City of Bloomington, MN Home Improvement, 17 Apr 2018

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From YouTube: Bloomington Home Improvement Fair: Window Replacement Options

Description

Sandau

A

My name is rich I'm with Sandow construction, and we are a residential contractor out of savage, however, we're a small contractor so in between building homes. What we do is to maintenance type items like windows, doors, siding projects like that for regular maintenance on homes who's here for to learn about windows today, I'm assuming everybody.

A

So how do you know when your windows need to be replaced? You can probably look at a couple of different things here. First of all, you can look at windows. Windows should at least last for the lifetime or for the warranty period. Most windows are warrantied for 20 years. Some windows are now warrantied for lifetime. In fact, those because people change houses, not only are they warrantied for lifetime, they're, also transferable warranties for the next order of the home.

A

So that's a kind of an important thing to remember.

A

Notice, the two windows here one window is foggy when window isn't, when you have fog or moisture in between the window panes, there is no argon or gas left in there and it's leaking the seals are leaking and you have two options at that time: either replace the glass pane the glass unit itself, or if their windows old and at its maximum life, then you might replace the window as a whole. A lot of issues that can happen on the exterior we've all had.

A

Wood windows and wood windows have a certain lifetime, and once they reach probably 3040 years, you might have to look at the exterior because they are pine most times than the exterior is getting to start to rot. If you have that in a window, you probably want to replace the window, because if that window frame is going yes.

A

Welcome to come up a little closer. Please come up yeah, there's lots of seats here, we've been doing a lot of shows here at US, Bank Stadium last weekend, so I'm. So a little hoarse from that talking like every day for three days, mm-hmm so, and if you have questions at any time, just raise your hand and we'll just continue you can. By replacing your windows, you can actually reduce your heating bill by up to 20 percent.

A

If you had like a single pane window that maybe a storm window on the outside, by putting in a modern window that has insulated glass, where you have either double or triple pane glass, you could save up to 20%. This is one of the newer kinds. This is actually a triple pane, glass and actually you're open to come up here and look at them in a bit, and the one thing that separates this out is something that's a little bit different. It's a super spacer like this.

A

It's not most windows have metals space in the glass. This is a piece of silicone. These panels have silicone space in the glass. It's much more efficient, it doesn't connect hot and cold and they actually Windows with this kind of uh spacer meet Energy Star standards. Today, when you buy Windows, you want to buy one, that's rated for Energy Star and on the way out. I have some forms over there that are gonna, be all about the Energy Star program that you can take with you.

A

So most uh window companies will, but our quality window company will sign up to be with the Energy Star program, just like appliances, windows and doors, our Energy Star rated, that's a division of the government, so they rate the windows.

A

In order to be rated, they also have to use the NFRC, which is it's really a fancy word as national fenestration rating council, but they're, essentially, the body that rates the windows from that manufacturer to make sure that what they say about that window is true, so they certify the window as being actually to meet those standards. So the Energy Star standards got more strict in January of 2006, meaning the windows had to be more efficient.

A

They got a lot. They went up by about 10 percent. More efficiency was required in window. You notice that we are our northern climate is in the blue and actually right there. It says he's supposed to have a Energy Star rating for you factor and you factor is like the insulating factor.

A

You factor keeps hot and cold separated keeps the heat out in the summer, keeps the heat in in the winter, between those glass panes and that's a you factor, the lower the number, the better and and all these numbers are on those sheets right there and that's. When you buy a window, that's really what you want to buy.

A

First of all, you want to find by an efficient window and whether it's a wood window, a fiberglass window, a vinyl window, no matter what what it's made out of you want to pay attention to the glass unit, part of it and make sure you're getting the Energy Star efficiency number one Energy Star I move it up a little bit bigger. So you can see at point two: seven is the Energy Star standard, so it needs to meet that number or lower now with this kind of a window.

A

Here with this with the gray space or silicon spacer, this one meets point: two, seven, some manufacturers get it down to point two six, this window right here with three panes of glass, will meet point one: nine, that's even that's like thirty, five percent, more efficient and a lot of people in our climate, like a triple pane window.

A

So this is an example of an Energy Star label. In any time you buy a window, whoever selling you a window should be able to show you the readings of the window before you buy it. You want to know when you get the window, you'll see the ratings on a label. Just like this, that's the Energy Star label. You notice the you factor point two: seven another thing that you want to look at that's very important is air leakage. How much air can come around the seals of a window?

A

You don't want drafty windows, that's an extremely important factor. I'll show you a little more about that right now, but you notice this. This label has the Energy Star symbol on it and it has the NFRC symbol on it. The national fitness training rate national fenestration rating council- you know that window is the whole certified to have those numbers exactly it's not somebody's wishful thinking. Those are actually numbers that have been tested.

A

Okay, here's know this is the air infiltration. Let's get a little more specific about that windows are tested at twenty five mile per hour, wind loads in in testing situations and the Energy Star standards that you can't have more than 0.3 CFM. Well, that's equivalent to like two and a quarter gallons of air coming around the seals of a window per minutes, that's gallons per minute. That's a lot of air and that's the energy, so our standard believe it or not. A good window will be up in here.

A

Oh point: O, two CFM fifteen times better than the Energy Star standard, and why is that important? Because you don't want drafts coming in your house and a lot of times when you, especially if you have all bathroom fans, exhausting air kitchen fans, exhausting area, creating a vacuum in your house? Let's see your so you have the ability to suck air more air around windows, so you want to keep that to a minimum. A good rindo should be up in this range right here, point o2 to 0.05 CFM and you have a pretty airtight window.

A

So, let's review the label now the factors on the label. So we talked about few factor. We talked about air infiltration, and these explained everything here and by the way, all these forms I'm showing you are right here over here, so you can pick up one of each on your way out and you'll have all those things that you need to know all the education needs to know about having an Energy, Star, efficient window, condensation resistance, and that number that one says 61 the higher the number, the better condensation resistance in our climate.

A

We've all seen on very cold days, a little bit of moisture on the bottom of the window. When I grew up, we had single pane windows and storm windows. We didn't have moisture.

A

We had ice in northern Minnesota on the bottom two inches of the window we used to play in it make scratch little designs in the ice, but when that melts that drops down on to would, if you had wood windows and I in the windows in our house, we would, after a while, the wood starts to get mold and mildew on the inside, and you don't want that. So there's only one if you like wood windows and you like the beauty of real wood. This is my suggestion.

A

By a window, it has triple pane glass with triple pane glass. You get basically next to no condensation inside. Even on the coldest days of winter, you at the most might get a little space of of just moisture. We don't ever have any ice or anything like that, and that will that will protect the investment in the wood, because wood windows are 35 to 40 percent, more costly than most other windows.

A

So you want to protect that investment by the way the triple pane the turn for that is TLA, which means triple pane. The L stands for glowy coating. All windows have a low e coating inside the glass it's sprayed on coating and then a stands for argon. There, argon filled chambers the whole chamber inside between the glasses, this argon filled, and when you have a triple pane window, you have two chambers that are gun filled that what that's? What makes it more efficient? Basically, there's the structure difference.

A

So you see you notice, you have the three panes separated by a piece of glass over the piece of glass or and then the silicone spacers. So we have double pane, DL a or triple pane, TL a you can also get a gas called Krypton.

A

But if you do, Superman will never visit your house, but besides that, Krypton is very expensive and it's probably not worth the price up charge to pay for it in most cases, because you're gonna pay dearly for the up charge and price and you're only gonna gain about three hundreds of a percent and you factor so you're gonna go down three point three points and you factor like from 19 down to 17 or 16, probably not worth the investment. Typically double P, which.

B

Is a good thing.

A

It depends on the manufacturer manufacturers that make their own glass in house we put together. Other things are usually more economical in purchasing because they control the cost most window. Companies buy their window units already made the classic insulated glass units already made. We all know Andersen Pella, Marvin they're, all our neighbors right in here regional companies. They all buy their glass from Cardinal, Glass Company, who makes it for me and then they put it together.

A

There's some manufacturers that have like I, said put together their home, glass and you'll find much more economical, triple pane, and in fact, this time of year. You will also find it's good time of year to be looking at windows. A lot of window contractors actually give you a free upgrade to triple pane as an incentive to think about investing in windows now, as opposed to waiting till the middle of the year.

A

Another thing you want to think about as far as investing in the windows and when to invest in them, if you're talking to a contractor any contractors or that could probably start within a week, you might be shy away from. Why isn't he doing a lot of work? Most most window companies that do work are probably lined up six weeks out or seven weeks out, something like that where they keep the work flow going. Anybody that can start right away is the guy. That's not working.

A

Yes fact: windows that use this stainless steel spacer have a warranty of 20 years, because the argon does leak around the stainless steel and after about, but it leaks on a sliding scale because as a percentage of what's enough, so it's a sliding scale out. So you can probably get thirty years, maybe thirty, three years out of a window and then you'll start seeing the cloudiness in between the panes it's time to either change the glass or it change. The windows windows that uses silicone spacer warranty the window for life.

A

Weren't see the glass unit for life transferable, the last windows you ever buy, we as a MIT, yes,.

B

A

A

Well, dead, air space actually works pretty good. Some windows, like some window manufacturers, have multiple chambers, so you get a lot of honeycomb in the framework. Some fill all the holes with Freight as many as they can. Sometimes you need hardware in some of the slots, but some of them fill all the spaces with foam and some of them fill only a couple with the foam couple spaces, but dead air also, multiple dead air chambers is also a good insulator so window when windows are tested for the efficiency.

A

By the way they test the whole window, not just the glass, they need. The standard state. You test the whole window for the efficiency.

A

It doesn't matter two of the companies that we, the two of our favorite window companies, that we do it replacement windows for use. This. That's why they're our favorite number, one, the warranties it for life transferable, and you don't get issues with this glass unit. They don't fail very seldom. Do they ever fail, and then we have one window company that makes vinyl windows. They fill every chamber with a foam that they can and another window that we sell.

A

That's our favorite only fills two of them in a point in the middle of the window and believe it or not. The one that has only the two chambers filled is actually a little slightly more efficient, not much, but just a slightly more efficient than the one has all the one weight all the chambers filled, and it's not necessarily it's it. It's more things than just filling the chamber. It's the whole window. How it's built so I mean there's extra factors.

A

In fact, the one window that has less foam filling actually has more chambers and it becomes. It actually ends up being a little more efficient. Any other questions.

B

A

I guess we can say we like soft light windows and another company that we like is Pro via those are two long-standing companies. They both are their vinyl windows Pro via makes a a vinyl window that it can be a I suggest triple pane and it's wood on the inside. It's a vinyl frame with wood on the inside for people that, like wood windows, that's two of our favorites and Beechworth is another window company by James Hardy. That also uses a spacer.

A

That's our third favorite and that's a wood interior window Beach worth yeah like beach, like the tree worth like wor th, so James, Hardy company, PR, o v IA, like professional way, pro via professional way. It's a Mennonite company out of oyster Nile, I.

B

Know one of your signs up through City Hall do Brian you have to what determines.

B

A

Here's what I would look at for a window I would look at first of all the warranty on the window if the quality window, if it's vinyl window, answer quality, when that's going to be warrantied for life and they're, usually warranty everything, hardware, glass, everything now it's probably the most important thing you want to do. It's look at second thing.

A

Is the warranty transferable for the next order of the house if you're looking at our product, that has those two things you're, probably looking at a product, that's felt well made the last or the company is not going to be around and there are a lot of vinyl window companies. There's a lot of different companies around become and go to. So when you look for there's another key factory for looking for a contractor to install windows, for you look for a contractor doing it that has a good long lifetime.

A

That's been around for a number of years. Back in 2007, a lot of contractors, the housing market was expanding tremendously in 2008, the big recession started, the lousy, America flipped upside down. 50% of contractors in Minnesota went out of business. So anybody that has more than ten years of service is probably a company. That's learned how to survive. So you pick a company that has longevity you also when you pick products, look at how long the company's been around thus making the windows, because that a window company has been around for a number of years.

A

You know microvias from the 1940s soft light from the 1940s Andersen windows since I think the late 30s or early 30s. You know so, there's middle there's a lot of companies around long time. Look for the longevity in the company that way. If they have issues, you know that you can probably get a patent taken care of under the warranty. If the company is gone, your warranties as good as the company, it's gone, basically there's four kinds of Windows: you have Windows that are made out of wood.

A

We all know Henderson Marvin they've been making wood windows for years and years since 1930s, it's a wood, sash wood frame and they use double insulated glass. Now, wood windows, like I, said, are a little more expensive about thirty five percent than your vinyl window. If you look at the warranty on wood windows, they do have maintenance and what most of the companies now the clad the exterior of the window, with either aluminum or vinyl, so the exterior of the window.

A

It's wood is maintenance-free, the interior, the wood, if it's double pane is going to require some maintenance after 5 10, whatever number of years. What you give you get some moisture in there. It's gonna require having to refinish the window in order to keep mold and mildew from creeping up.

A

Next down is a fiber glass window fact. This is a copy. This is the picture you see is actually a fiber glass window. It's a fiberglass frame with a real wood interior number of window companies do that this is actually a Beechworth I think, but you know we have Marvin has that Marvin has their fiberglass frame windows and they have. They also have another window. That's all fiberglass outside and inside in the favored glass inside is even stained to look like wood vinyl weight. We have composites Reno, my Anderson's, probably the best-known composite.

A

That's a fibrex, it's a wood fibers with vinyl mixed together and then the majority of windows are vinyl windows and the biggest reason for people switching from wood windows to vinyl windows. You don't like the maintain that wood windows on the inside.

A

So if you do like wood windows, remember get a little window with triple pane, but if you don't want to do any maintenance on windows and vinyls a good way to go because moisture does not affect the vinyl and and be careful when you're buying windows, some beef, some people tend to mislead people and by making statements out of general statements, some will say this. My product is stronger than the other product, but just remember that in order to be certified by the NFRC, the windows have to be tested for strength as well.

A

They have to be hurricane proof for the major winds and they also test for our windows, stand-up and hot, to cold, like in our climate. We can go from minus thirty to a hundred degrees. Madam, are any more questions about windows right now,.

A

In most cases, most people are already in a house when they're looking for windows unless you're building a new house, okay and if you're building a new house is probably the plans for that house, probably specifying what kind of window it is.

A

So we get the casement window. It's the side hinge. It opens like this. The cousin to that is the awning window that opens from the bottom the crank out the other next most common window. This is double hung, pane slide up and down like this. That cousin is a slider pane slide sideways.

A

We all have picture windows, that's so those are stationary windows, they don't move, they don't open and when you're looking at cost of Windows, you will find that casements are usually the most expensive because of hardware. Next are double hugs. Next are sliders and then the cheapest would be picture windows because they only have frame and glass. They don't have any moving parts, that's the cheapest window and that's pretty with any window company.

A

It's going to be about the same, and when you're replacing windows you're, probably going to replace the windows in the house that are in there the same kind of windows, one especially in bedrooms, because you had there's egress codes, in other words in case of fire or somebody has to get out of the house and out of the bedroom, you have to have a certain size. You have to have 5.7 square feet of opening for people to get through the window in case of fire to exit the house.

A

So in most cases all the windows have different egress because they are the way they open. They have the egress sizes. So if the house is made for a casement windows, you probably gonna want to keep casement windows in it, especially in the bedrooms, and usually, houses are designed to have a certain style architecture that fits, and so you don't want to really like change a lot of the windows around I mean we just did a couple weeks ago for a house. The lady here with the house, was built with casement windows.

A

She absolutely hated him, so we sold her all double-hung windows and we had to do some adjustments in the bedroom to make sure the windows were big enough had actually make the openings bigger, but it was worth it to her. It was just she didn't like casement windows, but you would go through extra cost if you want to change window styles in most cases, because whenever you move, whenever you change the size of the opening, it gets more costly.

A

So, if you're looking for windows, how do you find a window that appeals to you? You can look on the internet. You go to home shows like this. You can invite. Maybe today, if you find a contractor, invite them in to show you some different kinds of windows, you have item into your home most times, contractors will go into a house, give you free quotes on Windows.

A

You can also look at magazines and, if you, if you're on the, if, when you're on the internet, most of the time a window manufacturer will refer you right from their website to local approved installers for that particular window. If you're interested in it, it's off light Pro via both do that Andersen does that.

A

So how do you find a contractor.

A

Well, anybody that installs windows is required to have a contractor's license in just about every city in Minnesota, so you want to check to have a license and everybody need to be licensed by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, and it's available on their website as a search engine. They can make a phone call there, but check their license check the Better Business Bureau is people know who Angie's List is Angie's.

A

List is a private organization, were citizens rate different contractors that have been in their house and that's one thing you want to look at: do they, how about Angie's List rating become a member of Angie's, List I think it's like 9 dollars a year. So if you're interested in Windows, it might be worth $9 or 995 whatever it is to invest in it to find local manufacture, local contractors, anyone when you want to find a contractor online research is also a good idea, these days with Google or any other search engines.

A

If anything, if any company has a something bad about them, I'll guarantee it'll show up real quick. There.

C

A

Questions to ask a contractor now, there's a lot of contractors. There are a lot of window installers, let's say our window sales companies that will sell you windows, you want to know who's going to put them in, because that's it's putting them in the correct way, it's just as important as the window itself in the energy efficiency. So you want to be sure that you're that the question you ask is: do you use your own employees to install the windows or do you use subcontractors with subcontractors?

A

You mean know what you're getting when the salesman the sales company has. It's only employees. You know they couldn't control the quality of the of the installation. Second question is: do they have installation masters, training? Installation masters is a program that was started in conjunction with the Energy Star program because, like I just said, you could have the best energy-efficient window, but if it's not installed correctly, it may not be energy-efficient.

A

So there's a school installation master's that people can go to to get training for the best methods and practices and and inherence to codes to install the window correctly and that's independent of manufacturers. That's just the best methods for installing each manufacturer may have certain sub standards that they need to that they want to make sure I require to, and that's why you usually, when you go to a website, you finally approved installers for that particular window.

A

If you like it, because what other people have done, that your factory training, another thing about a contractor- ask to see their certificate of liability insurance, that's their insurance of liability insurance. If you want to make sure any contractor. Has that liability? Because, if they're working on your home and something goes wrong, you want to make sure your your investment in your house is protected. Some of us I think I went over final advice, use a contractor. That's been around 10 to 15 years. At least that way. You know the problem chances.

A

Are they gonna be there after that, usually need to contact them in the future. For something, and like I mentioned before, use the products that have been around for a long time, manufacturers if the company manufacturing the window has been around for a long time. You know they're, probably going to stay around and keep going or keep producing windows. Now, questions.

C

You talk about it.

A

Runs out of a crank, they opened the vertical vertical open like this, with the crank on the bottom.

C

I check to the whistling Specter I took off the webcam and there was no mechanics.

A

No mechanics in it. That's very strange because all windows have mechanics built into the jams inside, but if somebody took it out or something I'm, not sure if it was that.

C

A

What what they used to do for mechanics into old windows, depending on how old the house is, the bottom sash would go up and it actually had a rope on it that went around a pulley and they had weights inside the walls and not times those ropes would break. And then the window has done.

A

You have vinyl windows why they should have I would usually, if you open the window someplace along the rim, you'll see I'm part of the sash you'll see the manufacturer. If it's vinyl, it's probably relative I, would call the manufacturer and ask them if they could supply hardware.

C

A

You can find there should be a label inside the window. You see there in the top of the jamb or you checked all around. You can't find anything boy.

A

You might have a window company come out, I would suggest maybe having like a general contractor come out. Then it solves many different kinds of windows. That way. Maybe he has the experience enough to tell you what it is, or maybe it could tell you about hardware we could be either it could be found to fit inside that window.

A

Okay, any other questions.

C

C

Freak out anymore looks all around to try to find a meaning.

A

On the crank handle usually right on the very lip, if you look a lot of times, they'll put their name on it right, but not on the crank itself right on the little little piece of metal right underneath it you'll see a little stamped right in there. It's very it's very usually very small and slight, but you might be able to see it there otherwise go on the internet if you can't find a manufacturing window so you're on the internet and just start searching for the hardware until you find the hardware that is the same.

A

They'll have pictures on the internet of hardware that they're selling.

A