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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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