My wife and I are in the planning stages of a major kitchen reno which will naturally extend all over the house. This will include replacing all the windows in the house. I was hoping that I could get some insight into what I should be looking for in regards to window quality, efficiency and practicality. We are in Canada so we do get some serious cold weather and low sun (close to the horizon) exposure. Any expert advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
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Your inquiry is probably a little too general to inspire much response, so if you can provide a little more information it would help.
Windows come in a lot of different styles and shapes and materials and the price range is wide.
Vinyl framed windows are the least expensive but are found commonly in some expensive homes.
Wood framed windows are more expensive than vinyl but offer a pretty large range themselves as quality varies from Manufacturer to manufacturer.
And window durability and performance vary from make to make and style to style and product support varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
There are some people in this forum more qualified than me to advise you and I'm sure they will. However, it would probably behoove you to visit some building yards or window dealers in your area and get yourself schooled up a bit as to the virtues of different brands, styles such as casement vs. awning vs. doublehung, etc., and what is reasonably available in your locale that has a good record with builders, homeowners and suppliers and is appropriate for your homesite.
Have fun!
Jules Quaver for President 2004
Check out Loewen.com they made excellant windows and they are manufactured in Canada.