We want to help all of the less knowledgeable and needy homeowners that we possibly can. Through this post we do hope to teach you all of the signs that you need to start looking into replacement, why it is important to replace your windows in a timely manner, and how to choose the right home improvement company for you, one that is professional and reputable enough to all but guarantee perfect results.
With how time-consuming, messy, and time engrossing any given home improvement project can be – it’s understandable that most people really put these kinds of projects off until they absolutely have to do them. The hard part with windows can entirely be down to knowing when to replace them! You obviously don’t want to replace a perfectly looking window, but you also don’t want to be stuck with old inefficient windows for a second longer than you need to. So let’s get into it.
The big undeniable signs and signals you need to look for
Does the outside sound like it’s literally INSIDE your home at times? If your windows aren’t also protecting you from a vast majority of the outside noise, that’s a pretty strong indication that your seals aren’t formed properly or your windows themselves may have some slight defects. It’s always recommended, wherever you live, to choose at least double if not triple-paned windows. This is fantastic for your energy efficiency and these inner argon gas layers can drastically decrease the noise that comes in from the outdoors. For those that live near busy roads, highways, or city centers, this noise reduction can go an incredibly long way.
You feel like you’re getting a serious draft in all the time even though theoretically your windows are closed uptight. Feeling a breeze through a completely closed window is, as you could guess, not ideal for you!! This could be caused by all kinds of things from low-quality seals, poor installation services, so many tiny little details that need to be accounted for. Drafty windows can be a massive source of fluctuating temperatures in your home and cause your HVAC system to work twice as hard only to do a normal level of work! You know what that means for you, you pay a lot more money out for the same heating or cooling level that you’d normally have.
Windows have a lot of trouble locking, closing, or opening. If a window isn’t installed absolutely perfectly it’s almost inevitable that it has issues with overall balance, which will make it much harder to slide open any window. Not being able to line your window up well also means you could have a lot of trouble getting it lined up to where you can lock it properly, which is of course a huge safety concern for your home. If you have wooden or metal windows, for instance, you could also be seeing a lot of issues come directly as a result of rusting or rotting/swelling.
Keep a close eye out for window frames that are being water damaged, chipped away, or starting to just rot out. If your windows have any of these things going on it’s quite likely that they are going to need to be replaced as soon as possible. They’re already beyond what’s worth of repair at that point. Water is the worst enemy of your home across the board anything dealing with water damage has got to be fixed as soon as it can be or you’re going to be dealing with some serious damage.
Condensation building up between the inner glass panels, or cracked inner panels. If your windows are fogging up or getting frosted, that, unfortunately, means your seals were never installed quite right, or since installation, they have failed, allowing air and moisture to start to leak into your window. Once the seals fail your windows are as good as done, unfortunately, all that argon gas between the panes that normally works to conserve the energy in your home is all gone now, and the air is not nearly as effective when it comes to stemming the transfer of your energy outside. This is why a good installation is critical to the long-term success of your windows, you can not cut corners with this stuff! Cracks in your windows are another weak point where air and moisture are going to be able to get in, so those need to remedy as well!
Why even worry about replacing failing windows?
If you have an inclination that your energy bills are just crawling up little by little every single month, well you probably aren’t far off, and the most likely culprit is going to be your windows not functioning as they should. Replacing your old ratty windows with nice new energy-efficient models is the single best move you can make for lowering your heating and cooling costs drastically, this should be able to save you a pretty good amount of money overall.
A true quality double or triple-paned window is going to keep out at least a good 80% of UV rays and energy transfer – sometimes even up to as much as 99%. This means the nice conditioned air that you’re paying all that money for is NO LONGER just being wasted as soon as it comes in contact with the outside air. Our windows conserve this energy and match the temperature of your home because they are so insulated.
Security is one of the other main reasons that people look into new windows. Stronger physical windows and more advanced locking systems mean you can sleep that much better at night knowing your family is safe. Properly installed windows create a fantastic seal and are much harder to get through than one may imagine. Many people who are looking to sell their homes have turned to the Charlotte Window Replacement experts at Carolina Home Remodeling.
Whatever you do just make sure you do your research in your local area and find the absolute best window installation experts for you.