PGT
http://www.replacement-windows.com/windowbb/viewtopic.php?t=300
Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:48 pm Post subject: PGT
In your neighborhood, impact windows are definitely a very good idea.
I am not sure how much knowledge you have on impact windows overall, but basically they are tougher versions of regular windows using heavier hardware, laminated glass, special high-tensil glazing silicones, and more stringent mounting requirements.
PGT is unique in that they laminate their own glass.
There are a few (very few) other window manufacturers that manufacture their own laminated glass as well, but all of those that I am aware of use a liquid resin process that isn't really suited to modern production methods.
PGT uses a Poly Vinyl Butryl (PVB) interlayer which is the same interlayer that is in the windshield of your car. The difference is that your car uses a .030" interlayer and for an impact glass product they use a .090" interlayer.
Most of the major North American window companies also offer impact windows. There are four primary interlayer materials used in impact windows:
PVB, which I have mentioned,
Liquid resins, which I have also mentioned,
SGP (Sentry Glass Plus) interlayer which is a rigid plastic material (Dupont Surlyn) that is bonded inside a glass sandwich like PVB,
and finally, the glass clad polycarbonates - which are a layer of thin polycarbonate film bonded to glass using urethane resins.
Then there are the hybrids including:
interlayers that use PET film bonded to PVB within the glass sandwich (Oldcastle offers Solutia's version of this product and Cardinal offers Dupont's version of this product - both available to their respective window manufacturer customers),
resin laminated using PET film as an interlayer,
and a few other versions that are not produced in any great volume and would be unlikely to be available to the average home owner.
After all that, I will say that PGT has a reputation for being a very good laminator. I will also say that PGT offers a more economical impact product than pretty much any other window company that competes in that market. I will also say that PGT is the major player in the Florida hurricane window market.
On the quality of PGT windows overall, I cannot comment, but I would recommend before any major purchase such as hurricane resistant windows that you do your homework and see what other people who have these products think of them.
I know this sounds like I am making a subtle insult to PGT, but I am not...I am really suggesting that the best people to ask are the people who own them.
Hope this helps
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