Doors and windows are the gateway of a house that connects to the outside world. Based on real-world utility, the argument can be made that windows are perhaps more important than doors themselves. Doors simply stay shut, but windows serve a multitude of functions. Because of this, ensuring that the windows in your house are of the appropriate variety is of the utmost significance.
Back in the day, huge French windows used to be in trend. With time, as tastes developed, humans began to opt for practicality over appearance. Smaller functional windows took their place. With a little more time, newer materials came into play. Aluminium windows took the place of their wooden counterparts. Darkened glass took the place of their etched ancestors.
The homebuyer of these days has quite a lot of options in play, especially when it comes to windows. They can opt for the traditional wooden windows that have always been in play. If they want something else, they can always go for the modern aluminium windows or vinyl ones. All materials have their pros and cons. The consumer needs to keep their requirements in mind before coming to a decision.
Whether To Go for Wooden or Aluminium Windows
Wooden windows look grand and beautiful in an archaic way when done right. Wood has been the choice of humans for millennia, there must be some rationale behind that. However, they typically have a few issues attached to them. Firstly, they are:
- If situated in a moist region, or any region that faces rainfall, wooden windows will tend to absorb moisture and misalign.
- Any paint or varnish applied on wooden windows will eventually fade or flake and leave itself exposed. Therefore, maintenance is high when it comes to wood.
- Aluminium windows, on the other hand, are immune to all these factors that ail wooden windows.
- Being aluminium, they will never rot away from the inside. It is completely unaffected by whatever amount of moisture that may be present. They typically require little in the way of care and attention. Moreover, aluminium is much lighter than its wooden counterpart which makes it easy to handle.
- Typically, aluminium windows come within their frame, which doesn’t leave any room for misalignment. Moreover, aluminium doesn’t warp when it encounters moisture.
- These windows are 80% glass, which makes them the ideal choice for rooms where you would want to have a view.
- Aluminium generally comes with an anodized surface, which makes adding a layer of paint optional. The same is compulsory for a wooden surface, though.
Spaces Where Aluminium Windows Work the Best
Aluminium windows work very well in rooms where you want a lot of light to enter the space since it typically calls for a skylight or a ceiling-to-floor window. If the same were to be accomplished using a material such as wood, there would be a great deal of additional complications. In addition, your costs would shoot through the roof if you used any other material, but if you used aluminium, it would be rather affordable.
Since aluminium is very lightweight, it has a host of utilities in a variety of spaces, be it the living room, dining room or bedroom. There are a few problems that aluminium windows face as well. Firstly,
- They do not do very well in coastal areas since the salt content of the air gradually corrodes the anodized layer and strips it away. Thus, eventually, it begins to rust.
- Being lightweight, regions that face hurricanes or tornadoes are not friendly towards aluminium windows.
- Aluminium has a high U – value, which means it easily transmits temperature. In lower temperature areas, aluminium becomes an easy transmitter of the cold outside, much like any other metal. Wood serves the best in such scenarios.
However, even if aluminium does hold a high U-value, its effect can be mitigated with the use of insulating material such as an insulating paint. Aluminium, as a result, emerges as the superior choice in any given situation, because to the variety of advantages it offers. Modern home buyers cannot go wrong if they opt for aluminium as their go-to option for windows. Go for it without a second thought!!
