Copper clad windows have been used for thousands of years to enhance homes and public buildings. What makes copper clad windows so popular is more than just their aesthetic appeal; they are also highly durable, easy to maintain, and are the perfect material for environmentally-conscious builders as copper is 100% recyclable, and copper clad windows can be made with energy-efficient glass.

Copper Clad Windows Require No Maintenance

Builders and homeowners prefer copper as a building material because it almost never requires cleaning or maintenance. If your copper clad windows could use a polish to remove dust or dirt, there’s no need to spend money on special solvents or cleansers that may cause damage. A quick wipe with a mild soap and cold water are all you need.

Copper Is a Superior Building Material

It’s hard to beat copper when it comes to durability and longevity. This metal develops a protective patina over time as it undergoes its natural oxidization process. Under normal conditions, copper resists corrosion, making it one of the most preferred metals for builders.

Copper Increases a Building’s Value

There’s a richness to copper that is immediately identifiable to home buyers. If you’re considering putting your home up for sale, copper clad windows are a smart upgrade. They will instantly increase curb appeal for potential buyers who appreciate the longevity and intrinsic value of copper.

Copper Enhances the Look of Any Home

You can’t deny the allure of copper for its warmth and appeal. Its earthy tone complements other natural building materials like wood, glass and stone. Although copper’s most identifiable shade is a rich metallic reddish-brown, it can be altered with mechanical surface treatments, coatings or chemical coloring to produce a wide range of colors without compromising its strength and durability.

Copper is a Sustainable Material

Builders and homeowners with a commitment to reducing their carbon footprint will appreciate the sustainability of copper, which is 100% recyclable. What makes copper highly sustainable compared with other metals and alloys? Beyond its natural durability and minimal maintenance requirements, copper has anti-fungal properties that protect wood; it’s also incredibly efficient as an electrical conductor. For all these reasons, copper is a sought-after resource with a high scrap value, and it can be recycled many times without reducing its longevity.

Interested in Installing Copper Clad Windows?

If you’re considering copper clad windows to enhance your home or building project, it’s important to work with a professional window installation service as a lack of knowledge and experience can lead to costly mistakes, and ultimately, disappointing results.

The most common problem with installing copper clad windows is a poor seal at the joints. Water can then become trapped between the wood frame and metal cladding, which creates a destructive chemical reaction.

Contact Rocky Mountain Windows & Doors to help upgrade your home, improve its exterior beauty and increase its market value with high-end copper clad windows.

French doors are a smart choice when it comes to replacing an old sliding door. It’s a significant upgrade from a design standpoint, and with so many materials, colors, and window styles available, there’s a French door to match any home.

Reap the Benefits

We’re all looking for ways to economize these days, and adding modern French doors to your home can save you money in ways you probably hadn’t thought about. They’ll also give you more convenient access to your home and make your room a more enjoyable place to spend time.

Unexpected Savings

French doors can be manufactured in double- or triple-pane, just like any other window, so you can choose the right level of insulation and outside noise reduction for your situation. Your home’s heating and cooling system will run more efficiently, and you will stay more comfortable in your home. The low-e glass that helps reject heat from outside and bounce the indoor heated air back into the room minimizes the amount of ultraviolet (UV) light that comes into your room. UV light is what causes your rugs and carpet, furniture, window coverings, wall hangings, and interior paint to fade, and shortens their useful life. Spend less on heating and air conditioning, and preserve the beauty of your home’s furnishings.

Improved Natural Light and Air Flow

French doors are often accompanied by side lights, which can be operable or fixed. Operable side lights give you a lot more control over the air flow in your room than a sliding door. Open one or both side lights, with or without the French doors being open, until you’ve got exactly the right amount of air flow. There are several choices of glass for the doors and side lights, as well, which allow you to bring in as much light as possible, or diffuse the light, or even alter the color of light a little: It all depends on the look and feel you want.

Easier Access

Since French doors do not have a column between the doors, they offer a huge access space to your home. It gives a welcoming feel to your guests and family, but it also makes it a lot easier to have furniture delivered without banging up the walls and door jambs.

Bring the Outdoors in

Enjoy your landscape or view, fountain, or pool, even when you’re indoors. French doors act like a giant picture frame, spotlighting your property’s best features.

Showcase A Room

French doors are a beautiful and practical design choice for interior doors, too. Enclose a formal dining room or living room to keep pets and small children out when the room is not in use, or put French doors on the family room to create a cozy space and to cut down on noise without making the room feel closed off.

Get Design Help and Ideas

At Rocky Mountain Windows & Doors, our expert designers will help you to evaluate what you want to achieve in your home, and help you put together a plan to boost your home’s beauty and efficiency with French doors, creating a space you and your family will love.

Patio doors offer easy access to the outside, along with a bit of a view. If you live on a beach or by the mountains, a green belt, or other area with a scenic expanse right beyond your door, you might want to see as much of the view as possible. Many modern homes built to maximize the view use panoramic patio doors that essentially create a wall of windows that open in one of several different ways.

Patio Doors for Wide Spaces

A basic patio door has two panels that slide, fold, or swing open to all allow moving between indoor and outdoor living spaces. This type of door offers endless possibilities for design whether it is the standard five to eight foot width, or whether it contains multiple panels to accommodate a wider space.

When built to accommodate a broader space, you need to think carefully about how you want the panels to open. Some options for scenic doors include:

• Sliding doors. Due to the width, a panoramic patio door has multiple panels that slide on parallel tracks and that stack up together. While sliders are the least invasive of room space, they do not offer as much access to the outside as other styles, unless the panels can slide into a pocket. Many modern sliding doors for large spaces incorporate European lift and slide technology to ensure that you can easily move the panels yet create an airtight seal when the doors are closed. Some of these newer technologies also use just one track, rather than multiple tracks.
• Bi-fold doors. With panels that stack and then swing toward the inside or outside, folding doors allow you to get the maximum access to the outside while operating on a single track. Due to the weight of the header, the panels slide along the track easily. For ADA compliance for restaurants and public places or ease of use at home, there is a recessed U-channel track option available for a seamless transition between the inside and outside.
• French or pivot doors. Considered an elegant type of door, the French door swings out. Some product lines feature a multi-point locking mechanism that is useful to keep large, heavy panels stable. Variations of this style that pivot combine a track with the swing-out feature of a French door so that panels swing out and then move along the track to the side, where they stack up. This type of system allows you to open or close any number of panels that you need.

Other Features Available

Any of these doors form a veritable wall of windows that makes the scenery outside part of the room. To provide perfect framing, the windows are trimmed in wood cladding, aluminum, or vinyl for beauty and low maintenance. Most have an excellent sealing system to prevent you from wasting energy while you enjoy the benefits of windows. If you are concerned about bugs, some scenic windows offer screen options so you retain visibility and still enjoy plenty of fresh air.

Many of the major manufacturers make doors that are just right for large scenic spaces. Rocky Mountain Windows and Doors can help you find the patio doors you need to fit your home and budget. Call us today for a free in-home consultation and estimate on your new scenic patio doors.

Enclosed window treatments might seem like a luxury at first glance, but they can save you time and money, in addition to making your home a healthier place for your family to spend time.

If you are getting ready to replace your windows, ask about your options for enclosed window treatments. If you haven’t looked into them recently, you will probably be surprised at the variety of styles and colors that are now available.

Enclosed Window Treatments are Virtually Maintenance-Free

If you are living with draperies, curtains, blinds, or vertical blinds, you know how easily they get damaged and dirtied by everyday life. It takes a lot of work to repair those little snags and tears, to get the pet fur off, keep them dust-free, and to spot-clean the places where dirty hands most often touch them. It’s a tedious and endless chore, and it can get expensive when you need repairs.

Enclosed window treatments don’t use dangerous, messy cords to open, and there’s no more flimsy rod to break off while adjusting your shades. Best of all, because they are enclosed and not accessible to small hands, they stay clean and rarely need repairing.

Reduce Allergens

Room-side window treatments are a magnet for allergens. They collect dander and fur from pets, dust and pollen from outdoors, dust mites and other indoor allergens. When it comes to cleaning, traditional dusting often just disperses the mess back into the air, while using chemical cleaners contributes to indoor air pollution.

If anyone in your household suffers from allergies or asthma, they will breathe more easily once the dust magnets are removed from your home.

A Better Solution to Traditional Window Treatments

Enclosed window treatments are mounted in between 2 panes of glass in your windows, so they’re completely protected from dirt, dust, pollen, and damage. The enclosed shades come in many fabrics and colors, some of them offer additional insulation, and they open with a remote, either from the top down, or from the bottom up.

Options vary, depending on which windows and manufacturer you choose. And, because your windows are a long-term investment, some manufacturers offer enclosed window treatments that homeowners can change easily on their own. You can update the style or color as often as you care to.

Invest in a Cleaner Home With Less Work

Having your home stay cleaner with less work is a bargain at any price. Wouldn’t it be great to spend more time playing with your kids and pets, and less time cleaning up after them? The design experts at Rocky Mountain Windows & Doors can help you decide which windows and enclosed window treatments will give your home the style you want, and keep your home cleaner with ease.

Should you rush to have new energy efficient windows installed before winter? Now that fall has come and there’s a chill in the air, many homeowners start thinking about replacing windows and doors to keep their homes warmer and their energy bills lower.

While getting windows put in place now is a good idea, many contractors are so busy that they are already scheduling well into the winter. Fortunately, window installation is no problem for experienced contractors anytime of the year.

Discovering Window Problems Late in the Year

As you prepare your home for winter, you may realize that your old windows need some help. Your first thought is to add some weather stripping and caulking to block drafts, but you realize that the needs are more serious than that. You may find that your windows have some rot that will only get worse after another season of ice, snow, and rain. Maybe you realize that even if you repair the damage, your windows are only single pane models that lose heat anyways.

At this point, you might consider getting an energy audit from utility company or contractor. After various tests, you should receive a report about problem areas in your home, including windows, which will suggest how much energy you could save by replacing windows or taking other actions to make them more airtight.

Replacing Energy Efficient Windows in the Winter

If your potential savings is large, you might decide on repairs to improve efficiency or decide it is time to replace one or more windows. The problem you may find is that contractors tend to be very busy in the fall as they complete previously requested jobs. You may be put on the list of jobs to do, without a guarantee that you will get new windows before winter. As a homeowner, you may question whether winter is a good time for window replacement.

Fortunately, for a professional, doing this work during the winter is not a problem when installing quality window products. As long as the contractor selects a window that has a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of less than .3, there is no problem installing windows in cold weather according to the Department of Energy. Most replacement windows have a value of .21 or .22. By using low expansion foam to block openings in the frame, along with no freeze caulk that is air dried, a professional can install the window with a proper seal and without distorting the window frame or seal.

Little Inconvenience During Installation

The replacement process can take place on even a cold day with only a small amount of inconvenience. Usually a team of two will work inside and outside your home to install each window. The process takes less than a half hour per window, barring an unusual situation, so you will not have cold air flowing into your home while the work is being done.

If you are considering new windows this fall, now is the time to call Rocky Mountain Windows and Doors to schedule replacement with energy-efficient windows as soon as possible. We guarantee excellence of installation in any season.

When replacing your point of entry, a wood front door offers style as well as function. Though steel and fiberglass are currently the most popular materials for doors, wood remains the classic material if you want an elegant door. Wood front doors start at under $200 plus installation at big-box stores, but can go into the thousands. What adds to the cost of these doors?

Door cost is influenced by the material, the construction technique, the trim (such as raised panels), the presence of glass, the hardware, the installation, and even the warranty. For most people, the door is more than a way to get in and out of the house, so unless you want a very basic door that you install yourself, that $200 figure is not very realistic. Before you go door shopping, you should think carefully about what qualities you want in your door so you can have a realistic idea of cost.

Characteristics of Wood Front Doors

Available in pine and hardwoods of all types, wood doors are often sold prefinished with durable stains and clear finishes. The most weather resistant doors have high-gloss sheens and are finished on the top and bottom to prevent absorbing moisture and swelling. To keep a wooden door in good condition, you need to repaint or refinish it every couple of years. Despite the maintenance requirements, many of the most high-end doors are made of wood. You should choose a wooden door in a style that matches the architecture of your home, in a material and quality that matches your budget.

Wooden doors often use frame and panel or rail and stile construction, where the panel is the center of the door and is surrounded by rails on the top and bottom and by vertical stiles on each side. While some very expensive doors are made of solid pieces of wood, many high-quality doors are engineered for energy efficiency by insulating the panel with an insulation value as high as R-5 and laminating the rail and stile to make the door better fitting and more resistant to warping.

To add style and allow light to flow into the home, many wooden doors have windows incorporated into the main door, or have transoms above or sidelights on either side of the door. Glass can add substantially to the price of the door, especially if it is decorative.

Realistic Costs for a Wood Front Door

A replacement door system that includes a pre-hung door with frame, hinges, locksets, sidelights and weatherstripping can be a more than $4,000 for the best quality. According to HomeAdvisor, an online site where consumers can find home repair professionals, the average cost of installing a door without glasses is nearly $1000, while Angie’s List estimates nearly double that for a basic door, with hundreds to thousands more for glass panels or sidelights.

If you are interested in replacing your wood front door with a new wood, steel or fiberglass door, call Rocky Mountain Windows & Doors for a free in-home consultation and estimate for an expertly designed and installed wood front door.

Window suppliers have long offered a wide selection of skylights, with a host of features. But what if you want natural light in a part of your home where a skylight isn’t an option, like a narrow hallway, stairwell, or small bathroom? One excellent alternative is the solar tube, or sun tube.

What’s a Solar Tube?

A Solar tube is a system that brings sunlight into your home without heat gain or sun damage to your home and furnishings. A durable, weather-proof plastic half-dome is mounted on the roof, to let sunlight into the tube. The light is reflected inside the tube, and enters your living space through a diffuser, so you get a nice, bright expanse of light, not a spotlight effect.

How Much Light Can a Solar Tube Bring in?

Solar tubes range in size from 10-inch diameter to 14-inch diameter. A 10-inch tube brings the equivalent of three 100-watt light bulbs into your space. That’s enough light to cover about 200 square feet of open space in your home. The 14-inch tubes can illuminate about 300 square feet of unobstructed space.

What Other Advantages do Solar Tubes Offer?

• Lower cost – Solar tubes cost less than skylights, by about half.
• Easier Installation – Installing solar tubes is generally less complicated and less destructive than installing skylights: Less time, less intrusion, less mess.
• Smaller Exterior Seal – The roof seal around a solar tube is tiny compared to that of a skylight: Less exposed material means less chance of leaks, and less cost when it’s time to replace.
• Less Vulnerable to Damage – Domed surfaces are more resistant to impact damage, and less surface area means less likelihood that your solar tube will be hit in the first place.

What’s the Catch?

There are some circumstances where installing solar tubes might require extra work, or may not be the right choice at all. It’s important to evaluate whether your home is ideal for solar tubes. Some of the considerations include:

• Roof Slope – Solar tubes can be installed on roofs with slopes between 15- and 60-degrees.
• Rafter Spacing – Standard rafter spacing of 16-inches, on-center is perfect for both 10- and 14-inch tube installation. Non-standard rafter spacing may require extra preparation. In some cases, homes are built with 24-in spacing, which could accommodate a custom, extra-large tube, for even more light.
• Roof Material – If your home’s roof is tile or metal, you’ll need an adaptor for the tube’s flashing.
• Dome Position – Solar tubes perform best when their dome is mounted on a southwest-facing roof surface, with the interior end of the tube no more than 14 feet away. Each bend the tube has to make slightly reduces the amount of reflected light that will reach your interior space, so it’s best to have as straight a run as possible.

How do I Get Solar Tubes?

Consult with a reputable window supplier like Rocky Mountain Windows and Doors to discuss your ideas and what will work best in your home.

Window replacement is a big investment in your home, and there is a dizzying variety of options available to buyers today. Many homeowners end up making decisions without understanding the true benefits and savings that some of these options have to offer. Here are some important factors to consider when choosing replacement windows.

Low-e Windows and Improved HVAC Performance

Most people know that having windows with low-e (low emissivity) glass keeps some of the outdoor heat out of your house. Did you know that low-e glass also keeps the heated and cool air produced by your HVAC system in? It does this by bouncing off, or rejecting, some of the sun’s UV and infrared light, without significantly reducing the amount of visible light that passes through.

The exterior glass actually absorbs less heat than untreated glass, so it transfers less heat into your home. That means your HVAC system can maintain the temperature you want indoors while running less. You may even find that you’re able to heat and cool your home with smaller units that use less energy, thanks to low-e glass windows.

Reduce Hidden Costs

Obviously, energy savings are going to be the biggest cost benefit to replacement windows with upgrades like low-e coating and insulation, but what else will you save money on?

UV rays are damaging to upholstery fabrics. Your sofas and chairs will wear longer and look better with added protection from upgraded windows.

Heat and UV rays are also murder on rugs, carpet, and other floorings. Not only will direct sunlight damage the visible surface of a rug or carpet, but it will also contribute to faster degradation of the fibers and backing, which means you’ll need to replace sooner.

Wood furniture is also a victim of sun damage. When your wood furniture is constantly exposed to sunlight, it can warp, and the finish can fade, craze, or peel. If you’ve ever looked into the cost of refinishing, you’ll understand that preventing sun damage is a significant cost savings.

Triple-Glazed Windows

Triple-Glazed Windows offer your home an added layer of protection. Because there is an additional layer of glass and an additional insulating space, triple-glazed windows offer more possible combinations of filler gas, glazing material, and glass coating, to achieve precise control for your specific use.

Triple-glazed windows create a wider area of separation between indoors and out, so they reduce window condensation by about 20% over dual-pane.

Better insulation means better noise reduction. If your home faces a noisy street, triple-glaze might improve your enjoyment of your home significantly.

Thermal-pane windows are less prone to cracking because of thermal shock, and they are harder to break through, so your home and family are safer.

Shave Your Costs

Local utilities, municipalities, state governments, and the federal government frequently offer homeowners special programs like rebates, tax credits, and low- or no-interest loans to make energy-efficient improvements like upgraded windows.

When you call Rocky Mountain Windows and Doors for a consultation, be sure to ask what programs will be available to help you save money on your window replacement project.

When you are buying new windows, how do you decide between the major window manufacturers? When you review what each company has available, you will undoubtedly find so many similarities that it is often confusing to choose the best brand.

Resources to Guide Your Decision about New Windows

To help you decide about new windows, you have four resources:

• What the window company says about the product. Whether you select Pella, Andersen, Jen Weld, or another window manufacturer, the company lists the features of a particular model of window and suggests where best to use it.
• What the Department of Energy says about the efficiency. Windows must bear stickers from the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) that show energy efficiency in order to be part of to be part of the voluntary Energy Star program. The first two factors listed below are most important for Energy Star qualification, but the others are important as well:
  • U-Factor: Measures a window unit’s resistance to heat loss
  • Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC): Measures how much heat enters a home through the glass
  • Visible Transmittance (VT): Measures the potential for natural light and visibility
  • Air Leakage (AL): measures the effectiveness for keeping air out

You should buy windows with metrics that suit your climate. Windows with low U-factors, which have a range of 0.20 to 1.20, are better insulators are better in colder climates and work better in warmer, sunnier climates, while those with low SHGV (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient) block more heat of the sun. While not listed on the NFRC sticker, you want a window with the insulating properties of Low E (low emission) coordinates.

• What review sites say about the brand. Online review sites such as Yelp offer customers perspective on the best windows, while Consumers’ Reports combines customer rating with their own research. CR test Windows for their performance in cold, rainy, and warm climates and makes recommendations for what they consider a Best Buy. Their top window ratings may only vary by a few points, but often they make suggestions of what is the best value for the money.
• What contractor see based on their experience. Some contractors might specialize in installing specific brand and have a preference for installing them. They might base their comments on their experience with using other systems in the past, which makes their insights valuable.

Making Your Decision

As a consumer, you should take features, price, energy ratings, consumer ratings, and contractor insights into the mix for making your decision. The cheapest window is not always the best, but windows that have the proper metrics are likely to do a reasonable job insulating your home. What often makes the difference between the effectiveness of windows is the installation. Make sure to check contractor references, as well as look at the online review sites such as Angie’s List or Yelp that consider contractor performance.

When choosing new windows, contact Rocky Mountain Windows and Doors for a free consultation and the best product availability and installation.