That’s kind of a loaded question but we bring it down to just like the different types of windows you can purchase.
That might be a little bit easier.
So you can go to local lumber yards and you can buy standard sizes and whatever is closest to the size of your opening, you take the window, you shim it into place, you put insulation around it, and then you put new trimming, new casing, new stops, sometimes extended stops, and you can put a new window kinda to fit inside your preexisting opening, right? That’s kind of the off the rack look.
Same thing with anything that’s going to be tailored for you. If you’re going to have tailored clothing, you typically look a lot nicer and feel a lot nicer, you feel a lot better than having something off the rack at Kohl’s, right?
So that’s kind of the idea of that, so you’re trying to make a window fit your house rather than, you know, having a window made for your home, you know, you’d rather have something that’s custom made for your home to improve the benefits, the energy efficiency, the aesthetics.
If you’re worried about glass space, doing the off the rack window really shouldn’t even be an option for you because you’re bringing in the window a little bit, then you have a new frame, then you have the insulation, then you have the glass space is just shrunken in so much that it’s, you know, not really beneficial for increasing your glass space or maintaining as much as possible.
So going with us, you know, preferred contractors that do a thorough inspection, go all the way down from a quarter to an eighth of an inch inside the jamb for replacement and having them tailored and made for your home, you know, made to order for your home is extremely important for you to have the energy benefits because it’s very tight inside the opening so draftiness won’t occur.
Aesthetics, they look a lot nicer, they’re manufactured for your home, just like anybody that’s ever bought a suit or a well tailored dress, they understand something that’s made for your body is typically gonna look better than something that’s made for everybody.
So, with windows, that’s the way that I would go if it was me and it was my home. I would always go with a company that would do a critical measurement, order the windows for the specific reason of your home and only your home and that would be the route that I would always go.
As far as replacement and buying something off the rack is an option, and it’s not a bad thing, particularly if you have a kid that just launched a baseball or, if it was me, a lacrosse ball through your window and you need a window tomorrow, doing something like that is a great option and it’s good to have it. There’s a market for it. But if it’s something that the urgency isn’t there, you have the time to think about the most educated decision for your home, going the tailored route, even though it’s a little bit more money is more appropriate, particularly when your homes are so old.
