Windows, Part 3

Whether you like it or not, most states today require by law that you install replacement windows that are of the dual pane variety.

But let’s get real for a moment … For even two thousand years glass windows have looked wonderful and done their job. For purists, some of the ancient windows were made of alabaster — cut very thin.

For all of that time they were made of one layer. One side of the glass was facing the world outside and the other side of that one piece of glass was facing the inside of the home or church or castle.

Then came technology. Just as with the pathetic joke of early “low flow toilets” that you had to flush seven times to get “everything” down the drain, technology has created a marvel in financial waste and expense called the insulated dual pane window.

Of course, the fact that the use of a dual pane window is the law and mandatory, well, that can’t possibly be due to construction industry pressure, can it?

Thanks to cheap or poorly implemented manufacturing processes many of these new dual pane windows will eventually trap moisture between the two pieces of glass. This moisture eventually condenses on the interior surfaces of the glass and will make the window look “fogged.” Because this moisture is trapped between the panes it cannot readily escape and thus once fogged the window will look quite ugly and the homeowner will usually want to replace it. Sometimes this “fog” will turn green with mold.

Replacing this fogged window is all very much like replacing one low flow toilet with another one of the very same pathetic capabilities. The homeowner has not solved the problem and instead he has only spent money on a solution that has little promise of permanent success.

Think about this. Windows have been around for millennia and they work fine and we are replacing them with something that, as an absolute certainty, will not last more than about 20 years.

As ludicrous as it may seem, dual pane windows are sold by the millions in America today and their sales have not been impeded by their lack of quality, their short life, or their lack of any true product warranty.