The festivities are already beginning. People are hosting Christmas parties, work get-togethers, Secret Santas, and winter dinners.
With all of the guests, family, and alone time, homes need to be cozy in feel and appearance. How can you achieve this? One way to make this happen is with new doors and windows.
Sometimes, this is an overlooked feature of a house. New windows and doors have the power to pull together the style as a whole and add other benefits to the home, such as energy efficiency, security, and temperature control.
Homeowners can use this guide for ideas to upgrade their homes in aesthetic and practical ways. Whether the changes are minute or large, put some of them into action to complement your home. Maybe it means a new front exterior door and wide, modern windows! Read on for our tips to make your home cozier for the winter holidays.
Practical changes
Most important are practical changes that not only upgrade the appearance of a home but offer benefits. In the winter and during the holiday season, some benefits become important.
When it’s freezing outside with lots of snow and when the holidays are rolling through, energy efficiency, temperature control, and security are paramount. Installing new doors and windows helps meet each of these goals.
Energy efficiency
The temperature within the home can be more easily sustained, lowering your monthly energy bill. To keep the cold, dry temperature at bay, Centennial uses Low-E glass, an invisible, metallic coating that lessens penetration of ultraviolet rays and dramatically reduces heating and cooling costs in homes by reflecting heat into homes in the winter and out of homes in the summer.
At Centennial, double-glazed windows are filled with argon gas, and triple-glazed windows are filled with krypton gas. Both colourless gasses are heavier than air and improve the energy efficiency of windows by slowing heat transfer between the panes of glass.
These windows also use UPVC (unplasticized polyvinyl chloride) premium vinyl to resist bending, warping, fading, yellowing, or chalkiness. This type of vinyl dramatically improves window energy efficiency because of its low-conductive properties.
Temperature control
With many guests coming and going throughout the season, or even just throughout one evening, the doors are opening and closing often, letting the harsh weather in and the warm temperature out. With Centennial sliding patio doors and double-glazed windows, the heat is better maintained inside your home. One of the ways the glass we use promotes temperature control is the partnership between two materials: Super Spacer and hot-melt butyl.
Let’s explain. Super Spacer is a non-metallic, silicone rubber strip separating the two glass pieces in a double-glazed sealed unit. Hot-melt butyl creates an impermeable seal, keeping the argon gas inside a sealed unit.
These materials work together to ensure strength in the windows, eliminating drafts, leaks, and corrosion. Additionally, Centennial window frames and sashes are filled with polyurethane foam to improve heat insulation, sound insulation, and structural strength.
In front exterior doors, we use weatherstripping along the frame to seal the door to the jamb when the door is closed, ensuring there’s no cold draft, as well as a sweep made from a flexible rubber that seals the bottom of the door panel to the sill. All materials used at Centennial Windows & Doors work cohesively to great effect.
Security
While your guests are enjoying a warm stay in your home, they’ll also be reaping the rewards of new doors that offer increased security. No need to worry about uninvited guests or listening for the sound of the door opening when you’re on another floor. Centennial front exterior doors use two important pieces that improve their strength:
- A lock block sits on the inside of the door panel to provide support to the handle and deadbolt and resistance to attempted forced entry.
- The core is filled with polyurethane foam to provide insulation and sound deadening but also added strength.
Aesthetic changes
While the practical changes to your home for the holidays and the winter include upgrading your windows and installing new doors, the aesthetic changes add the finishing touches to the new additions and make for a festive atmosphere for you and your guests.
Dressing up windows and doors on the exterior
Centennial is all about windows and doors, so functionality isn’t the only thing we excel at. We also offer options in the frame, style, wood grain textures, and colour so homeowners can get a product that complements their style.
On top of that, it’s the season of decorations. Take your new doors and windows to new heights with some of the following accessories:
- Twinkling lights that match the holiday being celebrated
- Wreaths
- Garlands
- New light fixtures
- Potted plants
- New shrubbery
Dressing up windows and doors on the interior
Windows and doors aren’t just for the exterior of your home. They connect the interior and exterior so there’s a view going in each direction.
Don’t forget to take advantage of both sides of the windows and doors, especially if something like sliding patio doors are in use. See if any of the following aesthetic changes match your style:
- Plant stands or hanging plants
- New curtains, curtain rods, or blinds
- New lighting (different hues)
- An area rug
- Firewood
Centennial Windows & Doors can help
New windows and doors are the start to revamping your home while experiencing more energy efficiency, better temperature control, additional security, and a cozier environment. Make it yours. Try out our door designer today and get ready for the upcoming season.
