Wood Windows

Cut Away View of Wood Double Hung Windows

One of the big drivers in wood window costs is just the massiveness of the product itself. A replacement type window may be 3 1/4" thick max but a wood window is about 6 1/2" thick. It is designed to float all the way to the inside of the homes sheetrock and then have casing go around it on the inside. The outside will get brickmold or one by four casing. In this picture you can see the wood part, the aluminum clad exterior, the simulated divided lite grids and the "shadow bars" between the panes of glass to complete the look of the faux divided lites.

Wood Window Interiors

Most wood windows are pine but there are oak, hickory and other exotic type woods used as well. It's important to know that there are plastic sliders that the wood window moves on and those are most definately not wood. These new Jeldwens still have the protective film over the glass. This stays on until the end of the construction and painting process.

Wood Casement Windows

Here's the coolest of the wood window world overall. The twin casement has screens on the inside and this entire opening can ventilate. Its a great look but it is an upcharge over vertical operators. Recently it came up that Single Hung wood windows are more expensive than double hungs and even I found that interesting.

Archtop Wood Windows

These can get pricey so you'd better sit down. Archtops and Circle tops run thousands of dollars. These were just under three grand and I've seen the big half circles priced recently at 5 grand for the window alone. This is a very high end product and while beautiful is often cost prohibitive. This is especially true in remodeling and renovation unless you're ripping it down to the studs. The rework of brick and associated carpentry can really become labor intensive and therefore not ideal for remodeling.

All Wood Windows with Full Screens

Wood windows have that classic look for sure. But there is no mistaking it for modern. Wood double hung windows do require full screens and it actually costs more for single hungs than double hungs. There are lots of moving pieces that have to come together to get a great project when it comes to wood windows. Knowing sizing and specifics of all the products out there is a big help. Knowing who to ask and get good input from is also a big help. Because wood windows can be so complicated, I recommend you treat it like you would a serious medical condition. It's good to understand what you're up against, but it's better to have a great doctor who really understands what's going on.

Great Carpentry on Wood Windows

Sometimes it's the cool wood work and not necessarily the windows. When you see one like this, it has aluminum clad exterior and cool looking cedar trim and siding. The look is awesome but it's the cedar that does it. I can get a similar look much cheaper from aluminum or vinyl at least on the outside. Check our gallery for the pictures of the inside.

Simulated Divided Lite Grids in Wood Windows

This is the interior view of a simulated divided lite grid Jeldwen Replacement Window.

Simulated Divided Lite is the term for grids that stick out from the glass on the inside and the outside of a window. In the past they were true divided lite grid windows but that was in single paned glass days. Now that there are double paned glass windows it's changed a bit. A window now has one piece of glass with dark brown or silver spacer bars and grids and they line up with wood applied to the inside and wood or aluminum applied to the outside of the glass.

This is not what it appears to be. If one piece of glass were to break... they all would be broken. If the seal fails, it fails in all the windows that you see.

Grids can be putty glazed style as pictured or a more contoured looking style of window. Grids can be 7/8", 1 1/8" or 1 3/8" wide.

Cross Section Cutaway of Wood Casement Windows

This is a cutaway of a Jeldwen Site Line Wood Casement Window

It shows the wood window and the aluminum clad exterior designed to make a maintenance free exterior.

This model is in pine but other hardwoods and exotic woods can be used.

This one has he nailing fin still on it. Most retrofit wood windows are done without a nailing fin.

The interior can be painted or stained. Jeldwen even has a lifetime warranty against rotting with this model of window. Many wood window manufacturers have several lines. Jeldwen is no exception. There are three tiers of wood windows from most manufacturers. A cheapest line for builders, a mid ranged line for remodelers and a custom series for exact fit applications.

With wood windows in existing homes the latter is usually most appropriate.