Windows

seedcorn

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We have to replace windows. Give me some advice.
 

Ridgerunner

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Double pane for the insulation value. Your heating/cooling bill will appreciate that. If you install them yourself do not puncture that vacuum. I suspect you knew this.

Make sure your wife likes how they look. Around here I'm not the one that makes any color/style decisions. It's not worth the grief.

Pay attention to how they operate, especially if you leave them open at times.

How hard are they to clean, inside or out? Maybe not that important at ground level with easy access. But if you don't have easy access?
 

thistlebloom

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:pop We need windows too. The ones that came with the house are all losing their seals and a few have generated spontaneous cracks starting in a corner. :(
 

so lucky

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:pop We need windows too. The ones that came with the house are all losing their seals and a few have generated spontaneous cracks starting in a corner. :(

Well, that ain't right! It may be that your house is settling unevenly, and stressing the windows.
 

so lucky

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Seed, I don't even know what "brand" our windows are, but they have the tilt out top and bottom, and are triple paned, and have a lock when they are open about 4" and were recommended by the contractor. I guess I could have gotten the ones with the lattice work inside the panes, but I just like the larger expanse of glass.
 

digitS'

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I don't know how to advise.

We had new windows (vinyl) put in about 15 years ago. Must not have been the best quality, judging by quality of the chalking. It's loose in a few corners. Two windows with metal frames were newer than the others and not replaced. DW hates them because they collect condensation.

@thistlebloom , one of our windows cracked. I decided to blame 2 things: frame unlikely to be square in this 100+ year old house. Secondly, the foundation below the floor is original and not part of the basement. Basalt, and who knows, in what condition. I bet it's responsible for the seasonal closing differences of a closet and bathroom door.

No other reason I can think of for the glass cracking now over a year ago. Bought the new double glass after being told that it's possible as a DIY project. This olde greenhouse worker is totally intimidated because I think the intact pane has to be broken from its frame ..! Don't like that idea at all!!!

Steve
 

thistlebloom

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Well, that ain't right! It may be that your house is settling unevenly, and stressing the windows.

This house was less than a year old when we bought it and only one of the windows has ever been lockable on the frame. When we looked at the house I figured the sticks in all the windows were just an extra security measure because the home owners had already moved out of state leaving the house vacant.
It wouldn't have been a deal breaker if we had known the windows wouldn't lock, but it wasn't something I even thought to check. I'm sure it probably has more to do with the framing than the settling, the cracked glass may be a combination of both.
Having lived in and fixed up a very major fixer-upper for 20 years, getting a house that had only been lived in for 6 months was very appealing to my husband who was emphatic about not getting another project house.
 
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