One of the sad realities of our ’70s house is that the original Andersen casement windows are pretty much shot. The vinyl has cracked on many of them, water has gotten in and rotted the wood frames to the point where they barely function. Actually, a few of them don’t open at all anymore…
And then there are the fixed windows on that grandiose window wall in our living area. Looks pretty nice, right? Look closer…
Water trapped between the panes. Ugh. Not good…
Since this whole setup needs replacing, we’ll also replace the 40-year-old sliding glass doors with something to match the new windows.
Our first choice is clear, anodized aluminum. The modern, minimal profile would fit in perfectly with the house and allow us to eliminate interior mouldings, a cause close to my heart. Aluminum is an infamous heat conductor, so we want all the frames to be thermally broken to keep the indoor heat from traveling out in the winter and the summer heat from traveling in in the summer. Obviously we’ll also want energy-efficient glass (more on that in another post).
So far, we have rough quotes from Arcadia, Lockheed and Solar Innovations. (Just to be fair, we also got a quote from Andersen for the new gen of windows we already have.) It just so happens that the Arcadia rep made his way through Providence last week and he stopped by with samples for us to look at.
First up: the hinged terrace-garden door. Would definitely take our front entryway up a notch. Besides the good looks, we like the two separate gaskets to keep wind and weather out…
Mmmmm, perty. That central black core between the two aluminum extrusions is the thermal break…
Similar construction in the casement window…
Lovely butt hinge. Yeah, I said butt hinge…
Handle and screen…
Unfortunately, to use their sliding glass door you can be no taller than a schnauzer…
Ha. This baby rolled down the track so smoove we could hardly believe it. Like butta. Screen goes on the inside where it can stay clean. Smart.
The goods from Arcadia are more than just the right style. They qualify for LEED points – we think that’s important, even if we don’t pursue it. No decisions yet. We should see a few other contenders in person first. Did someone say field trip?
Tags: Andersen Windows, Arcadia, windows and doors
I stumbled across your website while researching images of something completely unrelated (modern hardscapeing) but felt like letting you know I was at Solar Innovations just this Monday! We are working with them on a custom greenhouse for one of our clients. It was a very good experience all around and they are very nice and accommodating to work with.
You should also give Advantage Glass is Cranston a call – they deal in aluminum storefront systems and may have some cost-efficient solutions for you to consider.
Thanks, Dave! We really wanted to be able to make the trip to PA to see their product but it’s just too far away for us to squeeze it into our schedule. They’ve been super nice over the phone. I wish they had a local distributor. Will have to look into Advantage Glass — thank you so much for the heads up!
Solar Innovations would be a great side trip if you were spending a weekend or more in Philadelphia. Their plant is about an hour and 40 mins from the airport. As a day trip, it was rough.
Good to know! For the investment we’re about to make, it’s probably worth the time, eh? ;-)
[…] Back in the spring we started looking at manufacturers of aluminum windows and ultimately chose Arcadia. About three months ago, we put in our order for the first round of windows. As of yesterday morning, replacement of the windows and sliders on just the deck-end of the house finally kicked off. […]