Construction Continues: Wasco Windows Installed

By Matt

On March 20th our windows arrived from Wasco. Wasco (Wisconsin Aluminum Supply Company) is a company out of Milwaukee that manufactures European style PVC windows with highly energy efficient thermal and air boundary properties. Their Geneo line of windows with triple pane glass has U-factors around 0.15 or an R of 6.5. Since the house was designed to be net-zero and contains many passive house like elements the windows are an important aspect. They have to keep the heat in during the winter and the air conditioning in the summer so as high a possible U-factor is critical. They also need to let the sun in during the winter to heat up the concrete slab. The glass has an SGHC (solar heat gain coefficient) of 0.557 (The higher the better) which is pretty reasonable for a triple pane glass window. Here you can see our blog post about how we chose Wasco windows and doors.

We ordered a total of 18 windows and doors. A total of thirteen triple pane windows, one each facing east and west, two facing north and nine facing south. There are three full glass doors. Two swing doors and one sliding door. The swing doors face east (to patio) and west (main door), while the large slider faces south. The remaining two windows are simple double pane windows that face north out of the garage which is an unheated space.

The windows are European style tilt and turns which means they open inward rather than outward and depending on the orientation of the handle they can either swing open or tilt inward. They also have several attachment points when locked assuring that the sash seals tightly to the frame when closed.

Installation was a difficult process due to the extreme temperatures we were having around install time (< 30 degrees F) and timing issues. We had been working with a particular individual at WASCO windows that had indicated he would come up with the windows and help do a couple of installs. Well on the day of delivery we learned that employee had jumped ship so no installation examples were going to happen that day, which is probably good because our window openings had not been prepped due to subcontractor time constraints and the weather. The owner of the company David Paulus agreed that he would personally come up (a 4+ hour drive) and help with the install a week later. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication and when he arrived our build team was not ready. At least he was able to look at our situation and give some guidance on what to do prior to his next visit a week later. We so appreciated that David Paulus agreed to make the drive again and the next time he arrived we had the men and materials to prep the openings and do the install. Here are some of the results!