Visible glass for picture windows (Vytex; Okna; Soft-lite)

[smarshall]

I'm looking for picture/fixed vinyl windows that yield the most visible glass, but because the samples the salespersons bring are always for double-hung/operable windows it's very difficult to tell what the sash will actually look like for a picture window. I also get vague approximate answers when I ask about the width directly, I assume because each company wants its product to be the 'slimmest.' Nor is this listed as a spec on the manufacturing websites - the depth of the jamb is always indicated, but not the width of the actual window. Nor do they usually have useful photos in the website photo gallery showing the frames of picture windows, expect with bow/garden windows, which ours are not....

Can anyone tell me if there are significant differences in these models, or if they are all roughly the same in terms of the visible glass on a picture window: Vytex Fortis; Okna 500; Soft-Lite Pro.

Thank you!!

[HomeSealed]

The Okna 500 and softlite pro should be fairly similar in a PW as far as visible glass area. Not positive on the Fortis, but I believe that one is a little thicker. Is this being replaced with a group of functional windows? I ask because a regular PW that is typically used with double hungs or slider will be different than fixed casements, which is a different frame detail. You mentioned the okna 500 as opposed to 700, so I assume they are not casements...

As far as the details, in all of my years in the business and commenting on blogs etc, you may be the first person that I have heard ask about the glass area on a PW. Not saying there is anything wrong with that by any means, but most times folks are concerned more with the "bulk" of windows in the home, be they casements, dh's, or sl's when it comes to glass area. Again, not discounting your concern in any way, just a thought on why you may be having difficulty finding much reference to that.

Lastly, that's a solid group of window choices. Well done. I'd personally rank them 1) Okna, 2) Fortis, and 3) SL Pro, but all 3 are good to great.

[smarshall]

Thanks for this reply - that's helpful.

It's a midcentury house, so the entire wall is fixed casement windows - they will remain fixed, not operable. (Currently it's 2X6s with double-paned IGUs, but we're replacing it with actual windows because some of the 2X6s are suffering from water damage, there's no insulation, and we need to install a sliding door).

Although it seems like concern over visible glass in an entire wall of windows is silly, it's less about the glass space and more about the width of the window sashes when they're side-by-side. For example: two 3-inch window sashes separated by a 2 inch wood mullion (2X6) covered in cladding is 8 solid inches of vinyl/cladding separating the visible glass, so if I can gain 1/4 to 1/2 inch on each sash by using a particular brand then that really cuts down on the amount of vinyl. Also, two of the windows are trapezoids with very narrow angles, and a thick sash would reduce those angles to the point where the vinyl comes together at an acute angle, which doesn't look very good. (I know this, because a neighbor re-did theirs with a thicker sash window, and this was the effect).

We are using a gray colored pvc-coated aluminum cladding to break up the white vinyl on the exterior (and painting the new interior 2X6s in a non-white color) but it's still a lot of vinyl, hence the desire to know if there's even a small difference in the sash widths.

[HomeSealed]

The additional info is very helpful. If fixed casements, the Softlite would no longer be considered "slim lined". They only have one casement extrusion regardless of model.
The Okna 700 and the Sunrise lines will be the slimmest casement offerings that you will find, and saving 1/4-1/2" on each side is not out of the question over thicker lines. For instance, the Okna casement is something like 2 7/8" from frame edge to viewing area, while the SL is more like 3 3/8". Those measurements do include screen frame on an operable unit, but it gives you an idea nonetheless of where a fixed casement will come in

[masterext]

The vytex fortis does have a narrow frame. However, the vytex casement does have a slightly wider frame than the okna casement.

[WindowsDirectCinci]

Generally the fixed casement extrusions are larger in width than a picture window extrusion. If they aren't directly next to a casement window I'm not sure getting a casement extrusion would be worthwhile. Most would agree that the Sunrise fixed casement would have nice detail and slim frames. The Vytex PW would have 1/4-1/2 difference than the casement extrusion. Im not sure about the others.

[TheWindowNerd]

I just had to do a VG calculation for a composite unit. The Okna 810 picture window FS - 5.75" = VG.
Pella has a clad frame direct set unit that is FS - 3 1/2"= VG

Another thought is can you do a deadlite sash only?

theWindowNerd.