Vinyl replacement windows vs. wood windows

Many homeowners, looking to replace old wood windows in their home, often debate between purchasing new wood windows, aluminum windows or vinyl replacement windows.

Here are a few reasons for replacing the existing windows in a home:

1. They will not open or are difficult to open
2. They can not be closed or locked
3. Drafts are felt
4. They look old, worn and outdated

Since many older homes were built using traditional wood windows, homeowners question replacing the structural integrity of wood windows with more affordable vinyl replacement windows.  As a homeowner, it is important that there is an understanding of the negatives and positives of wood, metal, and vinyl windows.

Wood windows are often very large and heavy, resulting in more frame and less glass, reducing your outside view.  A vinyl window on the other hand, has a much lighter frame, resulting in more viewing space and a much cleaner look.

If your home already features wood windows, new wood windows will keep the original wood look that the home currently has, but wood windows are also known to warp sooner than vinyl or metal windows, decreasing their lifespan.  On the positive side, wood windows can easy to be painted or stained the any color; whereas metal windows offer no color variation and vinyl windows are limited to colors stocked by the window manufacturer.

Vinyl replacement windows can often handle the elements and last throughout the years. Wood windows, left untreated, are no match for the rain and will often rot.  Aluminum windows themselves are known to rust. Vinyl on the other hand, handles the dangerous effects of sunlight rays, wind, and rain extremely well… making it a year-round replacement window.

Windows made of vinyl are also extremely energy efficeient.  This is because vinyl does a much better job than wood or metal of insulating your home.  Vinyl also does not chip like painted wood windows or crack like metal windows. Vinyl replacement windows also expand and contract during hot and cold seasons, ensuring a snug fit and again, remarkable energy control and energy savings.

At Window Depot USA, a window replacement company, we stock vinyl replacement windows featuring energy saving technology such as double coat LowE, a step up from standard single coat LowE, found at most replacement window companies.  Double coat LowE features two coats of LowE on both sides of a double-pane glass.  In between the glass, Argon is placed.  Argon, a dense gas breaks up matter such as heat and sound from entering your home. The denser the gas, the more the matter is broken up.

As far as the inability to paint or stain, a vinyl replacement window the color of your choice… a lot of that has changed as replacement window technology advances.  These days, Window Depot USA carries a vinyl replacement window with a wood interior, allowing you to paint and stain the window, from the inside, the color of your choice!  The outside of the window remains vinyl to effectively protect itself from the elements and for the added energy efficiency that vinyl offers over a wood (painted or non-painted) surface.