How To Choose Replacement Windows

Almond color replacement windows are often overlooked when homeowners decide to replace their aging windows. Here are five good reasons to consider almond or beige windows for your renovation:

1. Almond color windows can be a stunning compliment to brick or stone buildings, depending on the shade of the masonry.
   
   
2. Today's shades of almond or beige are light enough to blend with many interior color schemes.
   
   
3. Color vinyl windows are substantially the same price as white vinyl windows.
   
   
4. If you do not want almond on the interior of your home, you can order white windows and have the exterior factory painted in almond, while leaving the interior white.
   
   
5. Almond windows can set your house apart from all the homes in the neighborhood that all look the same!

Here is an Almond color Sliding Window viewed from the interior of the home:

 

Here is the almond window viewed from the exterior of the home:

 

 And this is what an almond color vinyl patio door looks like:

 

If you live in Southeastern Pennsylvania, we have an in home service that can help you select window styles, colors, options and get prices. If you live outside the area, you can have a consultation using Google Helpouts.... a growing service provided by Thermal Sash and Google.

Welded vinyl windows are the preferred product for replaceing your windows if you are looking for low maintenance, ease of cleaning, energy efficiency and increasing your homes marketability. THe Precision Welded vinyl window is one of our most popular models for homeowners looking for graeat energy savings at a very reasonable cost. Watch this video for an overview of the product, then call us for an appointment to get an in home evaluation and price to oimprove your home.

 

We often get requests for doors with blinds sealed between the two panes of glass. The main reason most people like this style of window or door treatment is convienience. You will never have to clean the blinds. Another big advantave is that kids and pets will not be able to accidently damage your blinds!

They will tilt, raise and lower without problems for many years after installation. Most manufacturers offer 10 year warrantees, and some manufacturers offer LIFETIME Guarantees on the performance of the blinds.

Here is a happy customer explaining why he selected the internal blind option, while demonstrating how they work.

 Steel Entry Doors have these advantages over wood doors:

• Low maintenance
• security
• will not warp
• closes tight but will not swell
• many glass options
• leaded glass available
• can be made to fit your opening
• almost any size available
• pre-painted at factory
• can be retrofit ior new construction
• many frame styles
• can be hinged to fit your needs

 The photo below shows a double door, center hinged with "raise and lower" internal blinds.

The following series of photos show how a window/door wall has been updated. The original space was converted from a garage into a family room.

The windows were aluminum and the door was wood. By changing to vinyl windows and a steel  entry door, maintenance was virtually eliminated, while offering the homeowner the perfect solution to the traditional problem of blinds on a door...put them inside the glass!

And now for the transformation....the new door with internal blinds and the new vinyl replacement windows. First, the interior view:

m

Here is the new door from the extrerior, with the blinds in the raised position:

Here is the new door from the extrerior, with the blinds in the lowered position:

Below is a door with half glass and the internal blind option. There is a storm door added to allow ventilation when needed.

 

 

See the following photo to view the blinds in the closed position.

 

Here is another style door with the operating blinds sealed inside the insulated glass package:

 

 

As you can see, there are many choices for you to utilize the privacy and safety of the internal blind feature available in the state of the art steel doors being manufactured today.

To get further information about styles, options, colors and prices, fill out the request form on this page to have a representitive contact you about your questions.

 

 

 

"I have rotten wood and am looking for someone to replace windows"

 

       That is the message I retrieved from my office voicemail on a Monday morning in November of 2012. I of course eagerly called the phone number left on the answering machine, and was greeted by Davie, who was the homeowner with the window problems.

       I began to discuss with Davie what kind of problems he was having. He explained that some of the wood sections of the windows on his home were rotten, and that he was searching for a wood window to replace them. The home had been built in the 1920's, and had a series of casement windows that filled a corner of the kitchen that lead out onto an elevated deck. The deck was south facing, and bore the brunt of the summer sun. This seemed to be one of the factors causing the window frames to deteriorate.

      With a spectacular view that the deck offered, the windows were both an element of disign from the interior and from out on the deck itself.

     I set up an appointment for a Saturday morning, when I could visit the home, and sit down with the owners to discuss their needs and wants. Davie wanted a wood window, mainly to be able to paint it to match what I call Frank Lloyd Wright RED. A similar color was used on buildings early in the 20th century, and made quite a fashion statement at the time.

     Upon arriving at the house and reviewing the condition of the exterior wood, I saw that the windows had removable wood grids (some people call them grilles). They were casement style windows, and were not exactly the best style window for the location. The deck area was small, and the casements, when cranked out to their open position, took up quite a large portion of the deck. The windows were on a corner, and one pair of caements opened up directly into a spiral stairway that allowed access to the deck from the garden below.

    After sizing up all the issues, Davie and his wife decided to make a few changes.

• The windows were changed to a vinyl composite
• The exterior was factory painted a custom color to match the existing color scheme
• The style was changed to a cottage style double hung to regain deck space by eleiminating the crank out casement windows
• The grids were made as simulated divided lites permanently attached to the glass (inside and outside of the house)
• Tempered glass was used due to the proximity to the door and floor (must be tempered if 3 feet from door or less and 18 inches from floor or less)
• Low e glass with argon gas fill was used to improve energy efficiency (argon gas prevents heat transfer due to convection)
• A paintable / stainable synthetic wood veneer was used inside to allow an actual painted surface on the interior

    The transformation made the windows virtually maintenance free (after the interior was painted) and not only allowed access from the spiral stairway while the windows were open, but allowed more space on the deck for grilling, and partying!

    By using the cottage style double hung window (the top sash is smaller than the bottom sash), Davie and his wife Jonica were able to have a view to the exterior that did not have the meeting rails of the sashes right at eye level. The simulated divided lites and the painted interior surfaces will match the style and feel of the period when the house was built.

Here is the new view from the interior

I think that white trim looks great with almond windows.  Many of my window customers have white interior trim with almond color windows. They select the almond color window to blend with the exterior color of the house.

There are many different color combinations available in both vinyl and composite windows. You can also order windows that have been factory painted on the exterior. Homeowners looking for the ultimate matching exterior can even have a factory painted exterior in a custom color of their choice. Here are a couple of photos of almond interior with white trim. With vinyl replacement windows, you can acheive almost any desired visual result, in addition to saving energy!

Thermal Sash Window and Door Systems has been matching up windows with the specific needs of homeowners since 1984. Homeowners have different reasons to replace windows. Most reasons are related to improving the energy effiency of their old windows. This is a story of a home that had a western exposure on the back of the house. Each afternoon when the sun was shining, the rooms at the back of the house became so hot and uncomfortable, that even the central air conditioning system was overburdened. The homeowner asked Thermal Sash for recommedations. We suggest ed the Envirostar vinyl replacement window. The windows were made to fit the existing openings. The exterior of the home was stucco, and the new windows had to be installed without damaging the exterior finish. The customer selected Envirostar model with triple pane glass and two coatings of soft coat Low E glass. This glass package added maximum insulation value to the openings by improving the efficiency in three ways. The triple glass created two air spaces which works by slowing the transfer of radiated heat through the window. The Low E coatings were specifically selected to reflect the radiated heat from the exterior (infrared radiation) where direct sunlight and sunlight reflected off the deck was penetrating into the house. The windows also incuded argon filling, which helps to reduce convection currents in the air spaces created between the glass panes. The installation was completed, and the results are explained by the customer, Mike, in the short video above.

Thermal Sash Window and Door Systems is your source for one of the most advanced vinyl window systems available today, Envirostar. With "U Values" as low as .20 (this is equivilent to an "R Value" of 5 !) and air infiltration ratings at .01 cubic feet per minute, this window is the most energy efficient vinyl window on the market today. While industry minimum requirements for double hung windows call for an air infiltration rating of .30 cubic feet per minute or less, Envirostar beats this by a factor of 30! Most window sold today actually have a better rating than .30 ... the average window is rated at .20 cubic feet per minute. That may not sound like much, but if you think of a balloon being about one cubic foot in volume, a window rated at .20 cfm would fill a balloon up with air in 5 minutes. Thats 12 balloons every hour. Thats 288 baloons a day! That is a lot of cold air to reheat in the winter, or to cool in the summer. Envirostar is rated at .01 cfm, which means it is 20 times better (than a .20 factor) at keeping air infiltration from costing you money. Another way to look at it is that the average window will leak the same amount of air in one year as an Envirostar window will leak in 20 YEARS! Why not find out how Envirostar windows can vastly improve your living comfort and save you enough to pay for themselves? Just click on the link below to get a no obligation energy inspection of your home.

                                    

Chet has been enjoying Thermal Sash vinyl replacement windows in his Hatfield Pennsylvania home since 1986. In this short interview he explains how Thermal Sash Windows have performed in both appearance and durability for over 25 years. He was so pleased with the performance that he is now converting two windows into a bay window, and installing a Garden Window in the kitchen. When looking for replacement windows, it is wise to install a quality product from a reputable company. If you plan on staying in your home for a long time, the efforts you  make in the selection of a quality window will pay off handsomely in the coming years.

Double Pane windows are manufactured with special coatings to enhance their thermal performance.  The choice of coating and style would determine the quantity  of heat and light that could enter the window. When deciding on the type of glass coating that will save you the most energy, the heating zone you live in must be considered.

STYLES:

1. Aluminum Window Frames.
   • Economical , long-lasting and strong
   • Can be easily squeezed into the varied shapes needed for window parts.
   • Biggest disadvantage is the amount of heat lost through the aluminium frame, making houses with these windows less environmentally friendly and more expensive to heat.
   • Frames tend to lose eat easily and absorb cold breeze making it inappropriate to use in places with cold climates.
2. Wood-framed Windows.
   • Offers aesthetic and traditional appeals
   • Have lower U-factors compared with aluminum window frames (ie let less heat in or out)
   • Well-built and well-maintained wood windows can have very long life
   • However, these windows need regular treatment with paint or wood preservative to maximise their useable life.
3. Vinyl Window Frames.
   • Do not require painting.
   • High-quality insulating value.
   • Moisture resistant.
   • Do not need permanent maintenance.
   • Thermal performance is almost the same with wood-framed windows.
   • Now available in many colors, some of which resemble wood.
4. Fiberglass.
   • Dimensionally stable
   • Thermal performance is better than vinyl and wood
   • Are commonly used with high performance glazings
   • don’t consumer too much space with its smaller cross-sectional shapes
   • Preferred in industrial environments.
5. Insulated Vinyl
   • Almost have the same characteristics with standard vinyl frames
   • Have more superior thermal performance than standard vinyl and wood frames
   • As with fiberglass, these frames are commonly used with high performance glazings
6. Hybrid/Composite Window Frames
7. Hybrid
   • Comprise two or more frame materials
   • Are created to reduce exterior maintenance needs .
   • Vinyl-Wood windows are created so households can choose the kind of appearance they want .
8. Composite
   • Superbly stable
   • The same or even more improved thermal properties than conventional wood
   • Enhanced moisture and decay resistant properties
   • Can be painted much like wood

COATINGS:

1. Clear Glass.
   • Allows for the passage of high visible light
   • Helps gain and maintain  heat within the home
2. Bronze/Gray Tinted Glass.
   • Reduces solar gain which yields less heat absorption into the home
   • Transmission of light is controlled .
3. High Performance Tinted Glass.
   • Usually light Green and Blue in color
   • Acquires  solar energy more than bronze/tint
   • Transmits more light into the home
4. Low Emittance Coating.
   • Translucent  coatings.
   • It can regulate the amount of solar gain from low, moderate to high .

With the many vinyl shutters on offer these days, creating a modern look for your home is easy. Being equipped with the benefits of vinyl shutters will assist you when searching for those that meet your requirements.

There are still a fair share of individuals who think that vinyl shutters are for non-fashion conscious people. It is therefore quite understandable that they aren’t too eager to use them. However, the fact is that these appealing window treatment products provide you with an array of design options for both the interior and exterior of your home.

BENEFITS OF VINYL SHUTTERS

1. Substantially Enduring

Vinyl shutters can keep up with the changes in seasonal weather. They handle inclement weather making them even more resilient when measured against other forms of shutters. In contrast to wooden shutters that in time get damaged and rot, vinyl shutters don’t peel, crack or fade as quickly, specially when exposed to adverse weather.

These variations of indoor or outdoor shutters can in addition resist humidity. When exposed to humidity they don’t become deformed or puff up as wooden shutters do. This makes them even more amazing, especially when used outdoors, like in spa or swimming pool areas.

2.  Easy to Maintain

Keeping your vinyl shutters orderly is an easy task. With a small amount of effort you can preserve their good shape by simply wiping down the blinds with a well wrung out cloth to alleviate them from dust and marks that could build up over the course of time. Attending to this regularly will have your shutters appearing as good as new for a very long time.

3. A number of Designs and Colors

You can select from several different colors and designs available for your vinyl shutters. Pick neutral colors to blend and tone with your home furnishings, or give thought to those with a wood grain look that cannot be affected easily by sun or rain. White is the prime and most admired color as it merges well with nearly everything.  They look magnificent in bedrooms or kitchens and are also a wonderful choice for your outdoor designs.

The various vinyl shutter designs lets your creativity to go wild.  For example, a bamboo design works beautifully when installed inside your home, giving it a natural tone. They can also work impeccably on the  veranda or French doors and can spectacularly modify the guise of any space in your home.

4. Budget Friendly

Vinyl shutters are much cheaper than wooden shutters. You can choose from amongst an extensive array of choices that are equally attractive at prices you can afford.

The times of dreary shutters died a long time ago.  The stunning variety of vinyl shutters available in the market nowadays provides a fresh, modern look to your home, adding style and beauty to your design.  They are a great solution for your home improvement dilemmas, especially if working on a tight budget, giving your home a completely different look and feel.