When the sun’s out, it’s tempting to head outside for fun or entertainment at home. It can quickly become too hot, however, in the middle of the summer. Have you thought about expanding your living space to get ready for the summer months? Energy savings and escaping the Texas heat come to mind. Work to create a place you can spend time outside and still keep cool.
Why Create an Outdoor Living Space?
An outdoor living space gives you more room to relax and enjoy the summer. It opens up more possibilities for outdoor furniture. It can enable you to cook full meals outside for your family and friends. In addition, it can provide a larger play area for your kids. When you add a pergola or patio cover to your patio, you’re expanding the areas where you can be when you’re outside but want to stay in the shade. You’ll be able to enjoy spending more time outside without worrying about being in the sun as much or getting too hot.
How to Create an Outdoor Living Space
You may already have a patio you enjoy using. Consider expanding it to create a bigger space for hanging out or entertaining. When you expand the patio, you can add in an outdoor kitchen, more room for tables and chairs, and more room for other activities on the patio. Start by thinking of how you want to use the patio and what you might like if you had more room. Then, work on figuring out how much space you need and how you want the patio to look.
Covering Your Patio to Beat the Heat
Regardless of how large your patio is, a patio that isn’t covered is going to be hot. The wood used for the patio will be hot to walk on. There won’t be any shade to escape from the sun’s rays, and any patio furniture will be simply too hot to sit on. Instead, consider covering your patio with a patio cover or pergola. This allows you to extend your living space by making sure the area is cooler and ready to use whenever you want to be outside. Your patio or pergola will help with your energy savings. It will help keep the heat from exterior windows and ensure you have cooler places to sit.
Exterior Paint to Keep Your Home and Patio Cool
Exterior paint can make a difference in how much you’re able to use your outdoor living space. If you’re planning on painting the patio or patio cover, consider an exterior paint designed to keep the space cool like Coolwall exterior coating. This can be used on any surface to keep your home cooler throughout the summer.
If you’re ready to start entertaining or just enjoying your own backyard more, consider expanding your outdoor living space. Consider making your patio bigger, adding a cover, or using specially-formulated exterior paint to keep the space cool. When your space is cool and comfortable, you’ll be able to spend more time outside. Who said you can’t enjoy the outdoors during the Texas heat?
Replacement windows may look pretty similar to ones from the past, but new technology has significantly improved the way they look and how they work. Today’s windows include new technology designed to help them be stronger and far more energy efficient. The Anlin Del Mar replacement windows are designed to make your home more energy efficient, which means you pay less to heat and cool your homes. Check out some of the latest technology that’s used in these windows to see just how beneficial installing new windows in your home might be.
Updates to the Window Sash
New replacement window technology includes an update to the sash to help prevent heat from entering or leaving your home. A sash window has one or more movable panels, or “sashes”, that form a frame to hold panes of glass. These windows can also be called hung sash windows. Replacement windows include fiberglass thermal inserts in the sash. This helps to strengthen the key components of the sash and provides added thermal insulation. A green foam is also used strategically to fill spaces in the window frames, helping provide maximum energy efficiency. These updates help to fill what would normally be empty space, keeping your heating and cooling inside your home. This will help you save the life of your air conditioner or heater and keep your home comfortable year-round.
Updates to the Glass System
Glass makes a big difference in how energy-efficient your home is. By using the latest replacement window technology, your home can keep cooler during the summer and warmer during the winter. The insulated glass system used is filled with Argon gas, which is safe and maximizes energy efficiency. It also includes a triple-layer metal coating that’s not visible but that helps to reflect and block the sun’s heat. Modern windows also include a special coating that makes them easier to clean. Your windows will continue to work properly and look fantastic as long as you have them.
The dual-pane windows use Argon gas to help slow the heat that passes through the window. They also include a special spacer that’s designed to add insulation to your window and help slow down the transfer of heat. The spacer is a silicone foam spacer that helps provide better insulation. It’s designed to improve condensation resistance so you don’t have to worry about condensation appearing between the window panes.
Solar Reflective Technology
Solar reflective technology helps to keep the sun’s heat out of the home throughout the summer. The special G340 tinted triple silver coating helps to reduce solar heat and helps to lower cooling costs inside the home. When less heat is able to make it into the home, less energy is needed to keep the home cool. You could spend less on your energy every month because of this update available on today’s replacement windows.
Replacement window technology has come a long way in just the last few years. Double-pane windows with the latest technology and upgrades can outperform some of the triple-pane windows that are available today. If you want your home to be more energy efficient, take a look at the windows available now. Installing new Anlin Del Mar windows can help you see savings on your heating and cooling bills throughout the year, helping you save quite a bit of money.
Call Texas Home Improvement for all of your energy saving windows needs or other home improvement projects.
Click here for details on how you can receive $1500 off your next home improvement project.
There are many things to consider when going through a replacement window upgrade. The main things you should consider when embarking on this adventure are the size, shape, and energy efficiency rating of any windows you’re considering. However, there are quite a few other, lesser-known factors that you might want to take into account before making your final decision. Below are a few other factors we at Texas Home Improvement think are equally as important and offered by our favorite window supplier Anlin.
Sound Suppression:
Whether it’s from the noisy dog next door, the airplanes flying overhead, or the traffic on the nearby road – unwelcomed, unpleasant noise is always an annoyance. Find a window that doesn’t let more sound in but works to keep sound out. Anlin replacement windows have an optional and sophisticated sound suppression technology. It’s engineered to reduce exterior noise, making your home a quieter, more comfortable place to live. Click here to see and hear the difference.
Safety and Security ratings
A good night’s sleep doesn’t rely on sound suppression alone. Safety concerns can keep you up at night too, so find a window that cuts down the sound and locks tight. Although no window is 100% impenetrable, California has a Forced Entry test that measures a window’s ability to stay locked and closed under extreme pressure. Anlin voluntarily submits their windows to this pass-or-fail test. This helps ensure their customers that their windows aren’t simply well-made, but also safe for their family.
Frustration-Free Subcomponents
When you want to open your windows to let in fresh air or maybe remove the screen to clean your windows make sure your windows work with you not against you. Find a window that has long lasting and well designed rolling slides along with a sturdy screen frame. And, windows that allow for quick and painless removal. Anlin has sturdy aluminum frames with built-in rails for quick and painless screen management.
Energy efficiency and design will most likely be the main things that draw your eye when searching for replacement windows. But, don’t forget to take into account these four helpful factors and more. If you ever get overwhelmed or can’t figure out where to start, call Texas Home Improvement today. We can take you from window shopping, all the way through new window installation or window replacement all over Texas!
There are a number of reasons to replace your current windows: a desire for more sunlight, a better view, or upgrading the look of your home. Whatever the reason, you have a choice to make. Should you use energy efficient windows or the lower-cost alternative. Before going further, let’s look at what makes a window efficient. Depending on the outside temperature, you’re either gaining or losing heat through your windows. A well-insulated window will minimize the heat gain or loss. Windows that provide ample levels of insulation are considered energy efficient. When you consider the average replacement price per window is $300 to $700 per window[1]. It seems like a no-brainer that getting the less expensive window is the way to go. However, before deciding less is better, you should think about the benefits of high-quality, energy efficient windows. You just may find that investing in energy efficient windows may actually save you money in the long-run. Below are four benefits of installing energy efficient windows:
Cooler Summers and Warmer Winters
Energy efficient windows make sure the heat or chill on the outside stays there instead of seeping into your home. “Hot” and “cold” spots in your home are eliminated, and a barrier is formed to ensure the temperature in your home stays where you desire it to be.
Lower Energy Costs
While it’s true that energy efficient windows cost more than non-energy efficient windows on the front end, you wind up paying the difference-plus due to a higher energy bill. And, more money spent towards your energy bill means less money available for life’s other necessities, like groceries, extracurricular activities for children, clothing, and saving up for that bucket list trip.
Tax Deductions
When you upgrade you home with windows that meet the IRS’s designation of “qualified energy efficiency improvements,” you can claim a tax credit for 10% of the cost of the improvements, and 100% of the residential energy property costs.[2] In addition, your city may offer a tax credit for upgrading to energy efficient windows in your home.[3] For more details, be speak with your CPA or tax preparer.
Reduced Fading
Have you ever seen a dashboard in a car that began to fade over time due to exposure to the sun? The same can happen to carpets, furniture, artwork, paints, and wood. Energy efficient windows block more of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Which means, the expensive items you deem precious are preserved from fading and degradation.
Replacement Windows by Texas Home Improvement
Our replacement windows have an industry-leading energy performance rating. Want to know how much energy you’re losing and what your options are? Our experts will inspect your windows and let you know. Our windows and patio doors not only have industry-leading energy performance rating. And, a lifetime warranty is included. We provide quality installation and have financing options. Get a free estimate from our pros so you can stop those windows from wreaking havoc on your energy bills. Texas Home Improvement adds Anlin Windows Systems to its energy saving replacement windows roster. Anlin’s Del Mar luxury series vinyl energy efficient windows are designed for homeowners who demand the best from manufacturing to installation. From energy savings, to good looks, to security, to durability, Del Mar windows offer it all. Call Texas Home Improvement for all of your energy saving windows needs or other home improvement projects.
Call Now: 817-488-9966 in Dallas / Ft. Worth or 512-766-9696 in Austin.
As the kids start heading back to school, it’s a good reminder to do a checkup on your home efficiency. Home energy audits or assessments are a good step to assess how much energy your home consumes and to evaluate what you can do to make your home more energy efficient. An assessment can also show you the savings available over a period of time.
Also, a lot of air can escape from your home through spaces in your doors, windows and roofing. Texas Home Improvement windows and patio doors not only have industry-leading energy performance rating, but also a lifetime warranty and can help improve your home efficiency. They provide quality installation and have financing options. Get a free estimate from their pros so you can stop those windows from wreaking havoc on your energy bills.
Roofing Inspection
If you’ve had your roof for ten years or more, chances are you’ve experienced at least some hail damage and or normal wear that may warrant an inspection.
Asphalt shingle is a common roofing material, but residential roofs are also constructed with tile, wood, metal and slate. Call Texas Home Improvement for a free roofing estimate.
Energy Efficient Exterior Paint / Coating Options
Did you know that you can increase the efficiency of your home just by the type of exterior coating you have on the outside of your home? TEX·COTE® products and application systems are superior to other coating or exterior covering options.
Compared to…
TEX·COTE® products are…
So you get to…
Traditional Paint
Longer lasting
More reflective
More fade resistant
More moisture resistant
Save time and money on maintenance
Save on energy bills
Enjoy the “freshly painted” appearance
Avoid possible moisture issues
Vinyl or Metal Siding
Usually less expensive
More reflective
More fade resistant
More flexible
Available in any colors
Have money for other things
Save on energy bills
Enjoy the “freshly painted” appearance
Protect and beautify almost any surface
Get the color you want without sacrifice
Other Coating Systems
More advanced
Longer lasting
More reflective
More fade resistant
More moisture resistant
Enjoy the benefits of technology
Save time and money on maintenance
Save on energy bills
Enjoy the “freshly painted” appearance
Avoid possible moisture issues
Contact Us
For residents in Austin or the Dallas Fort Worth who would like more information on exterior coating, replacement windows, or patio covers, give us a call or contact us below.
Here’s a comparison of exterior paint versus Coolwall Exterior Coating. Listen to what a home improvement contractor had to say about Coolwall Exterior Coating.
I was happy with the work effort and the quality of the craftsmanship and I would use them again.
I called Texas Home Improvement because of the Coolwall system and the warranty on the paint. There’s not another company that offers that type of product. I painted my house about ten years ago and it was needing a new paint job. I was wanting a paint job that I didn’t have to mess with for the rest of my life. The point was to avoid the painting and get the other benefits from the Coolwall system.
I’m a home improvement contractor and I chose Texas Home Improvement for this job on my house. My house was built in 1914 and it’s one of the oldest one in the neighborhood. This is North Highmount in Fort Worth, TX. There’s special care that you have to take; you have wood replacement and prep work that’s a little more extensive than on a newer home, so it’s not just an easy job.
They gave me their assurance and stood behind that – that they would prepare it right and execute the job professionally. I was happy and pleased with Texas Home Improvement.
We escaped the Summer of 2017 with fewer 100 degree days than most years. However, as the heat started up in May, how are we protecting our homes and the exterior coating from being damaged by the harsh elements?
Protecting Your Exterior Coating
The sun can take a huge toll on a house and its exterior paint. It heats up any room it shines on and wears down the paint and exterior coating. It can shrivel up any plants that are in its direct path and more. What if there was a way to help your house minimize the time it spends with the air conditioning on? What if there was a way you could help your house fight the sun that didn’t depend solely on the thermostat?
One thing you can do is get the right exterior coating versus traditional exterior paint for your house. Don’t simply paint your house, look into products like Tex-Cote or hire a company that does. These products were created to withstand continued sunlight and to keep the interior of your house cooler by reflecting the sun instead of soaking it up. Buying any old paint from a store will spruce up the color of your house for a moment but buying a specialized paint can help protect the outside of your house from fading or deterioration and keep it at a cooler temperature.
There are many things to consider when going through a 
