Residential window services include a wide variety of glass installations. There are single, double, and even triple pane glass window options, but one cannot help but wonder if the triple pane of glass is just overkill. You might have a few other residential window glass questions that need answering as well. The following Q&A should help you select new windows for your home based on your own needs and what is best for your home.
Triple Pane Glass: It's Just Extra
The question of whether or not triple-pane glass is overkill depends on how you view it. Really, double pane glass is quite adequate for most residences, especially those that are not in the northern half of the U.S. Triple pane glass just adds an extra, all-around layer of protection to your double pane glass.
You get more noise reduction, more protection against break-ins, greater reduction in UV rays and furniture damage from those rays, and greater heating and cooling efficiency. However, the added protection on all of these fronts is not really that much; it just doubles that of single pane and adds only a little extra above double pane. In short, it is not overkill, really--it is just extra.
Dealing with Small, Unusually-Shaped Windows: Remove Them or Go Bigger?
Older homes with steeper-sloped roofs often have these oddly-shaped tiny windows in their peaks. These windows are incredibly difficult and expensive to update, as they are special-order, custom-crafted windows. You may be tempted to have them removed, but then what do you do with the holes in the peaks of the roof? You would almost have to rebuild these sections of your roof, since there is not any other good options for closing the holes up.
Of course, you could have a residential window contractor make the holes bigger to install larger windows in these spaces. This provides more light, greater energy efficiency, and an opportunity to select something more decorative, too. Finding window treatments for these windows would also be easier, since you would not have to have curtains or blinds custom-made to fit the small, oddly-shaped windows.
Wiring Your Windows into the Security System: Yes, or No?
When you get a home security system, you are always asked if you want the windows wired into the system. Let's look at this from a window contractor's point of view. If you wire in the windows, they will go off every time you open them for fresh air, or if you remember to turn the alarms off, then the open windows are exposed to intruders. Additionally, security alarms wire windows for vibrations, so something as simple as bouncing a ball off the side of your home could set off your system's alarm.
If you decide to replace your windows, your residential window contractor has to wait for the security company to un-wire the old windows so that the old windows can be removed and the new windows installed. If that is not a big enough headache, the time between the installation of the new windows and the time that the security company's technician can wire the new windows into the system could be as much as a week, depending on how many appointments the security company already has. You are already exposed during that time. You have to depend on the locks built into the windows for protection.
It just makes better sense to leave the windows out of the system, use the locks that are already part of the windows, and install a removable set of alarms you can buy from any big box or hardware store. It is cheaper, and you are less likely to accidentally trigger the security alarm. For more information, contact companies like Valley Glass Utility.
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