Do-It-Yourself Storm Windows

With the cost of electricity, natural gas, LP gas and heating oil soaring higher and higher with each passing day, reducing the cost of heating and cooling one’s home is on every homeowner’s mind today. This is the time of year when many homeowners start to think about having their old, uninsulated windows replaced with new double or even triple insulated windows. A single replacement window start at over $140 and that does not include the cost of having them installed by a professional who has all the right tools and equipment to do it right. On the other hand, you can assemble and install your own magnetic storm windows for less than half of what one vinyl replacement window would cost you at a home improvement center.

You can do it with a hammer, screwdriver, tin snips, and a measuring tape. Magnetite, a company that has been in business for nearly thirty years sells the framing kits on line and through many home centers and hardware store across the country. The cost of the kits run from $29.95 for a 36″ X 36′ window kit to $69.95 for a 96″ X96″ window kit, less then the cost of the smallest double-hung vinyl replacement window. The kits do not include the Acrylic or Plexiglas that you will need to complete the storm windows but that available through most hardware stores and home centers. Plexiglas is easy to cut if you have the proper blade in your circular saw or table saw, but most hardware stores will cut the sheets to size for you and eliminate the cost of the saw blade. Acrylic or Plexiglas is more expensive than regular glass but it is 17 times stronger than regular glass and weighs 50 percent less than regular glass, which makes the storm windows easier and safer to handle. Plexiglas or other Acrylic sheets will run you anywhere from $2 to $5 a square foot cut to size. Everything you need to complete this project can be purchased on line, including the cut to size Plexiglas or Acrylic sheeting, but I recommend buying everything through your local home center or hardware store to save the cost of shipping and handling.

If you have never done anything like this before and would like to know exactly what is involved in assembling and installing magnetic storm windows you can go to the

I have used these windows on a number of homes and can attest to their effectiveness in preventing heat lost. In fact, I am getting ready to install them on a manufactured home that I just bought. The winters are really long and cold up here but these windows will keep old Jack Frost and Frosty the Snowman at bay. They not only prevent heat loss during the long, cold winters, they keep the cool A/C air in during the long, hot summers. Building and installing theses windows now will save you money all year round. The nice thing about them is that they snap in and out in seconds, so removing them for cleaning, or for letting the fresh air in is a breeze. Magnetite Web site and download the assembly and installation manual as a PDF document. You can order the installation kits directly from this site too. Acrylic sheeting or Plexiglas can be ordered cut to size from Professional Plastics at a very reasonable rate.