If you like doing your own home improvement projects, then you will find that window replacements are a straight forward and simple home improvement project. However, if doing handyman jobs are not something you like doing, then that’s not a problem, the only difference is that you will have to spend some extra money to hire the right impact window company to do your installation and since the company is doing the installation, you will more than likely get a better warranty than if you did the installation yourself.
In any case, whether you install them yourself or hire someone else to do it, you will still need to decide on what type of impact resistant window to buy for your home. The two most common types of replacement windows are either vinyl or wood. So let us talk about some of the differences between these 2 materials.
Wooden framed windows have been around for years, however, if you are going to choose wood here are some recommendations, you will want to make sure the wood is sealed, which is done through a chemical process called curing, the reason you want the wood seal is that it will last a lot longer than if it is not and it will be resistant to both mold and termites and it will make the wood more durable to hold your hurricane window panes.
Wood provides good insulation for your home, so it allows your home to stay warmer or cooler depending on the time of the year. Another great benefit of wood is that it is easily customizable so it can be designed to fit any style or home and business. The downside to wood is that as time goes by, it will diminish in durability as eventually the weather and chemical processes will take a toll on the wood and just like any organic resource it will eventually break down and will need to be replaced.
Because there was a need for something more durable than wood, manufacturers created vinyl window materials. However, whether you choose wood or vinyl you will find that each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. Like wood, vinyl is also non-conductive and while wood is naturally like this, manufacturers have to inject gases into these hurricane resistant windows to make it non-conductive. Krypton and Argon are the most commonly used gases, which will make storm resistant windows non-conductive to heat and electricity.
Now when you think of vinyl your first guess will probably that it is more expensive than wood, however its quite the opposite, since vinyl can be easily mass produced because of its composition, they are actually a lot less expensive for consumers, so if you are on a tight budget but know you need to get hurricane proof windows then you can narrow down your choices by only looking at the storm proof windows that are exclusively made with vinyl. And don’t worry vinyl is as stylish as wood nowadays, as a matter of fact, they are now designing vinyl to actually look like wood finishes.
In most cases vinyl is just as durable as wood, if not better, as these types of windows are both impact resistant as well as heat resistant. This is good for your wallet as it will help to reduce your electricity bill while giving you security window protection.