Sitting comfortably inside your home with a glass of chilled lemonade and enjoying the view of your garden, with the warm sunlight shining through the window, shall be the perfect way to spend lazy summer weekends. Windows are the ideal tools to bring the vibrant ambience of the outdoors inside your home while keeping you comfortable and secure. This is especially true for the summer months when you hardly would like to leave your air-conditioned rooms and step outside. The perfect glass windows will have the ability to transform your rooms into well-lit and ventilated spaces.
Installing brand new windows at home
No matter whether you are moving to a new home, renovating your house or have windows that are damaged, there are several options for energy-efficient windows available in the market that you can install at your home. You can windows in a plethora of shapes, sizes, materials, colours and styles today. Hence, you won’t face any issues in identifying the perfect option for your home, based on your budget, home décor, personal preference and more. To make the right choice, you have to figure out the frame, glass and styles that work the best for your house and the prevailing weather conditions at your location.
Here are a few factors that would influence the type of windows you need to buy:
- Architectural style: While it is not important that your new windows would look exactly the same as your new ones, you need to understand that particular designs work the best with a certain style. You wouldn’t want to hamper the aesthetics of your home by installing windows that look out of place. For example, colonial-style homes look great with bay windows, but such a design would not be well-suited for a high-rise building.
- Window purpose and functionality: The key function of a window is to control the airflow at a home and allow light to come in. Indoor ventilation and the amount of natural light that comes within a room are significantly impacted by its windows. For instance, if you want new windows for the living room that faces your garden or pool, then getting a sliding window would be a good idea, in order to enjoy an unobstructed view of the outside. Casement windows, on the other hand, are ideal for curb-facing areas of a home.
- Interior appeal: In trying to make sure that their windows can elevate the curb appeal of a home, many homeowners forget the importance of indoor aesthetics. You need to buy windows that complement both the exterior architecture and interior décor of your home. Aspects like the shaping of space and proportion should be considered to make sure that your new windows perfectly balance the walls, ceilings, and floors, making your indoor space look cohesive and visually appealing.
- Location: The climate and weather conditions prevailing at your location would significantly influence the type of windows you need. For example, in regions where tropical monsoons are common, windows with rain tracks that can withstand heavy rains and high wind speeds have to be installed. On the other hand, windows with UV resistant glass windows should be chosen for areas with scorching summer months. In addition to the climate, other location-related factors would also influence the type of window you need. For example, installing windows with sound insulation would be a good idea if you live on a busy, city street where traffic noise is extremely common.
- Energy efficiency: The temperature fluctuation at your home is majorly impacted by the windows installed there. Hence, you should try to select energy-efficient windows that can help in keeping your utility bills in check. The energy efficiency of windows is determined by their glass type, design, glazing and seals.
- Security: For any homeowner, it is crucial to prioritize the security of their home. Hence, you should try to install windows with a single point lock or a multi-point lock system. It is even better if you can opt for double glazed glass windows to elevate the overall security of your home.
Selecting the right frame
Zeroing on the perfect frame material would be one of the key choices you have to make concerning your new windows. Window frames not only hold the glass in place but also helps enhance the aesthetics, energy efficiency and durability of the window. The frame material you select has to have a high insulating value and be easy to maintain as well. In the current market, window frames made of timber, vinyl and aluminium are the most popular, each of them having its pros and cons. While wooden windows have been the most widely used traditionally and known for their charming aesthetics, they also incur high upkeep expenses. Hence, it is better to opt for vinyl or aluminium windows instead, which are functional, elegant, durable and have low maintenance expense.