604-WINDOWS - 604-946-3697 - Window & Door Glossary

2009-11-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

Argon Gas:	A colorless and odorless gas used to fill the airspace between panes of insulating glass. The addition of argon gas greatly increases the thermal performance of a window by minimizing heat transfer.
Awning:	A window that is hinged at the top of the sash, so that the bottom of the sash can swing open to the exterior of the building.
Balances:	A system used in tilt double-hung or tilt single-hung units that makes it easy to open and close your windows.
Bay Window:	A stunning picture window combination that extends outside the house and is flanked on either side by operating casement or double-hung tilt windows placed at 30-, 45- or 90-degree angles. Available with head and seat boards.
Bottom Sweep:	The specially designed, flexible material at the bottom of a door that resists air and water infiltration and helps to ensure a tight seal.
Bow Window:	An elegant series of three to six casement windows gently angled in a bow shape that extends outside the house structure. Generally, the units on the far ends are operational. Available with head and seat boards.
Caming:	Usually brass or lead, caming is the ornamental material used to bond decorative glass components together.
Casement:	A window that is hinged on one side, allowing the window to swing open to either the right or the left.
Check Rail (Meeting Rail):	The horizontal members of a tilt double-hung sash that meet, and the vertical members of a slide/by sash that meet.
Circle Top (Round Top):	Direct set quarter circles, half circles, half ellipses, arch tops, ellipses, full circles and gothic arch top windows that can be used alone, in combination or stacked above another window or door.
Clad:	Refers to wood window and door parts that are covered with aluminum or vinyl on the exterior side of the frame and/or sash.
Direct Set:	A stationary window unit in which the glass is glazed directly into the frame, with no operating sash members.
Divided Light:	Division of light by the use of muntin bars.
Door Rollers:	Two sets of tandem steel wheels with ball bearings for smooth operation. Usually found on sliding patio doors.
Double Hung Tilt:	Both the upper and lower sash of this window slide up and down to allow air into the room, as well as tilt into a room for easy cleaning on both sides.
Drip Cap:	A formed aluminum piece that is installed at the top of clad windows and doors to allow water to run off the unit instead of seeping around and behind the unit.
Edge Glued:	Process of gluing wood together in order to make a wider or thicker piece of lumber.
Eyebrow:	Round top window consisting of a partial radius head. Typically used above a tilt, casement window or French door.
Frame:	The combination of the head, side jambs and sill of a window.
French Casement:	A beautiful combination of frame and sash, hinged at the left and right side jambs, with the center astragal attached to each sash, allowing both sash to open at 90 degrees and giving a clear center opening with no center mull post to obscure the view.
French Doors:	Panels are hinged at the left and right side jambs, and open from the center. Optional center-activated flush bolt system for added security.
French Sliding Doors:	Available in two-, three- and four-panel combinations that provide the look of a French door with the space-saving benefits of a sliding door.
Furniture Door:	Innovative and convenient entry door system with an operating sidelite to expand the door opening and provide greater entry space when moving furniture or large items.
Garden Bay:	A picture window that extends outside the house structure and is flanked on either side by operating or stationary casement windows placed at 90-degree angles to the interior wall. This window has a glass overhead pane to allow sunlight to flow directly into the window area – great for plants!
Glazing:	Refers to both the type of glass used in a window and the actual process of installing glass in the window frame or sash.
Grilles:	Horizontal or vertical bars applied to the exterior, interior or both sides of the window glass for the purpose of design. Some grilles can be removed for easy cleaning.
Hardware:	The locks, cranks and hinges on windows and doors used to make them operational and secure.
Head:	The horizontal piece that makes up the top of a window or door frame.
Jamb:	The vertical (left and right) portions of a window or door frame.
Jamb Extension:	An extra frame member added onto the jamb to extend the frame to match the precise wall thickness of your home.
Jamb Liner:	The tracks found inside the jambs of double-hung and single-hung windows on which the sash slide up and down.
Lockset:	The complete lock system comprised of the lock mechanism, knobs, keys, plates, strikes and other accessories.
Low E Glass:	Low E stands for “low emissivity,” a microscopic coating on glass that helps keep your house warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Mulled (Mulling):	Joining two or more window or door units together to form combinations. The joint is finished with an exterior mull cap or mull trim.
Muntin Bars:	The narrow horizontal and/or vertical grilles in a True Divided Lite unit that separate individual lites, or panes, of glass.
Nailing Fin:	A leg of the extended aluminum or vinyl exterior of clad units that forms a 90 degree angle to the window and is positioned flush against the sheeting of the building. Clad windows are easily secured in the rough opening by nailing through the fin into the sheeting and jack studs of the rough opening.
Pane:	A single piece of glass within a window or door.
Parting Stop:	Weather stripping that prevents air and water infiltration. This is commonly found at the head and side jamb of a double-hung unit.
Picture Window:	A large, stationary window used to capture wide views of exterior landscape. Can be combined with other functional windows such as double-hungs and casements, and/or topped with direct-set or awning windows for enhanced views.
Picture Sliding Patio Doors:	A large, stationary picture window glass panel flanked by one or two sliding panel doors that slide in front of the picture window panel to give sweeping views.
Rails:	The horizontal members of the framework of a window sash or door panel.
Rough Opening:	The opening in the wall where the window or door is to be installed, slightly larger than the size of the unit to allow squaring.
R-Value:	A measurement of how much a material resists heat transfer. A higher R-Value means a greater insulating effect and a lower rate of heat flow.
Sash:	The top and bottom horizontal rails and vertical left and right stiles that house the window glass.
Side Jamb:	The vertical left and right members of a frame.
Sidelite:	A narrow fixed or operating sash consisting of either steel or wood stiles and rails, glazed with clear or decorative glass and matching the sight lines of the entry door. Sidelites are typically mulled to the entry door on one or both sides.
Sill:	The bottom of the frame of a window or door.
Simulated Divided Lite:	Windows with grilles adhered to the interior and exterior of the window glass, in a variety of decorative options, to simulate the look of True Divided Lite.
Single Hung:	A window with two sash, where the bottom sash slides up and down and the top sash is fixed. Many single-hung windows also have a tilt-in option on the bottom sash for easy cleaning.
Slide-by:	Windows that slide open horizontally. Available in single, double and triple units.
Sliding Patio Door:	Up to four glass door panels that slide on tracks giving fast, easy access to the outdoors.
Spacer:	An anodized aluminum bar used to separate the panes of glass in an insulating window. ts are joined vertically.
Stacked:	When two or more units are joined vertically.
Stationary:	A non-operating sash, panel or unit.
Stop:	Molding set in place to hold, position or separate window parts.
Tempered Glass:	Float glass that is heated and then cooled rapidly to make it several times stronger than annealed glass. Standard in all doors, tempered glass is safer than annealed glass because when it is broken it falls into pebble-like pieces without sharp edges.
TFT (Thin Fin Trim):	Units that have an aluminum or vinyl-clad exterior frame with a rigid extruded nailing fin on head, side jambs and, possibly, sill.
Tilt:	Both sash of this window slide up and down to allow air into the room, as well as tilt into a room for easy cleaning on both sides.
Transom:	A window stacked above another window or door.
True Divided Lite:	Individual lites of single glass or insulating glass, separated by muntin bars.
U-Value:	A measurement of how much energy a material conducts. The lower the U-Value, the greater the insulating effect.
Weather Stripping:	A strip of resilient material designed to seal the sash and frame members to reduce air and water infiltration.

604-WINDOWS - Windows & Doors Glossary

604-WINDOWS - 604-946-3697 - Window & Door Glossary