Selecting Your Windows & Doors

This is a major decision. The investment in and the selection of windows, if well thought out, will yield constant returns. But, if poorly chosen, will be a liability, causing daily unhappiness. To choose the proper windows, many issues need to be considered.

A few of the many things to be considered.

(It's your home and they will be your windows for a long-long time)

Ask yourself some questions and the answers will help bracket the cost, style, accessories,manufacturer, etc of the windows to be selected.
What are you trying to accomplish?

• Spiff up the house to sell it?
• Just fill the holes in the walls with glass?
• Reduce heat loss and energy expense?
• Cut down on the sun load and AC costs?
• See the birds better?
• Eliminate the shabby look of present windows?
• Reduce painting and maintenance time or expense?
• Upgrade your house's appearance?
• Make your house more livable for the next twenty years?

Manufacturers' Information:

A good place to start is with the manufacturers' web sites.
Become familiar with the various products and the terminology used to describe them. There are many good windows on the market; each has strengths and shortcomings. Choosing the best window for your house requires more information, information the manufacturer cannot supply.

Other Issues and Ideas

These are also important to consider

• The view , is it an asset or ugly? If the view is an asset then the window should display it? If it's ugly then the window should hide the view while making the interior look great?
• The interior trim of your house, is it a certain wood species, a distinct finish? Windows can match or compliment the interior.
• The exterior , What is your homes architectural style, classic, modern, Cape Cod, Greek Revival or other? What color or style of window will compliment your home and which will clash?
• What material is preferred and why: Wood, aluminum exterior clad, composite, fiberglass, or vinyl?
• Pre-primed windows permit you and your contractor to choose from a very large selection of type and color of finishes. A contractor who knows the proper finish selection can make a good window choice into a great window installation. What finish do you think will look best?
• What is the expected life of the window and during its life how much maintenance will be required?
• Accessories and features such as tilt-in for easy cleaning, foldable crank handles and many others. What are the benefits and the costs?

Window Selection – The final decision

Making this decision, evaluating the many alternatives, assigning the proper importance to each, this is complicated . Perhaps, talking to an expert , a person who really knows the windows available, their proper applications and how to best install them, is a good idea. This discussion with the expert likely will prove to be a quicker, more efficient road to the optimal decision. Start your window selection by talking to a Caswell Window and Door Company representative, a window expert with the experience to really help you, one who has seen nearly every possible success and screw-up . Discuss with him the many possible solutions, pick his brain and benefit from Caswell's fifty years of experience.

Talking to a Caswell owner should be done before the first dollar is committed.

Installation of the Windows Selected

All windows purchased come with installation instruction included in the packaging. The instructions assume a few things, such as, the installer has a modicum of carpentry skill and can understand the instructions. If your next question is, "Who can I ask to help?" Then you should talk to a quality contractor , an experienced, professional company like Caswell Window and Door Company.

Quality Installation

Caswell recommends that you hire a professional window installer, a contractor who understands the manufacturer's instructions and has experience installing the windows you have selected; Caswell Door and Window Company is such a contractor. Ask a contractor for referrals, over 90% of Caswell's jobs come from referrals . The satisfaction that results from their expert installation will last for many years, long after the expense has been forgotten.

Caswell Window and Door Company is your best choice for the quality installation of your new windows. It is what Caswell does, has done for fifty years, and continues to do very well. The window installers are long term associates of Caswell and they work for the same guy who sells the windows - the owner. Caswell installers are real professionals and they want the same thing the owner wants: beautiful windows, installed expertly, on-time, on-budget with minimum aggravation.

"Caswell Window and Door is your best choice for quality window installation, you'll never go wrong by hiring the best."