When should you order a replacement window installation for the windows in your home? Buying and installing new windows is a fairly major expense, one you shouldn’t undertake lightly. However, putting off new window installation in Florida too long can be potentially disastrous.
When hurricanes hit the Tampa Bay area, outdated non-impact windows, or even windows that used to be impact-rated but are worn out, become a major risk of moisture intrusion and worse. Bad old windows can also eat into your home’s energy efficiency, security, and daily comfort.
With that in mind, how can you tell it’s time to replace your old windows with new ones? When does the potential for monetary loss, personal danger, and discomfort outweigh the cost of replacement window installation?
Let’s go over some of the biggest warning signs that it’s time to replace your windows with impact-rated ones.
Sign You Need a Replacement Window Installation 1: Drafty Windows
One of the first warning signs that most homeowners will notice telling them that they need to replace their old windows is that their windows have a distinct draft, even when closed. Their curtains may billow when the window’s shut. The air might get warm and muggy inside the house on a hot summer day (or freezing cold during a cold snap).
While some causes of drafty windows are easy to fix, such as worn weatherstripping or caulk, other issues like slight deformations in the window frame or cracked glass call for more comprehensive and thorough window replacement.
Sign You Need a Replacement Window Installation 2: Windows Are Difficult to Open or Close
Another major warning sign that it’s time to order a replacement window installation is that your current windows are becoming too difficult to open or close. Hung windows and rolling windows might stick as you try to move them, casements might not crank properly or the edge of the window sash might noticeably scrape against the window frame, or the armature mechanisms of such windows might show obvious signs of rust or wear.
There can be a number of reasons why a window might become difficult to open or close, such as:
- Dirt or Other Accumulated Debris. Dirt may collect on rollers, tracks, or armatures, inhibiting their operation to make the window stick whenever you try to open or close it. This is an easy enough thing to prevent with some proactive maintenance as you clean your windows.
- Rusting of Metal Components. In older windows, oxidation (i.e., rusting) of metal components can not only inhibit their motion, it can make them brittle so they actually break, becoming nonfunctional entirely. Rollers may get stuck. Counterbalances, crank mechanisms, and hinges can snap. This damage may be mitigated with preventative maintenance, but since some components of a window aren’t readily visible, it’s easy to miss the need to clean and check them for signs of rust until it’s too late.
- Structural Settling. Did you know that a building’s frame can settle and change shape slightly well after the building’s construction is completed? Well, it can. Whether it’s from pressure on the frame from upper structural components like the roof, or deformations in the building’s foundation, settling may warp your window openings and bend window frames. This, in turn, may cause your windows to stick or even to crack.
- Misalignment of the Window Sash w/o Frame Warping. This is a common issue for casement windows, particularly larger casements. Because of how they swing open, all the weight of a casement window pulls on one side of the window frame. This can cause that side of the frame to sag, which pulls the sash out of alignment with the window opening. You may notice the corner of the casement window scraping against the frame as you try to open or close it and the hinges may appear slightly bent.
If your windows are excessively difficult to open or close, check to see if the issue is a simple accumulation of dirt that you can clean off or if it’s one of the more serious problems that may require complete window replacement in order to fix.
In the case of warped window frames caused by building settling, you may need new, custom-made windows to replace your existing ones to fit in the altered window opening, as standard pre-made windows might not fit or you may need to add window bucking to “resize” the opening and create a squared connection point for the window to go into.
Sign You Need a Replacement Window Installation 3: High Electric Bills/AC Constantly Struggling to Maintain Temperature
How well does your home maintain a comfortable temperature when your air conditioning isn’t running 24/7? If you find that your home’s internal temperatures are constantly swinging up and down throughout the day, that could be a sign that your windows aren’t energy efficient.
There could be a host of issues that make your windows less energy efficient than they should be, such as:
- Lack of Insulation. Older windows may not use multiple panes of glass or other insulative tricks that prevent the transfer of heat between your house and the outside. This, in turn, makes your home more susceptible to drastic temperature changes throughout the day and night as outdoor temperatures rise and fall.
- Cracks, Breaks, and Air Leaks. Older windows may be cracked or broken at some point, creating minute air leaks that let outside air in and your climate-controlled indoor air out. This is one of the things that can cause drafts even when windows are closed.
- Metal Window Frames. Did you know that metal window frames conduct heat very quickly? This is a huge problem for insulating your home against the outside. If you have a metal window, touch the frame on a hot or cold day, and feel how much the inside of your window is influenced by the outdoor temperature. If you have metal-framed old windows, it’s probably time for a vinyl-based upgrade!
Just how much worse are metal window frames for your home’s insulation compared to vinyl window frames? The most common metal used for window frames is an alloy of aluminum that has a thermal conductivity of 201 W/mK (Watts per meter Kelvin).
Meanwhile, the polyvinyl chloride typically used for window frames has a thermal conductivity of 0.16 W/mK. That means that aluminum transfers 1,256.25 times more heat than PVC/vinyl does.
There’s a reason why aluminum is used for baking sheets and vinyl isn’t!
Sign You Need a Replacement Window Installation 4: Dated Window Styles
Times and tastes change over time. What was trendy and exciting in the 1970’s would be less attractive to the design sensibilities of those who grew up after the 90’s and early 2000’s. For some homeowners, aesthetic appeal is even more important than energy efficiency or safety… though a replacement window installation that includes impact-rated windows can provide better safety, efficiency, and curb appeal!
If you’ve ever looked at your windows and thought to yourself something like: “I really wish these were a different style,” then that may be more than reason enough to consider a replacement window installation service for your home.
Sign You Need a Replacement Window Installation 5: Your Windows Are Broken
We saved the most obvious sign of needing a replacement window installation service for last. If your windows are broken, then they clearly need to be replaced. However, some companies out there will try to tell you that you only need to replace the glass, saying something like: “you can leave the old window frame and sashes and save!”
The thing is, it’s rarely the case that replacing the broken glass alone is enough to restore security and safety to your home. Even if you install impact glass in place of non-impact glass, that alone doesn’t give your home real impact protection.
For windows, impact resistance is the result of a multitude of parts working together in a unified design. It isn’t enough to just have impact-resistant glass if the frame of the window isn’t built to handle strong hits, there’s no laminate interlayer to provide protection if the impact glass breaks, and the window sashes themselves bend from a strong hit.
In a real impact window, the impact protection of the window is greater than the sum of its parts because every part of the window is designed and built to maximize protection in the worst-case scenario of a direct glass impact.
Putting impact glass in a non-impact window is kind of like putting the world’s best deadbolt lock on a door made of balsa wood. It looks impressive, but the weakness of the surrounding door will cancel out any protection the lock might provide.
So, when your windows break because of a trivial everyday event like a baseball striking it or some other ordinary thing happening, that’s a clear sign it’s time to upgrade to an impact window that won’t break after a single unlucky hit.
Need Replacement Window Installation Service? Reach Out Now!
Looking for replacement window installation service to better protect your home from baseballs, Florida’s temperamental temperatures, and other hazards? Karoly Windows & Doors is your best bet for high-quality windows installed to perfection!
Unlike some companies, we handle all of our window installation work in-house. We never hire subcontractors to do the installation for us. By only using our own employees for our installs, we can ensure that every installation is done the right way, every time.
This lets us provide peace of mind to our customers, since they know they’re getting consistent results and quality.
The problem with outsourced, third-party subcontractors working on your windows is that you never know if they’re fully qualified to do the work or even have appropriate experience handling window installations. In many cases, companies selling windows hire subcontractors to handle the actual installation work… often going with the lowest bidder who will work for the least amount of money so they can pocket more cash.
This leads to inconsistent quality and results, as one subcontractor might do the work diligently and attentively while the next might not know anything about the finer details of window installation and skip crucial steps that make the window less secure and effective than it should be.
Skip the subcontractor woes by working with a dedicated, in-house team of certified and licensed window installation professionals! Reach out to Karoly Windows today to get started!
