 All the new replacement windows have double pane glass. Between each glass pane there is a space of up to one inch. In the past that space was filled with air, now you have an option to fill it with Argon Gas. So Why do you need Argon Gas in your Replacement Windows?
Energy Efficiency Argon Gas increases the R-Value of the replacement windows. It is much heavier than air. Once the space between the two glass panes is filled with AG you add an extra layer of insulation. The good thing about it, that argon gas does not obstruct the view and it does not harmful in any way. AG keeps all the cold outside of the house and all the heat inside the house. Reduces Possibility of Condensation and Frost Because argon gas is heavier than air, it reduces a chance of accumulation of frost. When you have freezing temperatures outside the house. There is a small chance that your glass will be frosty. Argon gas fills the glass pane space and makes it tighter. There is a higher chance that your glass seals will not fail. You are not going to see any condensation between the glass panes.
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 Any window in your house is as good as it’s glass. About eighty percent of the window is glass. Windows are the weakest spots in a wall assembly. If you have clear glass in your windows. It means that all the ultraviolet and infrared sun light can pass through glass. So why is Low-E Coating important?
Energy Savings In summer time the Low-E coating reflects heat from the glass back to the outside. It keeps the ultraviolet rays of sun outside of the house. It means you can have savings while cooling your house. Your A/C is not gonna be running all day long. In winter time all the heat is going to be reflected back into the house from the Low-E glass. So when you sit close to the window, you are not gonna feel any cold air circulating. Protection Against Fading Low-E coating blocks the the infrared rays of the sun. It protects your valuable couch and carpet from fading. With plain glass your carpet or furniture is going to fade. You are going to see the faded spots in your living room, bedroom or any other room. With Low-E it is not gonna happen. Makes Your Windows More Inviting Believe it or not it adds beauty. Let’s say when you go to the beach and put sunglasses on. You will look more fashionable and stylish. The same way your house will be more inviting and have richer look with Low-E coating on the glass of your windows. With the sun out, you can tell, that the glass of the windows stands out. Windows are the eyes of your house. At Siding & Windows Wizards LLC we understand that. We offer several choices of replacement windows. Our premium option is United 8000 series replacement window. Let us talk a bit about the manufacturer of these windows. United Window and Door Company is local manufacturer, located in Springfield NJ. This is a privately owned company with more than 50 years in business. We like the window products of this company, because they are well designed, durable and reliable. Specifications of the United 8000 Replacement Window The U-Factor of window is 0.26-0.28, which means that the R value of the window is around 4. The SHGC rating 0.24-0.27. With these rating the window is qualified for Energy Star Rating in most states. The glass of the window has Low-E coating and Argon Gas between the two glass panes. Glass pane thickness is 1''. The Design Pressure rate for that window is 50, which means it can withstand wind blows of up to 140 mph. When you install these windows into your house, definetly you are going to see energy savings and less noise coming from the outside into the house.  Interior of the window The window frame is solidly built. The frame and both sashes of the window are fusion welded for extra strength and stability. This is a Double Hung Window, so both sashes move up and down for ease of use and maintenance. When you look at this window from the inside, you can notice that it looks different. The one thing that strikes is the clean look of the bottom sash of the window. You can see, that there is no tilt in locks on each side of the sash. This window has high-tech Lock-N-Tilt System. To release the sash for cleaning, all you have to do is twist the two window locks to the opposite side and the bottom sash tilts in. The window comes with balance covers for extra beauty and cleanliness. United 8000 has vent latches as well. If you want to vent just three inches of the top or the bottom of the window, you can pull them out. The thickness of the frame and the sash combined is 3.25’’. When you have smaller windows in the house, you might loose a bit of the viewing area.  Exterior of the window United 8000 window has rich exterior, that blends in to your house and makes it look like a million bucks. The frame of the window has a nice beveled exterior. Around the window glass there is a beautiful casing, which enhances the look of the window. The window comes with a half fiber screen or full optional screen. The screen is made from fully extruded aluminum and locks at the bottom. When it is windy, your window screens will stay in the windows and are not gonna be blown off and damaged. At the bottom of the window there are no weep holes, because all the frame is fusion welded and water does not get inside the window frame. Wheather Stripping
When you open the window, you notice that bottom and top sashes have three weather stripping. On the bottom of the window there are two weather stripping. United 8000 series window has the vinyl lag that part of the window and locks inside the bottom sash. Energy Efficiency The window has enhanced energy Efficiency. As you can see, all the way around the window frame there is a weather stripping to improve energy saving capabilities. This channel protects the walls of the house for any moisture accumulation. United 8000 Replacement Window Conclusions:
Pluses: — High Energy Efficiency — Lock-N-Tilt System — 140 mph wind resistance — Heavy Extruded Aluminum Screen, that locks into the frame — 1’’ Insulated Glass — heavy duty weather stripping — rich interior and exterior design — balance covers are standard —available in six colors Minuses: —The frame a bit thick — the price is higher United 8000 Series window has solid non prorated Lifetime Limited Warranty. It is easy to understand and easy to use. You don't have to be a lawyer to figure out what your warranty covers.  You got to the stage where you want new windows. Well, first of all welcome to the jungle of window world. Today the most popular windows are vinyl, wood clad, composite windows, fiberglass replacement windows. Let’s say you have wood windows and you like the way they look, but hate to maintain them. Then you should go with fiber glass replacement windows. These windows offer low maintenance of vinyl windows and natural beauty of wood windows. Let us see what’s good and bad about fiberglass windows: Good Staff
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As you can see fiberglass windows offer durability and beauty. These windows can raise the value of your house especially when you live in Princeton NJ or Yardley PA. When you are selling your house upgrade it with new fiberglass windows and no doubt it is going to be a good selling point. If you live in Hamilton NJ or Willingboro NJ, these windows will make your house stand out and look the best in the whole neighborhood. We service these areas and if you would like to know more about fiberglass windows just let us know. Main Fiberglass Replacement Manufacturers: Marvin Integrity Fiberglass Windows Pella Impervia Fiberglass Windows Andersen Fiberglass Windows You have decided to refresh the look of your house. Now you want to shop for the new windows. There are many replacement window brands available on the market. We want to review one of the popular Simonton 5500 series replacement window. General Specifications of the window Let us start from specifications of this window. Simonton 5500 replacement window boasts U-Factor at 0.29 and SHGC 0.18. This gives not bad energy efficiency rating for this window. It qualifies for Energy star Rating in most states. The glass of the window is double pane and comes with Low-E and Argon Gas between two panes. The DP rating for this window is 25. It means that the window can withstand winds of up to 75 mph.  Interior of the Window Both the window frame and sashes are fusion welded. It means that the window performs like solid piece. No screws used to hold together the parts of the frame or sashes. This window is double hung, so both sashes are moving for the ease of cleaning and venting the room. On the top sash there are two vent laches. When you want to vent just three inches on the bottom you can use these vent latches. The thickness of the frame and the sash is a bit too wide. It measures 3” 5/8. You should not be worried about that if you have wide windows in your house. But if you have smaller windows then the thickness of the frame steals viewing area and your windows look smaller. Simonton 5500 does not have balance covers, which annoys some people.  Exterior of the Window Simonton 5500 replacement window comes with half fiber glass screen. It is made with fully extruded aluminum. The screen is of a high quality. The only downside of the screen is that does not lock into the window frame. It means that with a strong wind the screen can be blown off. At the bottom of the window there are two weep holes. They drain all the water that gets into exterior frame of the window. We believe these weep holes are located somewhat too low. There is a high chance of weep holes clogging. If that happens, the water may find the way into the house. Weather Striping
When you open the window, you can see that the bottom and top sashes have double weather stripping. On the bottom of the sash there is a double rubber weather stripping as well. It means when you close the window no air leaks can happen. Simonton 5500 Double Hung Replacement Window Conclusions: Positives: — High Energy Efficient Window — The Frame and Sashes are durable — The Acceptable Design — Aluminum durable extruded screen Negatives: — No Balance Covers — Weep Holes are too low — The frame is a bit too thick —The window screen does not lock For Warranty Information click the link below: www.simonton.com/sites/Simonton/Files/Simonton-Reflections-5500-Warranty.pdf If you prefer to watch a video about Simonton 5500 Review, please visit our Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs05r1QsBFE&t=473s  Full Window Screen When you buy your new windows. You have an option to buy new replacement windows with full window screen. It means that the window net is going to cover the whole window. —It is reasonable to get full screen when you are planning to get double hung replacement windows. Let’s say you want to vent the top of the window or the bottom. You don't have to do much to achieve that. Just open the window. You can be sure that no uninvited guests, like mosquitos or flies, are gonna be able to get into the house. — With full screen you can have better piece of mind when it is windy. Because this screen is securely locked in the window channel. There is less chance that it is gonna be blown off by the wind. The downside of fully screened window is that it obstructs the view more than half screen. It is harder to remove it and reinstall back into the window. If you damage the screen net it is more expensive to repair it as well. But all in all it is a nice screen to consider.  Half Window Screen
The other window option is to get a half window screen. In this case if you are planning to get single hung windows. Then that’s the only option, you should consider. But it is nice to have half window screen when you are replacing your windows with double hungs. — Half screen is cheaper than full window screen, so you can save about $30 per window, when you go with it. — With this window screen you can vent just the bottom of the window or the top, as well. When you do that you will have to move the screen from the bottom to the top and vice a versa. In better quality windows, half screens are locked securely. That prevents them from falling out of the window when it is windy. The downside of the half screens is that in lower quality windows, screens are easily bended. When you push them to the top or the bottom many times. These screens more often blown off by the strong wind as well. The best window screens are when they are made from extruded aluminum, not roll formed. To test it, just pull it out from the window and try to bend it, if it is not easy to do it, then your screen is in good shape. At Siding and Windows Wizards all our windows United 4800 series and United 8000 series come with fully extruded aluminum screens, that securely locks into the window frame. We want you to be happy with the windows we install and enjoy them for many years to come. With unpredictable weather conditions, that we have in New jersey and Eastern PA. You may be concerned about strength of your new replacement windows. The question is how to find out how strong the replacement window is? The simple answer is to test it and see it yourself, which can be done after the window replacement only. But there is no need for that. Every window is tested by the manufacturer to find out the Design Pressure (DP) rating. Sometimes that information is printed on a new window sticker. Other times the DP rating is included into the specifications of a replacement window. So let’s see what does it mean the Design Pressure Rating? How DP rating can help you to choose the replacement windows? The DP rating scale usually is from 20 to 65. The higher it goes, the better it is. The DP rating means how well is your window is going to withstand the wind pressure or how strong the window frame is. Some people say that high DP rating of 50 or 65 does not mean better energy efficiency. I would not agree with that. The replacement window with DP 50 rating can withstand the blows of the wind of up to 160 mph. It means that the window is so tightly locked, that not a stream of air or water comes it to your house from the outside. So by itself it means higher energy efficiency. When do you need the windows with high DP ratings? If you live on the shore or your house is located on a high hill. You would want to have replacement windows with higher DP ratings. In this case you should invest extra money to get replacement windows with at least DP rating of 40-50. This way you will be able to save money in the long run. But if you live Hamilton NJ or Willingboro NJ, you may want to have DP 50 windows as well. Weather is unpredictable these days. So if the next hurricane comes, you can feel yourself safer in your house. At Siding and Windows Wizards we sell United 8000 series windows with a DP 50 rating. If you want to have safer home both in good and bad weather conditions. Let us know and we will take care about your new window project.  When you have a new replacement window presentation. Usually you pay attention about the exterior of the window only. You look at the glass, the frame and hardware. But how about the inside of the window? Each window has two panes of glass, separated by a spacer. So, many people ask what is warm edge intercept glass spacer? What should you expect form a window spacer? Simply speaking the glass spacer is a system that holds both window panes together. It creates insulated air space, where argon or krypton gas is added to enhance energy efficiency of the replacement window. But in reality spacers are important parts of the window unit. They separate two glasses of the window. That drives moisture away and adjusts window performance during temperature fluctuations. Without the good spacer the window performance will be lower and may fail. Most of the replacement window spacers are made from foam or metal. Foam Spacer Foam spacer allows for the window glass panes to contract and expand as well. But in summer time when the temperature is high it may become overheated and look wavy. Foam spacer is made from a pliable material and that makes it look less appealing. Metal Spacer Before 1992 most of the spacers were made of aluminum. This material is a great conductor of heat and cold. In summer time it gets hot and increases the chances of seal failure of the window. In winter time it gets cold, making the edges of the window glass colder. That reduces the energy efficiency of the replacement window. In 1992 PPG glass manufacturer introduced Intercept Warm Edge Spacer. Intercept features one piece U-shaped alloy, that reduces conducted heat loss. U-shaped system is flexible and does not allow for seal failure. With warm edge intercept spacer your window is going to expand in summer time and contract in winter. No condensation is going to happen between the window panes as well.  Several benefits of quality spacers
As you can see spacers are important parts of the replacement window. At Siding and Windows Wizards we use windows with warm edge intercept spacer by PPG. This spacer system proved itself extremely durable and reliable over the years.  Windows are important parts of your house. If you still have old rusty wood or aluminum windows. Then it might a time to think about upgrading with new replacement windows. If you are planning to sell the house in the next 5-10 years. Then you are asking a question: how to raise value of the house with replacement windows? Just Replace the existing windows According to Remodeling Magazine, when you replace your old aluminum or wood windows with brand new vinyl windows. The value of your house will go up by about 67%. The good thing about that is you are going to enjoy your new windows yourself for the next 5-10 years. Then when you sell, still you can get your money back. Make Your House Stand Out In Your Neighborhood The value of your house depends a lot on location. Let’s say your house is located in Hamilton NJ or Willingboro NJ. When you upgrade your old wood windows with vinyl replacement windows in these neighborhoods. Right away your house is going to stand out. But if you live in Princeton NJ or Yardley PA. Then replacing your existing windows with vinyl ones is not going to raise value a lot. In these neighborhoods you should make window replacement cautiously. Drive through the streets of your neighborhood. See what kind of replacement windows most people have in your area. In Princeton NJ or Yardley PA, the best window replacement option is wood clad, fiberglass or composite windows. So you should not be saving money, but pay some premium to get increase in the value of your house. Age of the House In rare instances your house may represent a historic value. Then the only way to increase the price of your house is by replacing wood windows with new wood clad windows. Sometimes you can’t go crazy with your new windows, they have to match the existing style and color. But once again new replacement windows will make your house look like a million bucks. At Siding and Windows Wizards LLC we install vinyl, fiberglass and wood windows. If you would like us to help you to refresh the look of your house, feel free to let us know. When you spend money on your new replacement windows, you want them to last as long as it is possible. More years your windows last, more interest you can get from your investment. So before you schedule replacement window appointment. Ask yourself which windows last longer?
To figure out that, let us compare window durability: Vinyl Windows The most popular window material these days is vinyl. It does not rust or corrode, does not peel, chip or warp. Vinyl replacement windows are made to last. With fusion welded frames and double strength glass. Once you replaced these windows, they are virtually maintenance free. You don't have to do much. Wood Windows Traditional wood windows have natural beauty and warmth. They come with many drawbacks though or liabilities. When you install wood windows into your house, you should remember that wood rot, chip and warp. To prevent this to happen, you should regularly maintain these windows. Paint them at least every three to five years. If you skip painting on a regular basis, the micro cracks in paint will allow water to penetrate wood. So all in all wood windows nice to have, but at one condition. You have to love painting or will have to be willing to pay to a pro. Fiber Glass Windows This is another durable replacement window option to have. Like vinyl, these windows do not rot, warp or chip. Fiber glass windows are resistant to the most harsh weather conditions. They are made from the material, that does not expand in summer or contract in winter. The biggest drawback of these windows is that they are more expensive than wood or vinyl. So if you can afford it, you should definitely go with fiber glass replacement windows. When deciding what replacement windows to install into your house. Consider your budget and maintenance tolerance. No doubt about it, fiberglass windows are the best to have, both money wise and maintenance wise. These windows can last 30-50 years. But vinyl windows can provide you good value as well. Cheaper to replace and low maintenance, usually these windows last 25-35 years. Wood windows can last more than 50 years. But you should maintain them religiously. Otherwise you may have problems with them after 10-15 years. |
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