Energy efficiency plays a central role in building any new home.
Windows, doors, and skylights have a critical impact on a home's ability to conserve energy, reduce moisture intrusion and keep utility costs low. Like the vent pipes in a roof, they are penetrations in the home's structural envelope, only much larger and more widely distributed.
The average new house has more than 20 windows and doors, each a potential avenue for outside air and water. In the past, windows and doors were not much better than open holes in the wall. They were designed to bring useable daylight into the home, provide views to the outside and allow passive (or non-mechanical) ventilation in. To keep their homes reasonably comfortable in cold seasons, our ancestors kept windows and doors to a minimum.
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Q: What qualifies a window as "insulating?"
A: An "insulating" window is simply a window with two panes of glass separated in the frame by about a half-inch of air space. The air space acts as the insulator, retarding thermal transfer through the window. The insulation value can be enhanced by special coatings on one or both panes of glass and thicker air, such as argon or krypton, sealed into the airspace.
You might find it a little odd to consider hiring a new-home builder for your remodeling project, but organizations like ours can oftentimes deliver a better project than a traditional remodeling company that focuses on a range of home improvement projects.
For room additions and major renovations that require structural work and a significant amount of new construction, professional home builders are already equipped to deliver a high level of quality and owner satisfaction.
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