Understanding Full Frame Replacement Windows

Many replacement window companies don't even evaluate whether or not your window replacement should be an insert or full frame type. After all, insert replacement is cheaper and easier to sell. The question is whether or not it's the best thing for the home.

Particularly in older homes the windows are usually wood. Even if they are clad they are more than likely caulked around the outside of the window unit. The cracks between the jamb and the house frame may be insulated but probably not.

What's happening when the caulk fails? Worse yet, what if it was never fully sealed. In twenty years of my experience I've never seen a home more than five years old that didn't have water damage around the windows - outside for sure, often inside the walls too. It's not always severe but it is there. If every homeowner could see what's behind the siding or inside the wall they'd choose full frame replacement every time. In my opinion it is needed every time.

Insert replacements leave the old window frame in the home. The rot, mold, and insects that are in there remain.

According to the most recent report from the Joint Center For Housing, 84% of all homeowners say their number one consideration is energy efficiency. Insert replacement doesn't insulate the open areas that have developed around the old window frame. That area can't be treated during the process of insert replacement.

The bottom line is that a real replacement window company will point this out and give you the choice. If they only try to sell the insert replacement what is their number one concern, your home or their commission?