Thinking about replacing your home's windows? It's a significant investment, and understanding the components involved can make a world of difference in your decision-making process. Knowing the anatomy of a window helps you appreciate the subtle but crucial differences in quality, durability, and performance – especially when comparing standard windows to the premium solutions offered by Renewal by Andersen.
Let's break down the essential parts of a window and explore how Renewal by Andersen's approach elevates each component for lasting value.
The Window Frame: More Than Just an Outline
The window frame is the foundational structure, the outer border that holds the entire window unit securely within your wall opening. While common frame materials include wood, vinyl, and aluminum, Renewal by Andersen utilizes something far superior:
- The RbA Difference: Fibrex® Material Our exclusive Fibrex® composite material is the cornerstone of our frames. Why does it matter?
- Strength & Durability: Fibrex® material is twice as strong as vinyl, meaning it resists warping, cracking, peeling, and decay, ensuring your windows maintain a weathertight seal for years to come.
- Low Maintenance: Say goodbye to tedious scraping and painting; Fibrex® material requires virtually no maintenance.
- Energy Efficiency: It provides excellent thermal insulation, blocking heat transfer far better than aluminum and contributing significantly to lower energy bills.
- Maximized View: Its strength allows for narrower frames, increasing the glass area compared to bulkier materials, without sacrificing rigidity in any climate.
- Color Freedom: Our unique color fusion process allows for a wide array of colors, including rich, dark exteriors that simply aren't feasible with most vinyl options.
The Window Sash: Where Form Meets Function
The sash is the part of the window that holds the glass panes; in operable windows (like double-hung or casement), it's the part that actually moves.
- The RbA Difference: Seamless Operation & Style
- Stable Material: Like our frames, RbA sashes are crafted from durable Fibrex® material, resisting expansion and contraction to ensure smooth operation and prevent drafts, regardless of the season.
- Effortless Movement: Custom-calibrated balancers make even our largest windows easy to open and close, while compression jamb liners allow sashes to glide freely without compromising energy efficiency.
- Easy Cleaning: Our double-hung windows feature tilt-in sashes, allowing you to safely and conveniently clean the exterior glass from inside your home.
- Elegant Aesthetics: We utilize traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery techniques, offering not only a stronger, more durable sash but also classic, elegant styling.
Glass & Glazing: Your Window to the World (and Energy Savings)
Glazing is critical for your view, natural light, energy efficiency, sound reduction, and protection from harmful UV rays. While you might hear about single, double, or triple glazing, Renewal by Andersen focuses on performance:
- The RbA Difference: High-Performance™ Glazing
- Standard Excellence: Our High-Performance™ Low-E4® glass comes standard, offering superior energy efficiency compared to typical dual-pane glass, helping slash heating and cooling costs. It also blocks a significant amount of damaging UV rays, protecting your furniture, carpets, and artwork from fading.
- Enhanced Options: For even greater efficiency and UV protection, especially in sunnier climates, we offer SmartSun™ glass. For projection windows like bays and bows, we provide highly insulated seat options (R-9 standard, R-21 optional) for maximum comfort.
- Customization: Need privacy, safety, or a unique look? We offer tempered, obscure, patterned, and other glass options to meet your specific requirements.
Hardware: The Finishing Touch for Security and Style
Window hardware includes the locks, handles, cranks, and hinges – the components that allow you to operate and secure your windows. It plays a vital role in security, ease of use, and the overall aesthetic.
- The RbA Difference: Secure, Stylish, and Smooth
- Design Integration: Choose from a wide selection of hardware styles and finishes, including our premium Estate™ collection, to perfectly complement your home's interior design.
- Enhanced Security: Features like multi-point locking systems on casement windows provide superior security and create a tighter seal against the elements.
- Effortless Operation: Smooth mechanisms, like the balancers in our double-hung windows and nesting handles on casements, ensure effortless operation and hardware that doesn't interfere with window treatments.
- Built to Last: Our hardware is constructed for durability and reliable performance, backed by our warranty, with options for corrosion-resistant hardware for added longevity.
Window Grilles: Defining Character
Grilles (also known as muntins or grids) are decorative strips that visually divide the glass, primarily used for aesthetic enhancement and matching architectural styles.
- The RbA Difference: Design Flexibility
- Patterns Galore: We offer numerous grille patterns – Colonial, Prairie, Farmhouse, custom shapes, Diamond, and more – providing extensive design flexibility.
- Types to Suit: Choose from Full Divided Light for an authentic look, Between-the-Glass for easy cleaning, or Interior Removable grilles, all crafted from durable, low-maintenance materials.
Weatherstripping & Seals: Your Defense Against Drafts
Often overlooked, weatherstripping is the unsung hero of window performance. This material seals the gaps around sashes and frames to prevent air and water infiltration, crucial for both comfort and energy efficiency.
- The RbA Difference: Airtight Precision
- Lasting Seals: The stability of Fibrex® material combined with precision engineering allows us to create tight, long-lasting seals that minimize drafts and water intrusion effectively. Our 360-degree weatherstripping provides comprehensive protection.
- Advanced Technology: Our integrated designs utilize high-end automotive seal technology that resists breaking down even after years of compression, ensuring sustained protection against air infiltration. For bay windows, we employ specialized weatherization systems (like TyVek™ wrap and flashing) for maximum weather-tightness.
Beyond the Parts: The Renewal by Andersen Signature Service
A superior window is more than the sum of its parts; it's about the entire experience from start to finish.
- The RbA Difference: A Seamless Process
- Full-Service Approach: We manage everything – from the initial design consultation to manufacturing, installation, and warranty service. This one-company accountability ensures a smooth, hassle-free project.
- Expert Guidance: Our professional Design Consultants help you select the perfect windows based on your needs for function, energy savings, and aesthetics.
- Certified Master Installers: We treat your home with respect, and our installers undergo extensive training before ever working on a customer's home. Installation is performed exclusively by our rigorously trained and certified professionals, ensuring your windows perform optimally for years to come. Installation by rigorously trained, experienced professionals ensures optimal performance and longevity of the windows. Respectful treatment of your home during installation. RbA doesn't let just anyone into your home. Installers undergo extensive classroom and hands-on field training, including shadowing experienced leaders, before they can become certified. This serious commitment to training ensures installation by highly skilled, experienced professionals, guaranteeing optimal window performance, longevity, and respectful treatment of your home during the process.
- Unmatched Warranty: We back our products and installation with one of the nation's best limited warranties, covering Fibrex® material, glass, hardware, and labor – and it's fully transferable, providing ultimate peace of mind.
Investing in Quality, Piece by Piece
Understanding the components of a window highlights why quality matters. Renewal by Andersen excels in every aspect, from our exclusive Fibrex® material and innovative glass technology to our meticulous installation process and comprehensive warranty. Choosing Renewal by Andersen isn't just buying windows; it's investing in lasting beauty, superior performance, enhanced comfort, and enduring peace of mind for your home.
Ready to see the Renewal by Andersen difference for yourself? Schedule your free in-home consultation today!
