Casement Windows - Best Design

JackOfAllTrades

Is it true that by design, casement windows provide the best overall wind & air resistance for a window that opens? With single and double hung windows coming in 2nd and 3rd and then sliders coming in at last place.


Every slider I came into contact with LEAKED when it rained heavy. The water would build up in the channels and it couldn't drain fast enough thereby causing the water to spill inside of the home onto the wall. Plus sliders let in a TON of air through the track. You can actually feel the breeze.

creeper

I'm not a window expert, but I just had my leaky, ugly sliders replaced with casements. My very trusted window installer has casements

Easier to clean because you can reach your arm through the gap when fully open and there is no framing messing up your view

Just Bill

Your assessment is correct. Actually, a slider is just a DH turned on its side, but slopier. Independent tests show just what you said.

Windows on Wash

Very true.

Casements apply a clamping load to the sash that pulls the sash into the perimeter weatherstripping. The more wind and positive pressure, the harder the window seals into the frame.

It is also not reliant on a weep pathway to drain accumulated moisture from the glide track like a Slider window does.

Sliders are the leakiest in terms of air as well because of the large unsupported span across the middle of the window. This span is very sensitive to positive pressures and can easily leak air in wind as well as well a static pressures.

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Ironlight

That may all be true but I have not met a casement window I liked. They warp, they get balky to close, etc. I've had new casement windows that failed, mechanism wise, within a year. Our previous house had about 10 of them in an addition on the back. Three of them did not work and they were less than 10 years old. They were Anderson. We did another renovation, adding two high quality tall casements. One of them warped enough within a year that the top latch would not catch without pressure from the outside.

I would love to know in general how much more efficient a casement window is than a doublehung. Is there some generally accepted percentage? If it's not large then I would steer clear of them.

Windows on Wash

There is no real appreciable difference in efficiency of the glass with the exception that the meeting rail in the middle of the double hung is a bit more of a thermal bridge.

Biggest difference is in the actual air infiltration performance.

Casement are much better these days and I can say that we have only had a few issues with any units we have installed from over 5 years ago.

Sounds to me like the unit wasn't properly backloaded if it is having operational issues in a tall unit.

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JackOfAllTrades

With Anderson, you should have had a lifetime warranty.

Every window design can have problems. My sliders STICK all the time, more so when the humidity changes. My single hung window spring broke so the opening and closing was compromised.

Ideally, fixed windows work the best because there are no moving parts.

From what I have researched, casement provide the best seal for windows that open.

JackOfAllTrades

Weep pathways are a PIA. They never work properly, especially in high wind driven rains. Are not drain holes meant for sinks and showers, not for windows?

Do casement windows have drain holes?