If you aren’t happy with how your Richmond windows look you may think about having replacement windows installed. But what is it exactly that you don’t like about what you see? Are you disenchanted with the glass in your windows or are there bigger problems? It may be a cracked or broken pane, perhaps the glass has been fogged over.
But does it make sense to replace the entire window or only the affected panes? It’s a tough call sometimes, one you need to make in the interests of the longevity of the window and keeping more money in your pocket. Although your window issue will be solved, you could be paying more than necessary for that solution.
Let’s help you to avoid all that by giving you some simple guidelines to follow when trying to decide if you should replace your windows entirely or just the glass.
Just the Glass
As you may have guessed, aiming to swap out the window panes is typically going to be the least inconvenient and most cost-effective method for repairing a window. You don’t need to remove the current window frame which means you’re not altering the aesthetics of your home’s exterior. You’re also looking at a much faster repair time than if you opted to replace the entire window altogether.
Sometimes all you need to fix is the glass. Perhaps something has broken one of the panes, you wouldn’t have the entire window replaced just for one simple pane of glass. In situations like this, you can have just the glass fixed and not worry about doing anything else to your window beyond that.
Replace the Windows Entirely
A full window replacement is usually done for larger reasons. Your current window may be leaky and severely lacking in energy efficiency. Your frame may look dull and worn out. The entire window itself may have sustained serious long-term damage due to excessive wear and tear.
These issues, in addition to the poor condition of your window glass, could mean it’s time for a full window replacement on all of your affected windows. But these issues may also be due to the glass in your windows as well. They may not be broken or foggy, but the window unit could be a single-pane model, which can allow heat to escape outdoors. If you keep single-pane windows installed long enough, you may very well find yourself spending a whole lot more on your utility costs.
Warm air can pass through glass, which might force you to run your HVAC system a lot longer in both the winter and the summer. But replacing with double or triple glass pane alternatives can leave you with a much more energy efficient home and keep more money in your wallet over time.
This project can be a lot longer and much costlier to perform, however, you may end up conserving money in the end because the cost of a replacement is less than what you’d pay in electrical costs for the future.