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Re: GBlist: ideal environmental window
Ideal environmental window? It's a tough question. I like the idea of
really good paint, except for two caveats: Today's homeowners don't want
the maintenance associated with a painted exterior surface as tedious to
re-paint as windows; and traditional, good exterior paint is probably as
bad for the environment as aluminum, accounting for manufacturing, and
lifetime costs (that's not a studied conclusion- just my opinion).
During the 5 years I worked for Pella, I never heard talk of Steel
cladding. My only guess would be that it is more difficult to work-
especially in the field. Aluminum can be cut in the field with
carpenter's tools. Steel can't. Does steel have less embodied energy than
aluminum? I know that the factory applied finishes of steel siding are
warranted against rust for a long, long time, so that's not really an
issue.
Ponderosa pine is an ideal material to make wood windows from in many
respects. However, it does rot easily, and is not generally harvested
"greenly". Perhaps there are other wood species with similar
characteristics such as machineability and thermal performance, that
would be naturally more rot resistant. Any wood scientists out there?
Chris Koehn
Top Ridge
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