Thursday, January 21, 2010

Wood vs. Aluminum vs. Vinyl

You decide to replace your windows and find out there are several different options to choose from. For example one question that might come up is which type of window do I want? Wood, aluminum or Vinyl? Here are a few pros and cons for each of them to help make that decision easier.

A major source of heating/cooling lost are windows and vinyl is a better insulator than wood or aluminum. Aluminum conducts heat and cold removing these from your home giving you the opposite effect of what you are trying to establish.

Vinyl is maintenance free, it never needs painting and won't show scratches. Aluminum window colors are sprayed on which can lead to scratches, flaking and peeling. Wood windows expand and shrink with the weather causing the paint to also flake and fall off.

Vinyl is resistant to condensation, while aluminum supports condensation and can frost in the cold weather.

Vinyl solid construction provides long lasting beauty and structural integrity while aluminum and wood windows are more prone to impact damage, denting and scratching.

These are a few of the most important difference between these windows. There are other differences and something else to consider is your personal taste. If you have a home with wood windows and you love the look and style of your windows then that may be your choice. All these windows come in several sizes and colors of your choice as well. You will pay more in price for the wood and aluminum than the vinyl but you will sleep better knowing you picked the windows you wanted and not the windows you were told to pick. 75% of replacement windows are vinyl today which leads you to believe they are the best windows for the best price. Just make sure to do you own research first.