Page 181 - 2018 National Home Improvement

2018 National Home Improvement Estimator, All Rights Reserved Page 148

Brown or black discoloration near joints is a sign of decay. Untreated wood windows are particularly
vulnerable to insect attack, either by termites, powder-post beetles or carpenter ants. Termites usually
leave sand-like pellets outside the wood they’re destroying. Powder-post beetles make the wood look as
though it was hit by birdshot. Carpenter ants deposit neat piles of coarse sawdust where they are
nesting. Fumigation by a professional exterminator is usually required to eliminate termites. Use spray
insecticide to eliminate carpenter ants and powder post beetles.

Although aluminum windows don’t decay, they are still candidates for replacement. Aluminum is highly
conductive to heat and cold. Aluminum windows can get so cold in winter that frost will form on the
inside of them, wasting heat while creating unpleasant drafts and moisture problems. Modern windows
offer better insulating value against heat, cold, UV radiation and noise. They protect better against
forced entry, and resist both wind and rain better. And if that’s not enough, modern windows are easier
to keep clean. Many tilt inward so both sides can be cleaned from the interior. Perhaps you’re old
enough to remember your mother or grandmother sitting on the window sills of the upstairs bedrooms,
facing in, with her legs dangling inside the room, cleaning the outside of the windows. It wasn’t a good
idea then, and it’s not a good idea now.

Windows and the Building Code
Most states and counties have energy codes that set energy-efficiency standards for both new
construction and alteration work. To get a building permit for a significant home improvement project,
you may have to submit energy calculations that demonstrate energy code compliance. State, city and
county standards vary. But the U.S. Department of Energy offers free computer software to help you
meet requirements of most model energy codes. The D.O.E. Web site is http://www.energycodes.gov.
Naturally, the size and orientation of windows affect energy use. Too many large windows in the wrong
places increase both the heating and cooling load beyond what the energy code allows.

Building codes require that sleeping rooms below the fourth floor have at least one operable window or
door approved for an emergency exit (egress). If your building department requires upgrading the home
to modern egress standards, you’ll have to install at least one egress window (or door) in each bedroom.
An egress window measures at least 20” wide by at least 24” high and has a clear opening of at least
5.7 square feet. The sill can’t be more than 44” above the floor.

Many building codes also require that some windows have tempered glass. These include windows
within 18” of the floor, windows on a stairway landing and windows used as a sidelight beside an entry
door. Tempered glass fractures into pebble-like shards less likely to cause injury.