What Materials are New Windows Made From?
Windows are made from a variety of materials each with their pros and cons. 

Vinyl Replacement Windows

Vinyl windows represent the largest portion of market share in the replacement window industry. There is a variety of reasons for this all of them contributing to make vinyl the preferred material for windows. Vinyl is a material that can be extruded which is an important attribute. A well built window frame will have a great deal of hollow areas to it. The reason for this is there needs to be adequate width to the frame in order to bridge the thickness of the exterior wall, for the sides top and bottom. If the window were made in a solid fashion it would be overly expensive, be incredibly heavy, and believe it or not would not present with insulating properties as good as air.

In the manufacturing process the frame of a vinyl window is created by extruding raw vinyl into complex shapes and chambers to provide the necessary size and strength. Thus from a manufacturing process stand point vinyl works extremely well.

Another aspect to vinyl is its ability to resist heat transfer. What this means is if it's cold outside the vinyl does a good job keeping the heat inside your home from being transferred to the out side. Conversely, if you are in a hot area, and are expending money keeping your home cool, vinyl will perform well by keeping that heat out, and the cool in.

The only downside to vinyl is that there is a limitation on color selection. There are windows produced in different colors, but not all manufacturers bother with that, primarily because of concerns regarding fading.

Wood Replacement Windows

Replacement windows made of wood are a very popular choice of material. However, most of the wood windows sold, for replacement purposes, are actually, clad windows. What this means is the window has been covered, on the exterior only, with a material that is usually either vinyl or aluminum. The reason for this is to reduce the amount of maintenance needed to keep the exterior of the window in good shape. Wood, left to the elements, will need periodic painting and eventually will degrade and begin to rot. By covering the window with an impervious material, the window will be much better equipped to withstand rain, and the effects of damaging UV rays emitted by the sun.

The question might be then why not just install vinyl windows and avoid all that. The answer is many consumers prefer the aesthetic look of wood windows for the interior of their homes. In addition, even though the window may be clad, it will better resemble a traditional wood window from the exterior than a full vinyl product.

It may surprise you to know that a high quality wood replacement window are usually more expensive than vinyl ones. Many people assume that windows made of wood will be cheaper than those made of other man made materials. The big question you want to ask yourself prior to shopping is if wood is a viable option for you due to maintenance concerns. If it is not, then you can eliminate that and reduce the pool, or amount of products you need to look at in order to make the best decision.

Fibrex Replacement Windows

What is Fibrex- Fibrex windows are a unique product that is made by Andersen Corporation. Basically it is a composite material that is made of wood fibers mixed with copolymers or epoxy resins. The division that carriers this product line is called Renewal by Andersen and their presence in the window marketplace is to sell replacement windows, as opposed to Andersen which primarily sells to the new construction industry.

Pros- Fibrex replacement windows will not rot, or need maintenance of any kind. It is not a wood clad product so there is no natural wood at all that could deteriorate over time. In addition it can be painted and has more of a traditional wood window look than an all vinyl model.

Cons- This product line is very expensive relative to all other lines that are out there and thus suffers from a reputation of being overpriced. The windows also carry a much shorter term warranty than most vinyl windows.