Windows In Colorado Springs @ 7000ft altitude

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Digital Man
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2016 6:29 pm

Windows In Colorado Springs @ 7000ft altitude

#1 Post by Digital Man »

We need to replace our old crappy, warped, worn out single pane wood windows. Our house is in Colorado Springs, Colorado at an elevation of 7000ft.

I've been doing tons of reading here and on the sister board and am almost ready to start getting quotes.

The front of my house faces NE so it only gets a little sun in the morning and we only have 5 windows on the front. Most of my windows are on the SW and NW facing sides of the house so the sun is pretty intense on those sides most of the day.

One thing I'm not very up to speed on yet is the desired performance numbers for Colorado. It is very sunny here most of the year. It gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer, but the sun is blazing most of the time. We also get very large temperature swings even within the same day.

Since we have sunny cold days as well as sunny warm days, I'm not sure what performance numbers I should shoot for. While letting in heat would be nice in the winter, I certainly don't want the heat to come in in the summer.

Can you help advise on what performance numbers are desirable here and anything else I need to know about this altitude?

Should I avoid argon due to my altitude?

Should I only consider windows built at our altitude, or also consider high quality windows such as Sunrise & Soft-Lite built at lower altitudes?

Thanks.

Digital Man
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2016 6:29 pm

Re: Windows In Colorado Springs @ 7000ft altitude

#2 Post by Digital Man »

Also, I forget to mention, it can be very windy at my house. I knew I needed new windows when I was sitting inside at the dinner table and could feel the breeze inside on windy days.

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Windows on Washington
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Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 11:23 am
Location: DC Metropolitan Area-Maryland/Virginia/DC

Re: Windows In Colorado Springs @ 7000ft altitude

#3 Post by Windows on Washington »

Do you have a preference on materials?

I don't see any issues with windows not being made locally as long as they know where they are going to.

Digital Man
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2016 6:29 pm

Re: Windows In Colorado Springs @ 7000ft altitude

#4 Post by Digital Man »

I don't have much of a preference on materials yet. I'm open to the advice of the experts there. One thing that is important to me is low maintenance. I don't want to have to paint them and I don't want white, so I'm hoping I can get vinyl or fiberglass that is already colored. I don't want wood since that's when we're replacing.

At this point I'll definitely look at Sunrise and Soft-Light in vinyl. Probably check out Amerimax too since the Sunrise installers also carry them. I may check out Marvin fiberglass as well. Unfortunately OKNA does not have a dealer in Colorado.

I guess my main question is the performance characteristics such as SHGC, U-value, Air Infiltration, Condensation Resistance Factor, Design Pressure, Low E, etc. SHGC is probably my biggest question since I see answers for people that live in the north and the south, but not anything for someone in between.

WindowsDirectCinci
Posts: 250
Joined: Sun Feb 28, 2016 2:46 pm

Re: Windows In Colorado Springs @ 7000ft altitude

#5 Post by WindowsDirectCinci »

Digital Man wrote:I don't have much of a preference on materials yet. I'm open to the advice of the experts there. One thing that is important to me is low maintenance. I don't want to have to paint them and I don't want white, so I'm hoping I can get vinyl or fiberglass that is already colored. I don't want wood since that's when we're replacing.

At this point I'll definitely look at Sunrise and Soft-Light in vinyl. Probably check out Amerimax too since the Sunrise installers also carry them. I may check out Marvin fiberglass as well. Unfortunately OKNA does not have a dealer in Colorado.

I guess my main question is the performance characteristics such as SHGC, U-value, Air Infiltration, Condensation Resistance Factor, Design Pressure, Low E, etc. SHGC is probably my biggest question since I see answers for people that live in the north and the south, but not anything for someone in between.
The Sunrise window has a few more colored options that are available in non paint. I also prefer their paint to any other manufacturer I've seen if you have to go that route. The Restorations window is my favorite because of the performance and is also by far the best looking vinyl window imo. The upper softlite lines are very nice also and you should be happy with both as long as you get a good install.

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