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There are three primary considerations when choosing windows for a home:
1) personal budget
2) personal taste or sense of style
3) the energy efficiency of the windows and how that can affect monthly utility bills

Basic Window Types:
Sash (single-hung or double-hung) – The moveable part of a window is called the sash. Single-hung sash windows have either a top or bottom sash (usually the bottom one) that slides up and down in a channel. Both upper and lower sashes move up & down on a double-hung sash window. These are the most common type of residential window. Double-hung sash windows offer a safety benefit if you have small children. When you want some fresh air, you can keep the bottom sash closed & leave the top one open. That configuration will let fresh air come through, but it’ll keep the children from climbing through the window.

The windows in our Project House offer a feature where both sashes can be tilted inward for easy cleaning. This is a great convenience, especially on the upper floors of a home where the leaning and reaching required to clean a window could be dangerous.

Casement Windows- These windows open and close with a crank operated from the interior. Casement windows offer better insulation than sash windows because the seal on a casement frame is more air-tight, and the cranking mechanism pulls the sash tightly into the weather-stripping insulation in the window frame. A casement window is ideal over a kitchen sink or behind a piece of furniture where it could be difficult and painful to bend to open a single-hung or double-hung sash. Andersen offers a casement crank that can be turned with ease, unlike older models. Some manufacturers offer motorized controls, which allow you to open and close casement windows with the push of a button on a remote control.

Feature Windows – also known as Picture Windows - This is a window that does not open and so it does not ventilate. Feature windows are usually placed around a home for architectural or aesthetic enhancement since they’re not functional. A picture window is a large feature window. These come in a wide variety of pre-made styles and shapes, and can be custom–designed to fit a particular location.

Builders have to consider the size of windows at the framing stage. Since glass cannot bear any weight, every window in a wall reduces the load-bearing capability of that wall. Code says any ceiling height over 12’ requires 2x6 wall studs in the frame. Our Project House has 2x8 walls on the Eastern exposure & 2x10 walls on the Northern exposure (this is the wall with the largest feature windows in the Great Room). Those thicker 2x10 studs support the weight that would otherwise be supported by the studs that are missing, because we have so many windows in those walls.

There are three predominant materials used in window construction:

Aluminum windows
Aluminum is a poor insulator – if it’s hot outside, the aluminum frame will heat up the inside the house. If it’s cold outside, the aluminum frame will allow heat to transfer right through the frame itself and escape from the house. Michael compares an un-insulated aluminum window to a skillet. Whatever the temperature is below the skillet, you’ll find the same temperature above the skillet. The same is true with an aluminum-framed window – heat passes easily through the aluminum frame, too easily to maintain reasonable energy efficiency.

Vinyl windows
They’re more expensive than aluminum (about 10% to 100% more expensive), but they’re much better insulators (heat & cold don’t transfer through vinyl the way they do through aluminum). Vinyl windows hold up better against the elements (vinyl stays warm to the touch in cold winter weather). Vinyl colors can fade in prolonged sunlight, so choose colors carefully and read the fine print on any warranty.

Wood windows
Wood windows are the most expensive. Some windows are wood clad in vinyl on the exterior side to withstand the brutal effects of weather. The vinyl exterior protects against the elements and eliminates the need to re-paint faded wood year after year. The wood interior allows unlimited freedom to paint or stain, and provides a beauty that manmade materials cannot match.

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