Enhance Your Vision with the Right Window

by DoItYourself Staff

Choosing Windows

Window sashes are typically made of wood, vinyl or aluminum.

Wood is the strongest and best natural insulator available, and it is easy to use. Wood is typically also the most expensive. The most significant disadvantage is that wood can decay or be damaged by insects. It must be painted. Pine or spruce is used for most wood windows.

Vinyl does not rot, rust, flake, corrode and is low maintenance. With improved technology, vinyl is fast approaching wood in efficiency. One variation to the vinyl window is the vinyl-clad window. Here, vinyl is applied over the base material, usually metal. Windows with welded frames are sturdier and more energy efficient than frames that are screwed together.

Aluminum is the least expensive window material, but is also weak and doesn’t hold fasteners well. In addition, it is a poor insulator. Aluminum window frames compensate for these deficiencies by using gussets at the corners of the frame to keep it from cracking and thermal breaks in the sash and frames to reduce heat transfer.

Double-Hung Window

Has a two-sash system

Each sash slides vertically in a channel common frame.

It opens from the top and bottom.

A popular variation is the single-hung window that has a sash that slides vertically. The second sash remains stationary.

Casement Window

Has a single sash hinged at one side to swing open by means of a crank or lever.

Tends to be more weathertight than double-hung, single-hung or sliding windows.

Utilizes a cam-type lock to draw the sash tightly against the frame when closed.

Awning Window

Has a single sash hinged at the top.

Opens at the bottom with a hand-turned crank.

More durable than casement windows.

One type is the basement utility window that is made with a block frame for easy installation in a masonry wall.

Another type is the ranch unit, which has the window framed in a brick mold for installation in garages, cottages and utility buildings.

Another type is the hopper window, where the window is hinged at the bottom.

Bow and Bay Window

A bay window is made of three windows: one large unit in the middle and two flanking windows that are usually placed at 30- to 45-degree angles.

A bow window is made of four or more windows that, all together, form a shape that curves outward. It looks like a bay window, but is free of sharp angles.

Picture Window

A fixed window.

Has no moving parts or sashes and does not open.

Sometimes used with another window type, such as an awning window.

Usually a fixed window available in various shapes, such as an oval, arch, ellipse, octagon or circle.

Glider Window

Slides horizontally to open.

Durable, since the sash is fully supported in the frame.

The nail-on frame style uses nailing flanges and is used mainly in new construction.

The block frame style is used either as a replacement window or in block construction.

Storm Window

Sometimes called combination windows because they combine the functions of storm and screen windows.

Typically made of aluminum

Easy to install and usually attached directly to the exterior casing surrounding the window.

The single-track type consists of a piece of glass in a lightweight sash, fixed permanently in a nail-on frame.

The dual-track style has a glazed sash and screen. The glazed sash is in the top half of the outer track and the screen is in the lower half. Another glazed sash in the inside track covers the screen and can be raised to uncover the screen for ventilation.

The triple-track storm window has two glazed sash and a screen panel, all in a separate track. This is best for second floor windows.

Skylight

A window installed on a sloping roof. Also called a roof window.

Can be stationary or vented.

Sizes range from 18” to 60” wide to 18” to 60” long. Usually, there should be only one square foot of skylight for every 20 square feet of floor space.

Opening the window can be controlled by a manual crank,sometimes reached with a long pole, or by a remote electronic operation.

A tubular skylight is one type designed for rooms where a larger, standard skylight may not be practical. Easy to install, it features a one-piece flashing system to eliminate the possibility of leaks.

A self-flashing or curb-mounted roof window works best with asphalt or fiberglass shingles.