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Windows are an essential part of your Long Island home. When designing a home, proper window placement adds to the ambiance and sets the interior environment. Likewise, selecting the right replacement windows for your Long Island home can determine whether your interior spaces are bright and cheerful, or drab and dull. Too much light can cause glare and interfere with television viewing, too little means your plants struggle to survive and you need artificial lighting to chase away those depressing shadows, even during the middle of the day.
Although replacement window projects don’t typically include moving, enlarging or adding new windows, thinking like an architect can help you plan a successful renovation to take advantage of the power of windows. Here’s how Renewal by Andersen of Long Island replacement windows and patio doors help homeowners create beautiful spaces – inside and out.
New home builders know that the wrong style, size and location of windows can dramatically impact the appearance of a home. To the outside world, replacement windows that don’t complement your architectural style stick out like a sore thumb. That doesn’t mean that you are tied to replacing one style with an exact replica though. Appearance is only one factor. Finding the proper shape – or functionality – should enhance your view, improve comfort and influence the overall appearance by connecting the indoor spaces to your natural surroundings. Your windows protect against weather extremes, bring in natural light and keep your conditioned air indoors, while allowing you to usher in a cool breeze on a moderate spring night, when you choose.
Historically, builders didn’t intentionally choose small windows because they believed little fixtures offered the greatest benefits. Early windows were constructed with small panes because the technology didn’t exist to create huge sheets of glass that were uniform. It’s important to remember most homes didn’t have modern heating and air conditioning systems and walls were rarely properly insulated. Today we have many glass types to help homeowners improve comfort and energy-efficiency and sizes are nearly unlimited. Early glazing options were limited, and extremely expensive.
If you plan to update an older home, and want to maintain the original facade in a Cape Cod or Colonial design, you can add picture windows, bays or other styles to the mix. One way to do this is to update styles in the rear or on one or both non-street-facing sides to showcase a beautiful view or a backyard garden. Another option is to use consistent details – grille patterns, trim width, colors – throughout, even though the styles are varied. The key to success here is treating all windows with the same respect, so to speak, so that one window doesn’t look out of place, like an afterthought, in the overall appearance.
An architect understands the importance of positioning windows to maximize natural light, wind and weather patterns – and avoid the negative impacts as seasons change. Windows should be responsive to how rooms are used. Every builder knows that both east- and west-facing windows are subject to low-angle sunlight in the fall and spring seasons. An architect may suggest placing windows higher off the floor to avoid glare and bright lights that cause problems for computer users and television viewers. Modern manufacturing techniques allow homeowners glass options with factory applied coatings to reduce the flow of natural light, which may limit issues with “blinding light” when you have windows closer to the floor. When you consider which direction the wind typically blows across your lot, you can choose operable window styles in rooms to promote passive ventilation, which can reduce your heating and cooling during moderate weather periods, and keep your indoor air cleaner and healthier.
Twenty-first century windows are exponentially better at blocking wind and moisture than older windows. Architects carefully choose window placement. Choosing the best replacement windows for every room is equally important. Here are a few tips to consider.
Living Rooms/Great Rooms: Larger rooms typically have larger windows. Remember that south-facing windows may flood your space with natural light, but also require glazing that effectively controls heat transfer.
Kitchens: Casements over sinks and counters are easier to open than single- or double-hung windows.
Dens/Family Rooms: If you choose unadorned fixed replacement windows to frame a stellar view, and this room is a homework/television viewing/computer area, position your appliances to avoid blinding light. Left handed people need light coming from the right, while righties need the reverse.
Bathrooms & En Suites: Ventilation and privacy are key in these rooms. Consider transoms or patterned glass for privacy and choose operable windows over fixed windows to ensure sufficient airflow to discourage mold and mildew growth.
We realize that updating a home is not quite the same as building a home from the ground up. But thinking like an architect while planning your replacement window project will help you avoid some common mistakes. Need more information? Just fill in the short form on this page or give us a call at (866) 609-5033.
Learn Everything You Need to Know BEFORE Buying Replacement Windows