Traditional Looking Windows

Of the many styles of windows frame on the market one think stands out when you look at a property that has been fitted with wooden windows, a traditional look.

It depends on your preference as to why you would select wood over PVCu, but for many people that preference is simply cost and appeal.

Historical homes will always look a lot more, well, historical with wooden windows frames. It goes without saying that even though PVCu will be more energy efficient, a historical home or property with UPVC windows will look out of sorts.

Styles

Listing off the styles of wooden windows frames is easy; the difficult part is choosing which you prefer.

• Hung Windows – These are probably the more ventilation friendly of all the designs. With the windows opening at the top these are usually the safer choice for upstairs rooms. They do have a tendency to leak, but good care and a spot of waterproof seal can cure any problems.

• Picture Windows – The choice of a person that likes to see outside, they are not something you generally associate with a living room, more on stair wells with a view outside as they do not open.

• Casement Windows – The design that is usually seen in a kitchen or work shop area. They do have great ventilation, open outwards but are associated with easy break-in.

• Bay Windows – For the connoisseur, these windows are the type that protrude out from property, have great ventilation with multiple openings, and look great in ‘Georgian’ themes. Again this window is associated with easy access for burglars but a good alarm system defends against this.

• Awning Windows – A sash style of window, one generally seen on the downstairs of property although you will see them upstairs. They give a prairie house feel to a property and are also used on historical homes. The one disadvantage of using these windows upstairs is safety and of course what your fingers – ouch!

• Hopper Windows – The basement windows that opens to the inside. Allows for ventilation and can help keep a basement dry rather than smelling of damp. Depending on size, an intruder might like to attempt this window before any other on your property and if you are looking for wear and tear, to hardwoods

All these windows come in a variety of wood, from softwoods that are not very good if you are looking for wear and tear, to hardwoods of cherry oak, oak, cedar and many more, which are much more robust.

Price and Damage

Being fair to good old wooden windows there are some advantages, as mentioned earlier price is an appeal point. They are much cheaper than PVCu and can be almost as energy efficient, for a while anyhow.

They do have a tendency to warp and split due to the elements, but a good point to make is the ability to easily repair a damaged frame.

Another reason why people like to choose wood is the ability to paint the frames, this helps them to tie in with the property color and prevent damage associated with rot.

There are more about windows for your home computer.

There are many wooden windows used today, which are more than 200 years old. They are mainly replaced because a better glazing unit are available. All from wood manufactured windows are 100% recyclable. Do you know that the total amount of energy used to make a wooden windows is around 1/7 of the energy used to produce a UPVC windows. Improving the energy efficiency of your wooden windows will help you to save money on your electricity bills.It is easy to install or replace wooden windows and in some cases you would be able to do it yourself in your own home, except the big buildings where a building companys use aluminium scaffolding tower to reach the high points.

One can be doubt about that in today’s homes the need to design for wood durability in wooden windows and other exterior wood is redundant because of the availability of preservative – treated products. Perhaps, but this attidue of treated timber comes at a recognised environmental cost as the real wood such as oak or redwood is very expensive and just has to be treated to save them as it doesnt cost a lot. Fully factory finished timber windows  also incorporate this kind of design principle and are therefore probably among the products which can realistically be supplied untreated with minimal impact on product longevity.

Meeting a high building standards, most of manufacturers of wooden windows energy efficient in wooden windows open a new oportunitys  in building on these days. Wooden windows are now also available with an ultra-low maintenance alu-clad option from outside of the windows. U-Values vareiaty would be arround 0.4-1,2 W/m²K. Timber windows can be made with 2 or 3 draught seals dipending on your wish of saving the heat inside your home or protect from noise and weather. The exterior covered with aluminium, windows ‘second skin’ provides a maximum protection against the weather effects. And no more windows frames painting required. You can also choose windows for your computer not only for your house. Check that out…

In 1985, Microsoft introduced Windows 1.0, a 16-bit graphical user interface (GUI), or front-end, to the MS-DOS operating system (OS). Windows 1.0 was itself an MS-DOS program and could not operate without a DOS environment. Windows 2.0 superseded Windows 1.0 in 1988. This new edition of the OS added support for sophisticated keyboard shortcuts and allowed the user-interface (UI) windows to overlap. Windows 1.0 had only supported the tiling of windows.

Microsoft released its next edition, Windows 3.0, in 1990. Windows 3.0 was the third major release of the OS but the first widely used edition of the software. Windows 3.0 offered full support for the Intel 386 processor at a time when this CPU was changing the landscape of the home PC market. This was the first time that PC manufacturers were pre-installing the OS on their computers. Two years later, Microsoft introduced Windows 3.1, which graduated the OS to a complete desktop publishing solution.

In 1993, Microsoft released the Windows NT OS, which Bill Gates referred to as a “fundamental change”. The NT stands for New Technology and, at the time, that is exactly what it was. A new, advanced OS that Microsoft had built from scratch to meet the needs of businesses. It was the first version of Windows to include support for client/server business applications. Microsoft produced it in two variations, one intended for workstations and another, called Windows NT Advanced, intended for use with servers. The NT OS was revolutionary and introduced new standards of performance, security, scalability and reliability. Two notable changes were the NTFS file system and multi-processor support.

Microsoft introduced two substantial refinements, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Windows NT Workstation 3.5, prior to the next major release in 1995. WFW was a superset of Windows 3.11 that included networking support. NT 3.5 added support for the OpenGL graphics standard and provided many under-the-hood enhancements that allowed NT to power high-end software in demanding environments.

Microsoft followed these improvements with Windows 95 and then Windows NT Workstation 4.0 in 1996. Windows 95 was the 32-bit successor to WFW 3.11 and added advanced Internet support and Plug and Play capability. NT 4.0 improved on NT 3.5 by providing the Windows 95 UI enhancements as well as additional network support and security.

In 1998, Microsoft introduced Windows 98 as the upgrade from Windows 95 and as the OS that “Works Better, Plays Better”. A year later, they followed it up with an incremental update referred to as Second Edition (SE). The home edition of Windows was now as close to NT as it had ever been and users got big improvements in the Internet Explorer browser, multimedia support, and home networking capabilities. In 2000, Microsoft released the Windows Millennium Edition (ME), the last OS to use the Windows 95 base.

The year 2001 marked the release of Windows XP, an OS built on the Windows 2000 code base. There was now just one OS intended for home users, businesses and media centers alike. The future of computing was here. Four years later, Microsoft released the long-awaited Windows Vista. In addition to dramatic visual enhancements, Vista included powerful redesigns to many of the system’s core components.

In 2010, Microsoft released the latest edition of the OS, Windows 7. Windows 7 is a refinement of the wide range of new features that Microsoft introduced in Vista. The Windows OS is now easier to use than ever and has been a rousing success by any measure. Despite that achievement, Microsoft already has a version 8 in the works. Expect the next edition of Windows to include advanced support for the next evolution of the tablet PC.

You will find here about windows for your house also.