Primary Seal Windows and Doors

While we are enjoying a run of great weather, and it still feels more like summer than fall, we all know (but refuse to admit for the moment) that the cooler weather is just around the corner.

A window which may seem perfectly fine during the summer may soon turn into a drafty, leaky, frosted mess when the temperatures dip. In fact, it is common during the fall to have mild days and freezing nights.

Now, most people will argue that changing the windows and doors in a house costs a bundle, and it does. Also they will argue that the money they save in heating and cooling costs will take years if not decades to pay for the cost of the windows. Again, they are right. However, there is one small but important flaw in that line of thinking: the idea that changing the windows and doors in a house is a one-time, all or nothing project.

What if it were possible to pay half of the money you have been or will be quoted for the entire house and enjoy energy savings and increased comfort in most of your home? Funny enough, consumers will approach their window and door job from the most expensive items to the least expensive almost without exception, while if they started from the other end, they would find that their money would go a much longer way.

Let me give you an example:

An average house with three bedrooms usually has the following window and door items: front door, side or patio door, three bedroom windows, a window in the bathroom, one in the kitchen, one living room and one dining room window, as well as four basement windows. Let’s say the homeowner of this imaginary home decides to replace his windows and doors. Which two window and door items will make up the better part of the cost of this job? The answer is the front door and the living room window or the window which usually faces the front of the house. Why you ask? Well because the decorative glass in the front door as well as because the window facing the front of the house is usually tall and wide. Windows are priced according to surface area, and a very large and complex window will cost far more than a small bedroom window.
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Harry Doors, Energy Efficiency, Windows energy savings, energy-efficient home, replacement windows, Windows

(NC)—Home buyers may assume their new home is energy-efficient, but may not know for sure unless they ask. Ask these questions to be sure:

• Any builder can claim to build energy-efficient homes. How do I know your homes are truly energy efficient?
• Since all builders must meet the requirements of the building code, what makes your homes different from other builders’ homes?
• How do your building techniques reflect the latest developments in housing technology?
• What steps do you take to improve the energy efficiency of the homes you build?
• Can you predict what my energy costs will be?
• What makes your homes more environmentally friendly than others?
• Are you licensed by the government to build energy-efficient homes?
• Do you affix a government-backed energy label to the home?
• Do independent, licensed professionals inspect the quality of your homes?
• Do you build homes that receive an EnerGuide rating of 80 or higher or its equivalent?

The answers to these questions are contained in a brochure produced by Natural Resources Canada, the federal government department that administers the rating system for energy-efficient homes in Canada through its EnerGuide Rating System. To order a copy of the brochure or for more information call 1-800-387-2000 (toll-free) or visit www.newhomes.nrcan.gc.ca.

www.newscanada.com

Harry Energy Efficiency EnerGuide, energy-efficient home