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Tag: residential window replacement

Time to Replace Your Patio Doors?

Written by Glassworks of Tucson on . Posted in Patio Doors, Residential Glass Services.

Patio doors have several important purposes.  Perhaps the most obvious one is to provide a view into your backyard, your garden, or your oasis.  These sliding glass doors are also meant to keep the draft and the moisture out of your house where they both belong.  We want these panels of glass to keep the warmth or the coolness consistent inside, no matter what the temperature may be outside.  As it turns out, your patio doors are an essential feature of your home.  How are yours holding up?  Just for fun, we’ll throw a little math into this discussion so you can rate your own doors.

That View – 25%

Take a minute to look out at your backyard through your patio doors.  Is there a clear view of your patio and the yard beyond? Or is the glass itself scratched and showing age?  Are there hard water or mineral deposits clouding your view?  Worse yet, are there any cracks in the glass?  Also, look around the room near the sliding doors.  Is the glass in place allowing adequate light in this area?  Assess the view inside and out by giving it a score from 1 to 25.

That Draft – 25%

We appreciate a nice, cool breeze when we’re sitting outside on the patio. That same breeze inside the house is not a welcome visitor.  When you walk by your patio doors, can you detect any air seeping in from the outside?  Is there a gap between the glass doors and the door jamb? How does the seal around the glass look?  Any sort of gap will allow a draft and perhaps some pests to enter your home. If there is any draft at all, your patio doors should earn a low score. 

That Moisture – 25%

Just like shower doors, condensation can often display moisture on glass.  We don’t have much humidity here in southern Arizona, but if you see any moisture on the inside of your patio doors, the seal is not doing its job.  If you have double-paned glass, is there moisture trapped between the two layers? Any moisture at all should make this score closer to 1 than to 25.

That Temperature – 25%

How efficient are your patio doors? If they’ve been in place for ten years or more, they probably are not as effective as those that now meet the current standards and ratings.  Check your monthly energy bills. What you are currently paying will give you an idea about the score your doors earn in this category.

Is It Time?

So, total the score.  Out of 100, how did your sliding glass doors do?  If your score is 85 or above, perhaps you don’t need new doors at this point, unless you’d like to modernize the look of the doors themselves.  Less than a score of 85, you might want to give us a call.  

What would be the next steps?  We’d schedule an appointment so that one of our glass professionals would visit your home and discuss the options you have.  We’d take some measurements and provide a quote for you, giving you an estimate of the cost involved.  The doors would be installed, and we’d clean up the surrounding area.  After our work is done, we’ll provide some tips for you about how to take the best care of your new patio doors.

So do the math and see if it’s time to replace your doors.  If it is, give Glassworks of Tucson a call at (520) 721-7893, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Hot or Cold about Double-Paned Windows?

Written by Glassworks of Tucson on . Posted in Residential Glass Services, Window Glass.

Perhaps you haven’t made a decision yet about double-paned windows.  Talk about hot or cold!  Southern Arizona is an area of extremes – and especially extreme weather.  For example, Tucson temperatures range from a low of 6º in 1913 to a high of 117º in 1990.  There’s not much defense against 111º of difference, but double-paned windows sure can help. Let’s take a look at the reasons why.

What is Double-Paned Glass?

Most windows are made from a single sheet of glass.  Just as it sounds, double-paned windows are two pieces of glass in one frame.  It’s not as simple as all that, though.  When the two pieces are fitted together, there is a spacer that keeps them apart with an invisible, inert gas – either Argon, Xenon, or Krypton – filling that gap.  This gas is an important element, because it creates an invisible, non-toxic, thermal barrier.  Should the gap only be air, the windows would not insulate the house as well.

Most often, Argon is the gas used for the insulation between the two sheets of glass.  This colorless, odorless gas is denser than the air trapped between the glass, providing thermal insulation.  In order to keep the windows cooler and closer to the temperature inside your house, a special low emissivity (Low-E) coating on the glass helps. 

What are the Benefits of Installing Double-Paned Glass?

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the kind of windows you have definitely have an impact on reducing the cost of energy for your home.  For instance, heat gain and loss through your windows affect up to half of the efficiency of your home’s heating and cooling.  Considering that we generally have 100 days of 100-degree weather in the Sonoran Desert, the savings for improving the window design of your home can be significant.  

Double-paned glass has another benefit that most consumers do not realize.  Noise reduction.  The ambient noise from outside your residence, such as traffic, rain, or noisy neighbors, will not be heard as loudly as when the windows are made of a single sheet.  

What about the Cost?

The initial investment of the replacement of single-paned windows with double-paned ones is significantly higher.  On the other hand, the long-term benefits of the installation of double-paned windows make it worthwhile.  Energy Star windows can save you hundreds of dollars annually on your energy bill.  In fact, statistics show that this investment will pay for itself within several years.  

When the glass is coated on one side of the dual-pane window, the surface of the glass can absorb or reflect radiant energy.  During the winter, heat loss is greatly reduced when the windows are Low-E and Gas Filled.  This glass can keep your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

What’s the Next Step?

Should you need to replace your window glass, contact us at Glassworks of Tucson.  We’d be glad to explain why it’s well worth it to consider double-paned glass.  This type of window will act as a barrier against the extremes of temperature throughout the year.  Remember, too, that these windows will reduce the ambient noise heard from outside your home.  

Single-paned glass can actually add to the cost of your annual energy bill, so it’s prudent to invest in the quality and the efficiency of new dual-paned windows.  Give us a call at (520) 721-7893 to book an appointment or visit our Showroom at 3847 N Oracle Road in Tucson. We look forward to seeing you!