting detached in extreme climates.
The window is backed by a first class warranty and my personal experience is that the manufacturer seriously honors its warranty obligation. Some years ago there developed a manufacturing problem with the welding of the corners of the vinyl cladding. Many of the problematic windows reached Colorado. I was selling this product at that time. I’m aware that the company spent a huge amount of money in locating these faulty windows and repaired the same before the customers could even notice the flaw. Now, that’s a rare gesture by any manufacturer.
Anderson windows come with a proprietary glazing system, which means that for ever you have to depend upon Anderson for replacement of breather tubes in their glazing system, that’s vulnerable to developing flaws in high altitudes. Anderson is the most selling brand in the U.S. and has a network of dealers comprising of lumberyards, window dealers and home-improvement contractors. They also sell composite windows made from wood-waste resulting from its normal manufacturing of wood windows.
Pella – Pella manufacturing range covers clad and unclad windows with plant in Iowa.
They have a wide network of authorized distributors, but of late they have started selling their builder grade products thru Home Depot. The exclusive feature of Pella products is the provision of built-in roll down window insect screens provided between the glass window blinds and they are known for an exclusive distributorship for the clearest window screening material produced in the United States
The clad system offered by Pella is roll-formed and loosely attached. It may cause problem of “oil-canning” in very hot weather and may lead to formation of condensation beneath the cladding in areas with high level of humidity. This may cause the underlying sash to rot. Other than that quality of Pella’s windows is good. Now they also manufacture a line of composite windows, which is expected to deliver good performance.
Jeld-Wen – This is another excellent manufacturer that sells under different names in different regions of the country; the other names apart from Jeld-Wen are Pozzi, Wilmar and a few more. But, all the brands are well known in respective regions. The name Jeld-Wen is a holding company that produces a wide range of products, with many of those in commodity category, for construction industry and that helps Jeld-Wen make its presence felt in construction business. Perhaps that explains why the company is not really keen to integrate their manufacturing or marketing activities.
Marvin – Here’s is an old time family owned firm that produces a wide range of wood windows and composite windows. One distinctive feature of this brand is that the aluminum-clad version is in fact an extruded aluminum sash with a wood insert to the interior. The same feature appears in the Weather shield line and the Window Technologies line in the Midwest. The advantage of such a design is that the sash becomes more rigid. That reduces the possibilities of oil canning and formation of moisture under the cladding. The design incorporates a barrier dead air space beneath the sash that should be helpful for delivering a better performance in cold climates.
Based on market share, these are the four largest manufacturers of windows in the U.S. Depending upon your specific needs you may rate them and make your purchase accordingly. Apart from these four, almost every region has a few manufacturers of quality windows that your local dealer can guide you to. I hope to talk about those in another post.
My personal choice for the best quality wood clad window would be Loewen Windows. That’s a Canadian make made in far Northwest. It’s doubtful if they would have a distributor in your town. An important feature of these windows is that they are made from Vertical Grained Doug Fir that is a rather durable wood (better than pine) and looks more beautiful, especially if you plan to stain the interiors. The window also conforms to the Canadian standards for air infiltration, which are the toughest in this hemisphere. It’s a well-designed and well-made window by a company that accords top priority to customer’s satisfaction and desires.
I agree that wood windows are far superior to plastic frames. They provide greater quality finishing’s and suit a more traditional style of home. Often, wood windows are made from sustainable wood, making them sustainable.