Comparing Window Materials: Costs and Durability of Frames
Window price discernment involves consideration of many factors including window type, size, as well as labor required for installation. Lists usually featuring these always come with another factor — frame materials.
The reason they affect the price so much is that they have different properties that lend to performance and visuals.
In this piece, let’s look at these materials and see why the windows can cost from $430 to $1450 according to MyHomeQuote, while the others have completely different ranges. Now that we’ve settled that, it’s time to start!
The Materials Used
The materials used for window frames are chosen for a few reasons, including their efficiency, visual appeal, and durability. The materials that they’re usually made of, according to MyHomeQuote digest are as follows:
- Aluminum frames, which can cost from $300 to $850
- Vinyl frames which can cost from $580 to $1,850
- Wood frames which can cost from $650 to $1,600
- Fiberglass frames, which can cost from $700 to $1,100
- Composite frames, which can cost from $550 to $1300
Now, to best understand why these materials cost what they do, we’ll need to compare them in a number of categories that window buyers will always pay attention to. These include the following:
How They Deal with Energy
This is an important area of consideration because, in the long run, selecting the perfect frames can actually save you money on utilities.
Among the varieties we’ve gone through, all types, save for the metallic one, are seen as performing pretty well in that regard. Aluminum frames suffer in this regard unless they have some form of insulated barrier within the frame.
How Long They Last
Durability is also another important thing to consider, and the choices between frames if you’re looking for them really boils down to whether or not you want to maintain the frames regularly.
For those who don’t, you might want to consider Vinyl, Composite, Aluminum and Fiberglass frames, as they can last long with little maintenance. There is a caveat with Aluminum, which is that it’s prone to rusting, as well as being affected by temperature.
The weak link within this area would be wood, which while durable, requires the most maintenance among the listed counterparts because exposure to the elements leaves it vulnerable to deterioration.
Metal also suffers in this regard, causing rust. The basics of gauging durability revolve around how the elements are responded to over time by any of the above varieties.
Visual Standing
In this space, the standard for general aesthetic appeal is the wooden frame, which has a traditional look that buyers go for. Adding to this, is the fact that wooden frames are also more receptive to customization.
The other frames that in a sense can equal wood in this category are the Composite variety, as they’re actually a mixture of polyvinyl chloride polymers, metal, as well as wood, which can actually make them mimic the wooden variety.
This isn’t to say that the other alternatives don’t look good. It’s just for something like Vinyl to look good, it has to mimic wood, which it can when customized. Also, outside of wood, and composite, the others aren’t particularly great in this role. Rather, it’s just that nothing ever beats the original.
What is fairly obvious when you look at these categories is that they rely on each other to form a final price. On average, wooden frames are the most expensive and that’s because they look great, are difficult to maintain and possess good efficiency.
How They Affect Pricing
Now, let’s look at how exactly these frame types affect the overall window price. A proper comparison requires one to make a sort of theoretical cost calculator of their own. With one, we can visualize how this factor affects general pricing. So, the basic idea is as follows:
- The calculator is found, usually one from a company handling operations in the related field
- The details concerning what you seek are then entered as they present themselves, and be aware that calculators vary, so orders won’t be identical
- Via the first calculation, enter wood, under the space for materials, and once done, a price estimate or range will appear
- Write down or remember this price, and go back to the space for materials and change from wood to fiberglass
- Once the price is shown, return to the material space and continue to swap materials, until all prices are revealed, after which making comparisons is easy
What’s typically seen if you apply this to the real world is that the prices of frames and energy-efficient materials above will act as they do, with the more expensive frames resulting in a more expensive window.
So, in his case, you’ve decided to go with an awning, the replacement according to different digests can cost from around $400 to $1,500 accounting for size, frames and glass type.
If you use wood, you’ll likely have a more expensive window that’s closer to the high end than if you used Vinyl. Vinyl frames will then likely have the same relationships with Aluminum, with the other frame types being somewhere in the middle.
Final Thoughts
For anyone who isn’t as familiar with budgeting for their projects, awareness of the key areas that may shift the final numbers is vital. Window frames, and what they’re composed of, as we’ve seen, is one of these factors, and while simply knowing them will suffice, delving deeper into why some frames cost more helps.
Durability and longevity are obviously huge elements that decide why some products will empty your pockets more than others, but it’s really only in light of other factors like aesthetic and energy efficiency.
Together they make it so that windows, which in general can cost $400-$1,500+ per window, have examples of varying ends of the price spectrum.
Regardless, the materials used are only part of the equation, and many other factors have to be considered, so always think of as many specifics to find the most accurate price.
