Experts In New And Replacement Windows

AMEK Inc. has more than 16 years of experience working with Twin Cities homeowners, including helping them find the right replacement windows for their home.

AMEK also has earned a reputation for bringing new home improvement products to market, including fiberglass siding, solar shingles and composite windows from Marvin, Pella and Andersen.

Contact AMEK today and learn for yourself how how they earned their reputation.
If you are considering replacement windows and like the price of vinyl and performance of wood? Check out Andersen's Series 100 line of composite windows.
If you are part of the big remodeling year expected in the Twin Cities consider adding new windows into the mix. Call 952-888-1200 for a free consultation.
Latest From Our Blog

Vinyl vs. Fiberglass And Composite Replacement Windows

In the last 10 years the choice for replacement windows has expanded beyond wood, aluminum and vinyl to include both fiberglass and composite windows, made from a combination of fiberglass and wood pulp.

The new products offer homeowners more options to replace window sashes, the part of the window that opens and closes, and each option has pros and cons.

Vinyl windows came to market in the 1970s and gave homeowners looking for replacement windows a less expensive alternative to wood or aluminum. Continue reading Vinyl vs. Fiberglass And Composite Replacement Windows

Evolution Of Replacement Windows

To help make a better replacement window choice it helps to understand how windows are put together and what advances have been made in home windows.

First, the basics. There are several parts to a window:

  • The sash is the part with the glass and the material around the glass holding it in place, or the “frame” of the window. The sash is what opens and closes in a window.
  • The sash is held in place by side jambs and the “head” jamb at the top. The bottom of the area around the window is the “sill.”
  • There is “trim” around the window on the inside and outside of the home.

Prior to the 1950s all parts of the window were typically made of wood. If a window pane cracked, broke or needed replacing a new sash could be built if the glass pane couldn’t be removed and replaced. Continue reading Evolution Of Replacement Windows

Newest Replacement Window Options Is Fiberglass

While fiberglass siding is beginning to gain traction among homeowners, the material’s counterpart in replacement windows has been on the market for several years.
Marvin Windows’ Integrity line of doors and replacement windows are made from a proprietary process generating Ultrex&reg pultruded fiberglass.

Ultrex&reg fiberglass is as strong as steel and more than eight times stronger then vinyl, according to Marvin. That strength protects the windows from the elements, including hail, wind and the stray neighborhood baseball.

In fact, the fiberglass replacement windows are strong enough to endure a motocross motorcycle and hockey pucks, as the videos below show.

The patented acrylic finish on the replacement windows is bonded with the surface to prevent dings, scratches, nicks and chipping as well as fading and UV degradation.

That leads to virtually maintenance-free replacement windows and also allows using far less of the material in the window’s profile to maintain strength, meaning there is far more visible glass area allowing more light into a room.

While fiberglass is stronger and more rigid than other types of window material, it also has drastically less expansion and contraction than aluminium, wood/vinyl composite and vinyl … particularly vinyl windows. Continue reading Newest Replacement Window Options Is Fiberglass

New Materials Offered In Replacement Windows

Materials and technology used in windows continues to advance past the wood windows that dominated the early 20th Century, to the steel and aluminum windows introduced in the 1950s to vinyl windows that appeared in the 1970s.

So far this century composite and fiberglass windows have been added to the mix, both offering stronger, more durable options that profess to last longer than other window types while providing a ‘greener’ alternative for homeowners looking for eco-friendly products.

Both composite and fiberglass replacement windows are made from material manufactured using a proprietary method. Marvin Windows uses pultraded fiberglass to build windows, a material it calls Ultrex®. Continue reading New Materials Offered In Replacement Windows

Minneapolis St. Paul Among Tops For 2012 Remodeling

Construction market watchers are predicting a rebound in remodeling projects across the country this year in general, and in the Minneapolis St. Paul region in particular.

That’s the word from Hanley Wood’s Remodeling magazine, which has released its ranking of the top 20 market areas in the country for remodeling activity in 2012, the first step in following up its inaugural Top 100 Markets list from last year.

The list indicates that only Houston will exceed the Minneapolis St. Paul metro area for remodeling activity for in the coming year. The list combines permit activity, household surveys and demographic and general economic data to compile the list which indexes activity against the decade-high mark of 2007.

The magazine cites the Twin Cities’ corporate and medical technology base, it’s educated workforce and lower-than-average unemployment in predicting a 6% rise in the number of remodeling projects.

In a separate report, Remodeling magazine compiles ongoing statistics about the cost recouped by remodeling projects, including kitchen remodels, master suite additions and living room addition.