|
Today,
more and more window manufacturers are turning to hybrid
frame designs to give homeowners more options to choose
from as far as window designs.
Hybrid windows combine two or more of the best
window framing materials to a complete window system and
produce a superior product.
A few examples of this would be wooden window
frames that have been coated with either vinyl or enamel
coated aluminum to reduce exterior maintenance for the
homeowner.
Another example is that manufacturers of vinyl
window frames offer wood veneers on the interior frame
so that homeowners can have the desired interior look
they want.
In the quest to achieve a more energy efficient
and visually pleasing window, it is very likely that in
the next few years we will see an increasing number of
hybrid designs by manufacturers.
However,
homeowners have to educate themselves about hybrid
windows and the maintenance feature and options that
each offer for both their interior and exterior
appearances.
Before purchasing hybrid window however, it is
suggested that the homeowner read the NFRC label for the
thermal property of the windows you are interested in
purchasing, because of the differences in thermal
properties between the products used in creating the
hybrid window.
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most
individuals are familiar with wood composite
products. Composites
are laminated strand lumber and particleboard, or
wood particles and resins compressed to form a
product. Manufacturers
of wooden window have advanced this process so that
they can create wood-polymer composites.
Wood composite windows are paintable and
possess the same structural and thermal properties
as traditional wooden windows, but also have the
moisture resistance, and decay resistance of vinyl.
Composite windows also help the environment
by reusing scraps of wood, which would normally have
been discarded, thus we use fewer trees in the
manufacturing of the windows.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fiberglass
window frames have very similar properties as vinyl
window frames. Fiberglass
window frames are stronger than vinyl, are very
durable, and have air cavities.
Many times, these cavities are insulated,
making fiberglass frames more energy efficient than
wood or insulated vinyl frames.
|
|
|
| |
