Double Pane Windows

New windows can cost a whole lot of money!!! But please don't go replace your beautiful old single pane wood windows with the double pane, aluminum, Home Depot specials. You'll destroy the look of your beautiful old home and probably cause water and termite damage over time. I know this because the previous owner of my house did exactly that.

The typical aluminum window tends to sweat when its cold outside. That means the cold air from the outside causes moisture from inside to condense on the inside of the window, or vise versa. That condensation runs down the window and keeps the wood and drywall around the window constantly moist. The moist wood is a perfect entry point for termites, not to mention dry rot and repeat after me... toxic mold!

You're going to want to get yourself a modern wood window. And if you want the low maintenance solution you can get exterior aluminum cladding. Please refrain from getting Vinyl windows or wood windows with Vinyl cladding. Vinyl, which is also commonly called PVC, is one of the least people-friendly plastics. It usually contains toxic additives like lead or cadmium to keep it from melting in the sun. And it'll have a good shot of antimony and maybe some organochlorines as flame retardants. Can you say.... "poison."

The only problem with aluminum cladding (and vinyl cladding also for that matter) is that you can't paint it, so you're stuck with one exterior trim color for the life of your windows. Did I mention the great thing about aluminum cladding is that you'll never ever have to paint them for the life of the windows.

The other option, I know about, is fiberglass windows by Milgard. They are durable and can be painted, but at the end of the day a wood window is a wood window!

I chose all wood Marvin Windows with no cladding. We just couldn't select an exterior color that we'd be happy with for the rest of our lives. Marvin can be very expensive but they're really, really nice.

Here's the energy efficient part... go all out and get the double pane, low-E, argon filled windows. They're worth the extra cost. They reflect heat out during the summer and in during the winter. On a hot summer day you can be sweating in the scorching sun while your painting the exterior window trim. All the time your wife is laughing at you from the other side of the window where she barely feels the heat of the sun. They're totally awesome. I was skeptical until I installed them and felt the difference.

To give you a feel for cost, I replaced 6 double hung windows that were about 3 feet wide and 4 feet tall. I chose the Marvin Ulitimate Double Hung all wood windows with double pane, low-E, argon filled and tempered glass. They were about $750 each before installation. You'll have to get some installation bids, but I hear they can be one to two times the cost of the window. I lucked out because my friend and local carpenter Dean Stubbings (pictured right) put the windows in for me for a fraction of the cost of an installer. Dean owns Madera Furniture in Fairfax, CA and builds awesome furniture out of recycled wood with all low VOC finishes.

And finally a note on building codes. You may need to meet the egress requirement for bedroom windows. The code sizes the windows so that a fireman can get through and pull your children to safety. But that being said, some building offices let you replace existing windows with the same size or larger even if they don't meet the requirement.