Signs of Storm Damage on Your Roof

The majority of homes in Northeast Florida were built with inferior aluminum windows.  Aluminum windows have many faults, from drafty awning windows to single pane non-insulated windows; they let the outside climate bleed profusely into the comfort of your home.

The Problem

From the early 1980s to as recent as 2018, cheap track home builders used very inexpensive aluminum windows to keep their material costs low.  This did not do today's homeowners any favors.  These windows are subject to mechanical failures, such as spring balance systems rusting and breaking, making it difficult for the window to open and impossible for them to stay open.  In addition, the cast aluminum locks on these windows break, making it impossible for you to secure your home and family.

Aluminum window frames have high conductivity; this is because of the frame's material.  There's nothing to prevent outside temperatures from creeping into your home; be it the excessive summer heat or the few days of the year we get freezing temperatures.  This is very noticeable with the bronze or brown color aluminum windows.  These frames get so hot in the summer, our installers have gotten burned from touching the frame during removal.

Another issue with the bronze aluminum window frames is the butyl in the spacer between the panes of glass.  The butyl gets so hot and pliable that it can melt out from in between the glass panes, causing it to lose its airtight seal and let water in between the panes of glass, causing a seal failure.  This usually happens on the South and West sides of your home.  You'll be able to see it when the glass seems to get cloudy.

It's extremely rare for these windows to be insulated or have low-e glass.  In turn, they are the cause for carpet and furniture getting "sun bleached".  These types of glass panes are usually thinner and allow external heat and sounds to transfer into your home.  

None of these aluminum windows meet today's federal energy codes.  Today, an aluminum window must have a thermal break; this is something that keeps the outside of the frame from touching the inside of the frame making it more difficult for the outside heat to pass through the window into your home.

The Solution

Vinyl frame replacement windows are not new to the window market.  This technology has been around since the 1950s in Germany.  The tech recently got a bit of help from the federal energy code, making an energy efficient window a must.

The vinyl window market has become a battleground for manufacturers striving to be better and less expensive than their competition.  They offer better security, better quality of vinyl, and better Insulated Glass Units (IGUs) with more options.

Vinyl windows can eliminate the transmission of ambient temperatures.  They often have many air pockets in the frame that help insulate and deaden sound.  Galaxy Builders, Inc. offers vinyl replacement windows with a lifetime guarantee dual locks and a screen that will not bend upon removal.

Seal failure is less of an issue with vinyl windows because these types of windows stay cooler.  In some cases, you'll get this problem because of labor issues at the glass plants.  These are only two main glass distributors that make plate glass and they're used by most of the window manufacturers.

Most vinyl windows are white in color; but there are other colors such as beige and some premium colors and grid options that work well with historical homes and in the historical areas of Jacksonville, Florida.

Low-e glass is glass that has low emissivity of energy transmittance.  Our new vinyl windows meet and, in many cases, exceed the federal energy code with multi-chamber frames and insulated low-e glass.