Choosing the Best Replacement Window Style for Your Home

It’s projected that in 2018, home owners in the U.S. will spend a total of 391.2 billion dollars on improving their homes. By taking the time to plan your replacement window project, you can be sure that your share of that statistic gives you the most bang for your buck.

The first step of planning your window replacement is to figure out what type of window you’re looking for. Is a double hung best for your lifestyle, or is a casement more suited to you?

Today we’ll take you through what each of the window types are and how to figure out which is best for you.

What’s Important with Replacement Windows

First things first: why are you getting new replacement windows, and what’s important to you in a new window? These factors are the most important to figuring out what you need.

Are you looking to add more natural light to your home? Do you want more energy efficiency to bring down those energy bills? Or do you want more ventilation in your home?

Even if you want all three of these things, create a hierarchy of what you want the most. Each window has its own strength.

Double Hung Windows

Double hung windows are a traditional style on many homes. It’s a window consisting of an upper half and a lower half that both slide up or down, so you can open either half for ventilation.

Opening the upper half of a double hung is great to get ventilation in your home that won’t blow around your papers. It’s also a lot safer if you have pets or kids. If you open the upper half, it’s a lot harder for anyone to accidentally fall through.

Casement Windows

Casements are a great choice if light, ventilation, and energy efficiency are all equally important to you. A casement is a window with hinges on either the left or right side. It has a crank or lever that allows the window to swing out.

Since they don’t need to slide, they can have more glass space to provide light. When they’re fully open, they provide ample ventilation for your home. And when they’re closed, they create a tight seal.

When wind blows against a casement, it actually pushes it towards the home, creating an even tighter seal.

However, casements won’t work for you if there’s something outside your home the window might run into, or if you need to put an air conditioner in the window.

Slider Windows

Sliders are great if you want light and ventilation, but you don’t want to lift a window pane or crank anything. They’re good for limited space outside the home and ease of use.

Sliders also work well in some hard-to-reach places, because they slide side to side with ease.

Awning Windows

Do you live in a rainy area but still want ventilation? Awnings are a great replacement window choice for you.

An awning is a window with hinges on the top. It opens similarly to a casement, but once it’s open, it looks like an awning. That allows you to get air without rain or other precipitation getting into your home.

They also create a good seal, like casements, because wind pushes them tighter against your home.

Bay/Bow Windows

For the benefits of natural light and a beautiful feature in a room, a bay or bow window is a great choice. Bays protrude from the home and are angular. Bows protrude from the home in a smooth arc.

Both are fantastic at providing light, plus they have options to either be very energy efficient or provide ventilation.

If you get a bay/bow with sashes that open, you can get nice ventilation. If you get one with sashes that don’t open, the lack of openings makes them have a tight seal.

Picture Windows

If you want lots of light and don’t really care about ventilation, a picture window is the right choice. Picture windows are typically large windows consisting of a single pane of glass, and they don’t open.

This allows light to flood through. And since they don’t open, they have a tight seal against drafts.

Which Do You Like the Best?

The right replacement window can make a musty, dark room enjoyable again. Plus, they can improve the curb appeal and energy efficiency of your home.

When you know what type of window you like, step two is to seek out a company. Contact us and we’ll schedule a free in-home estimate to go over the benefits of our specific windows.

We’re happy to help your window dreams become your reality.