Saturday, November 5, 2011

Replacement Windows Types



Are you interested in renovating your house? Are you currently planning to buy a new house? If answer to most of these queries is yes, next you could be definitely searching for a firm, which can provide you replacement windows. Many firms boast of offering greatest windows and that too at a reasonable price.

You can find four basic materials: wood, aluminum clad, fiberglass and vinyl.

Wood
Wood material is a classic choice for window frame construction. Wood replacement windows are extremely wonderful and provide your house a desirable look. In addition, windows from wood material are versatile - they are available in many sizes and shapes. Many wood windows now are accessible with vinyl, fiberglass or aluminum exterior cladding for additional security.

Aluminum Clad
Windows from this material offer sturdy, durable construction that will not rust or maybe rot, providing many years of reliable service. Aluminum clad is essentially maintenance-free.

Fiberglass
Fiberglass windows are extremely strong; in truth, they are eight times stronger than vinyl, so this means they can have narrower frames. They are available in many manufacturing plant pre-finished colors or can be painted or stained to match your current home’s finishes. Fiberglass windows usually are identified for their durability and low maintenance - they will not crack, rot, or even warp.

Vinyl
Vinyl replacement windows provide fantastic insulation values and never need painting or scraping. The new construction industry has started installing vinyl windows in new houses as part of an effort to market a more maintenance-free house. Vinyl windows are durable and energy efficient, keeping the house secure from the factors that make up our weather patterns.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Architect Gregory Iboshi solves problem with glass



June Ou's home is enclosed by the Presidio of San Francisco on two sides, and when she first saw it, during a Sunday open house, that is how she felt - enclosed in the dark. If she hadn't made it up to the roof deck, gasping for air and light, she would have never come back.

"When I came up here, I was like, 'This is why you buy the house, for the view,' " says Ou, who paid $2.8 million for the bottom bookend of a row of six homes on a hillside tract along the Lyon Street Wall. Because the homes were developed as a piece, in 1923-24, Ou's side walls were the same as her neighbors, up against each other. But because hers is the northernmost property, Ou's down-slope neighbor is a shade tree in a national park.

"This property is really unique, bordered by the Presidio on two sides," she says.

For 85 years, a wall ran up three stories plus the penthouse, on the north facade. Twenty tiny rectangular windows didn't let in enough light, which took Ou two years of planning and construction to capture.

Now, coming up Lyon from Union Street, the building looks as if it had been sawed in half, the front and back of the old house pulled apart and a sheet of glass dropped in between. When lit at night, from the street it looks like a three-story atrium with a staircase suspended from the ceiling.

"The house now is kind of a barbell," says architect Gregory Iboshi. "There are living spaces on either side, but this middle section is for circulation and to face the view." Read More...