When you mention wood windows, most customers’ first instinct is to worry about maintenance. After all, don’t wood windows peel, warp, and split when exposed to the elements? With the advent of fiberglass and aluminum exterior cladding, exterior maintenance is no longer an issue. Marvin, Pella, and Anderson all offer wood windows with exterior cladding in a wide variety of colors to compliment almost every home’s exterior. And, where historical integrity is paramount, wood exteriors are available. And, because the interiors are wood, finishes are limited only by your imagination. Each of our key manufacturers offers a variety of factory finished interior options, or you can opt to have your windows finished in your choice of paint or stain by an outside source.
You can’t do this with vinyl or fiberglass!
Wood windows also have the widest selection of glass options available, from multiple Low E finishes to tempered, obscure, laminated, textured, tinted, and art glass designs. Each also offers grilles between the glass, removable grids that snap to the interior of the window, and simulated divided lites (SDL’s), grilles that are permanently attached to the exterior of the window, giving the look of classic wood windows. In addition, specialty patterns can be manufactured to meet virtually any designer’s imagination.
Along with a number of standard hardware colors and styles, with wood windows you can elect to use designer or historical hardware to further enhance the beauty and historical integrity of your windows. Finally, because wood windows are limited only by the size of glass that can be manufactured, monumental single window units are available in wood that cannot be made in vinyl or fiberglass due to limitations presented by extrusion machines.
If you are looking for the most flexibility in style, finish, and decorative options, wood windows are definitely the first choice. And, if you need to maintain the historical integrity of your property, wood is the only way to go. Now that you don’t have to worry about exterior maintenance because of the availability of cladding options, there is certainly no reason not to consider wood when you are ready to replace the windows in your home.
Rae the Renovator
