Window Delivery

   After a year and a half of sitting in a warehouse, and about two years after I placed the initial order, our windows have finally come home.  It's not because of Pro Brothers.  In fact, they have been more than generous and warehoused our windows while we waited for the house to be constructed to the point where we could install.  They've been so patient with the whole processes and invaluable in designing the 50 window and doors we have in the house.  There are actually more than 50 windows since some of the openings are compound windows.  I haven't gotten much chance to play with them since they're safely wrapped in their protective shrink wrap, but Mike's carpentry crew will be coming out on Friday to start with the installation.  We have a meeting on Saturday at the site with a designer from California Closets so hopefully we'll get to see some of the windows in place.

   So this is what over 50 windows looks like.  They brought them in a 20 foot moving truck and had about 6 of their guys there to offload them directly into the garage.  Good think I had some plywood to lay down so both the windows and floor would be a little protected.  If you need a scale to how big some of the windows are, remember that the ICF block layers are 12" tall.  The closer windows are for the turret and stand 7 feet.  Those are the windows that will need some custom mullion work in the upper windows.  Pro Brothers supplied the mullion material so we could make those "x" shapes.  They're just adhered to the window and since it's all vinyl, they can be glued together using PVC glue. 

   These are the round and oval windows for the bathrooms.  The big round one will go in the middle of the house, front elevation.  It will sit above the toilet in the turret bedroom.  The two ovals will go in the other bathrooms left side elevation or the guest bathroom down stairs and the second bedroom upstairs.  All the windows are static and do not open, and all have integrated mullions.  All the windows come with nailing strips and these are no exception, however, they're not attached.  You can see the nailing strips behind the windows.  

   Here are the energy ratings for our windows from the sticker:

   0.24 U Factor 

   0.18 Solar Heat Gain

   0.42 Light Transmittance 

   64.0 Condensation Resistance 

   0.02 CFM air infiltration 

So here's a quick primer on what those numbers mean.  You can find more information at the NFRC website. 

U-factor ratings generally fall between 0.15 and 1.20 and measure how well a window prevents heat from escaping the house with a lower number indicating better heat retention abilities.

Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) ratings fall between 0 and 1 and measures how much heat from the sun is blocked by the window.  The lower the SHGC, the more solar blocking ability the window has.  There's a trade off here in temperate zones.  You want a lower SHGC for the summer time to keep the inside of the house cool, but a higher SHGC for the winter to all the feeble winter sun to heat up the house.  Some people opt to install different SHGC windows on different sides of the house, depending on how the sun hits the windows.  We didn't take that into consideration.

Visible Transmittance (VT) ratings fall between 0 and 1 and indicate how much light is allowed through the window; basically tint.  One way of making a window with a lower SHGC is to install additional glazing, or layers in between the glass that are coated with very fine metallic dots.  These dots reflect solar radiation while allowing light to get through.  The more dots, the more solar radiation is reflected, but with less visible light transmitted.  As you lower SHGC or add more glazing panes, the more your view out the window will turn gray.

Condensation Resistance ratings fall between 1 and 100 and indicate how much the window can resist condensation, with a higher number indicating better resistance.  When cold air meets moist warm air, condensation can form on the interfacing material, namely, the window.  Thermal insulation acts to prevent the cold and warm air from meeting.

Air leakage ratings generally fall between 0.1 cfm and 0.3 cfm with the lower value indicating a more air tight window.  Unless the window doesn't open, there will be some gaps that air can leak through; tracks, places where the panes meet, etc.  Measured in cubic feet per minute (cfm) 0.30 cfm calculates out to 2.25 gallons of air a minute per window.  Multiply that by the number of moving windows in your house and you can see how leaky windows can be.  Forget insulation, air infiltration is the greatest loss of energy in a house.

So from the energy rating sticker on the window, you can see that we have a pretty good U-factor, good SHGC, a nice balance on the VT, and descent condensation resistance.  The shining star is the extremely low air infiltration, which is one of the main reason why I hunted down a Soft-lite supplier.  After all, what's the use of having an energy efficient house when you have huge holes in your windows?  Other great things about Soft-lite is that they use a non-metallic spacer between the panes of glass.  Metal is a great energy conductor so often you'll see condensation form on the edges of the glass during the winter time.  This is because most window manufactures use a metallic gasket window spacer between the outside and inside glass.  Once the outside window gets to the cold ambient temperature, that cold can easily conduct through the metal spacer and cool the inside glass, causing the condensation, which leads to mold and mildew.  Soft-lite also uses high quality Truth hardware and uses a unique triple locking system on the casement windows so you only move one lever to unlock the window, but the window engages three locking lugs for a better seal. Other attractive features include triple gasket weather seals and foam filled window frame cavities.

   Here are the static great room windows that go on the back and sides of the great room.  The full arch windows go up high on the sides and there are eight windows across the back with two of them being partial arches.  You can also see the three sliding doors we ordered from Soft-lite.  One will be in the kitchen and the other two go down stairs in the basement.  We still have to order the french door for the master bedroom.  The arched eyebrow windows in the front are for the master bathroom and the laundry room.

   Here are all the windows in one shot.  Any window that opens is a casement and most of them are double casement windows.  The only single casement windows are going in the turret.  Total cost of the windows and sliding doors was about $53k so it was no small amount.  Modern vinyl windows are much more durable than those of the past and aren't prone to cracking and fading any more so we're not expecting to ever have to replace them.  It's difficult to say if the initial cost will return to us in energy savings, but I can confidently say that they'll make life more comfortable.

   

As I mentioned, Mike's rough carpentry crew will start installing the windows tomorrow.  I can't imagine they'll get them all installed, or even that they'll be insulated and taped, but I'll have some update pictures this weekend.  Having the windows installed will be an amazing step forward.  Hopefully they'll be safe through the rest of the construction process, but this is about the right stage for the installation.  They need to be installed before the siding can go up and before any utilities and drywall is installed.  

   We're meeting with California Closets on Saturday for an initial design consultation for the master closet, pantry, and craft area in the laundry room.  Margaret recommended them so we'll see what they can come up with.  

   The remaining bank situation with Ken is one step closer to completion now that he has submitted the final draw documents.  I think we still need final waivers of lien from the vendors and all that will be settled so we can move forward with figuring out the new financing with Mike as the builder.