while there are many other good resources, here is a url that gives a primer on windown performance and a number of case studies that you may find informative http://www.efficientwindows.org/factsheets/California.pdf

Wow...the first example is a comparison in Arcata which is about 10-15 miles south of my building site. I'm not sure how to read the comparison sheet but I'll study it further.

Perhaps my OP was too ambitious and maybe I should divide my questions up.

Question #1.

In a high humidity, temperate zone (no ac required) what type of window frames/build construction should I consider? Anything made of wood seems like a bad choice (even vinyl clad wood). Warping, rot, etc... Fiberglass offers great U and R factor and resistant to to humidity warping etc.. but maybe not a good idea for large sizes? I currently have Mil Guard (appear to be vinyl clad aluminum but maybe not) and they are pretty sturdy (no warping, etc.) These are in Kansas (where I currently live), temp extremes and high humidity at certain times of the years.

Posted By JohnRLee on 03 May 2013 04:57 PM

Question #1.

In a high humidity, temperate zone (no ac required) what type of window frames/build construction should I consider? Anything made of wood seems like a bad choice (even vinyl clad wood). Warping, rot, etc... Fiberglass offers great U and R factor and resistant to to humidity warping etc.. but maybe not a good idea for large sizes? I currently have Mil Guard (appear to be vinyl clad aluminum but maybe not) and they are pretty sturdy (no warping, etc.) These are in Kansas (where I currently live), temp extremes and high humidity at certain times of the years.

Near the coast, high moisture, I would stay away from exposed wood and exposed metal due to salt content in the air. Fiberglass is good choice and maybe a good medium performance window like Marvin's Fiberglass line would make a good fit.

I am not a fan of MilGard, if my only choices were Milgard or Marvin, I would go with Marvin.

If you want high-performance fiberglass windows like triple pane windows, then you have to try Accurate Dorwin or other Canadian manufacturers.

Interesting post John. We see this all the time with our customers. There are a lot of options out there - but looking at each product's energy ratings and other important standard testing data, is one way to separate Fact from Marketing Hype. Objectively, yes it is true Canadian Built Fiberglass Windows far outperform most of their US competitors. Not all are made equal though. Fibertec would be my recommendation but check out some options and decide for yourself.

Posted By Josh C on 09 May 2013 04:09 PM
 We see this all the time with our customers. Fibertec would be my recommendation but check out some options and decide for yourself.

Josh

I would love to hear yours reasons. Could you explain?

I saw that you changed you name to Casshua and then changed it back to Josh C.

Could it be??? What is the coincidence??? A quick google of Josh C + Fibertec =

He directly linked to www.fibertec.com in another topic so I am guessing you are correct.

Josh Cass worked for Fibertec. In July of this year we made the mistake of trusting Josh and signing a contract and making a 50% downpayment for windows from them - promised installation date was end of August. It is now late September and the windows have not yet been produced, let alone installed and we are trying in vain to get a firm commitment regarding an installation date. We have found staff at the company to be evasive and generally unhelpful when it comes to making and keeping commitments regarding timelines. Our calls and e-mails are often not returned, and no one seems to care. We chose the company because the product looks great, but the abysmally poor service record has us despairing. As of today we still have no commitment by the company to actually install our windows (4 weeks after the promised end of August date), even though they were quick to cash the downpayment for this work back in July. I wouldn't recommend this company to anyone. As for Josh, he no longer works for the company.

What is Fibertec's status now?  Are they still accepting downpayments?  Are they delivering windows to other customers?

My understanding is they'll happily take your money and order. As for deliveries, your guess is as good as mine. My understanding is that for some reason they are way behind regarding installations. I can understand that - things happen, and backlogs occur.

What I can't understand or accept is the unwillingness of the company to
1) return our calls and e-mails; and
2) make a firm commitment to actually install the windows we've ordered, and made a downpayment on.

Under our signed contract we were to have our windows by the end of August. I'm up in Canada and winter is coming, and right now there are two gaping window openings covered with plastic in our kitchen - waiting for Fibertec to deign to honour their contract..

Please keep us posted on the progress of resolving this problem.

*** UPDATE - after pushing the company hard, got the windows installed in mid-October. The product is excellent and it was installed well - as my wife says, "good things come to those who wait."

Just an update.

I have finally settled on Alpen Windows (Colorado), probably their 725 series but maybe their 925 series (both series fiberglass). Most of the reviews I've read were positive and they have very respectable specs.

I will most likely opt for their HSHG glass, I hope I'm not making a mistake on that choice.

No AC is needed in my NW coastal climate. The house with all the windows faces the west (ocean) and there are lots of windows, so it might get too warm in the summer afternoons, as average highs in July & August top off at 73 F (but it can frequently reach the lower 80s). I can and will install shades but that heat gain in the winter will come in handy.

I'm still agonizing if I should opt for the stainless hardware option. The house sits 150' above sea level on a bluff and 150' back from the bluff edge. Most notes indicate that very little salt atomizes into the air at that height, but there can be some pretty big storms with heave tide in the winter, where some salt would atomize into the air and get up to the home.

Alpen's policy is they will not include hardware into their warranty on ocean front property, unless it is stainless.

Opinions on stainless hardware?

Posted By JohnRLee on 27 Oct 2013 09:58 AM
Just an update.

I have finally settled on Alpen Windows (Colorado), probably their 725 series but maybe their 925 series (both series fiberglass). Most of the reviews I've read were positive and they have very respectable specs.

I will most likely opt for their HSHG glass, I hope I'm not making a mistake on that choice.

No AC is needed in my NW coastal climate. The house with all the windows faces the west (ocean) and there are lots of windows, so it might get too warm in the summer afternoons, as average highs in July & August top off at 73 F (but it can frequently reach the lower 80s). I can and will install shades but that heat gain in the winter will come in handy.

I'm still agonizing if I should opt for the stainless hardware option. The house sits 150' above sea level on a bluff and 150' back from the bluff edge. Most notes indicate that very little salt atomizes into the air at that height, but there can be some pretty big storms with heave tide in the winter, where some salt would atomize into the air and get up to the home.

Alpen's policy is they will not include hardware into their warranty on ocean front property, unless it is stainless.

Opinions on stainless hardware?

I would DEFININETLY go with their stainless hardware. Anything near the ocean is subject to salt air and salt rain weatherization. A home within a couple hundred feet of the ocean will definitely see corrosion issues.

West facing glazing is difficult (if not impossible) to control with shading, especially if it is facing an ocean. Unless you install exterior roller shutters. During the summer you will get blasted by the sun, no getting around that. With a high SHGC glass, you will most likely see overheating issues during summer. So much so that you might need an AC to cool the house down. Interior thermal mass helps moderate passive solar heating, as does shades, and opening windows at night (stack effect) to cool the house down.

When you speak about "HSHG glass", what is the SHGC rating of the west facing windows? How much square feet of glazing on the west side are we looking at?

225 square feet on the west facing windows on the 2nd floor (which is the main living area)
142 square feet on the west facing windows on the first floor, but it will be shielded by the second floor deck, which runs the entire length of the house)

2nd floor is 54' wide x 10' tall x 31' deep (appx 1700 square feet; 17000 cubic feet)
1st floor is 54' wide x 9' tall x 31' deep

Alpen offers HSHG and LSHG windows

full frame SGHC performance is:

Casement windows HSHG: .37
Casement windows LSHG: .23

Slider HSHG is: .41
Slider LSHG is: .25

Posted By JohnRLee on 27 Oct 2013 07:00 PM
225 square feet on the west facing windows on the 2nd floor (which is the main living area)
142 square feet on the west facing windows on the first floor, but it will be shielded by the second floor deck, which runs the entire length of the house)


full frame SGHC performance is:

Casement windows HSHG: .37
Casement windows LSHG: .23

You should of course do a professional Manual J calculation on the home. Eureka/Trinidad is in Building Zone 4 (marine) climate. You are also in a Seismic Design Category E & F, so the home will have to go through the crazy California seismic building codes.

Getting back to the climate zone. Per 2012 IRC/IEEC there is no maximum SHGC for Zone 4 marine, while there is a maximum SHGC of 0.40 for Zone 4 (Non-marine).

Shading west facing windows is very difficult, even with an overhead deck because the sun will be basically perpendicular during the evening hours and sunset. Although the overhead deck will help some prior to the sun getting low in the horizon.

The home will be subject to salt air/water. Get the stainless hardware. I would also make sure the windows are rated to DP50 or better being that the west windows will constantly be barraged by wind and rain with no wind breaks. I assume your homes exposure is rated at "Exposure C/D" because of the ocean frontage.

That is a lot of glazing, basically 367 ft² on the west side. What is your homes total ft²?

Uhmmm, total square footage is appx 3400' (2 x 1700 ft²).

I'll check to see what Alpen's DP rating is. They do offer tempered glass, which is a requirement for Calif Code. But since I'm pulling an AOB, I do not need tempered glass if I don't want to spend the money.

Peak recorded winds are 85mph (extremely rare).

Engineering has already been performed by an engineer that has been living and engineering in the area for 50+ years. Shear panels, foundation hold downs, etc... have been determined.

I'm not sure I agree with you on the 2nd floor deck not shielding the first floor from SHG in the summer months. By the time the sun gets perpendicular, and can shine under the 2nd floor deck, it's ability to transfer heat is diminished (for multiple reasons). Now the 2nd floor, with only a 24" eave, is another story (no pun intended). That is where my biggest exposure to SHG will be, especially with 225 ft² of west facing windows. But again, it does not get that hot in the July/August up there. No one has AC there, Most just open the windows.

John,

You said, "average high temp in July-Sep is mid 70s F," so I don't see a problem with high solar heat gain causing overheating. As you said, just open a window. Those high solar gain windows are not that high anyway, 0.37 and 0.41.

I have 50 sq. ft. of higher solar gain windows (SHGC = 0.49) on my west side (and 65 sq ft of the same SHGC on the east), and with the use of double-row cellular shades on the windows, the highest indoor temperature that I saw this summer was 76F with 90+F outdoor temperatures. You have a lot more window area, but it seems like summers on the northern Calif. coast are typically cool. You might have to commit to using shades for comfort and possibly temperature control on the occasional hot days.

The passive solar heating might be nice to offset the cool weather that you have most of the time.

The house is "dried in", I just got back from the area and spent 3 weeks at the house, doing plumbing and electrical work.

I'm writing this to say how impressed I am with the Alpen windows and am very happy with the build quality. I would not hesitate to make this decision again. After a lot of research, I feel they are one of the best (if not the best) "Made-In-America" solutions available. Not only are these a great product, the company is fantastic to deal with (I ended up dealing direct with the factory, as the regional rep was quite slow to respond to some of my needs). Even the builder (who had never heard of Alpen) was quite impressed with them.

Their service along the way was impressive and they handled all of my various questions during the order process expediently. My windows arrived on schedule and they have continued to answer all of my questions.

I opted for their stainless hardware and I installed the slider locking mechanisms myself. Their accompanying hardware is top shelf.

For the record, I opted for their 725 series, which is their middle line. They also offer a a 325 series and also their top of the line 925 series.

If anyone has any questions, post here and I will answer to the best of my ability.

Hi John,

Glad to hear you've had positive results with your Alpen window purchase. Alpen 725 is on my short list for my new home. Would you mind giving me a rough per square foot estimate of what you paid?

Thanks!