Wood windows are by far the best looking window frame material on the market. The natural beauty of wood simply outshines vinyl, fiberglass, aluminum and composite frames (although certain composites come close, such as the Andersen 100 window.)
Most windows made today are wood clad, meaning they use a real wood species on the inside on the window and a more durable material on the outside. This provides consumers with the best of both worlds, beauty on the inside and durability on the outside. But this comes at a price.
The relatively high cost of wood windows is the principal reason why most homeowners go with a frame that isn't real wood. The overall price range for fully installed wood windows is roughly $400 to $1,400 for a normal sized double hung window. The average or mid range cost is $600 to $800 fuly installed for a normal sized wood window. The cost of installation will usually account for 25% to %35 of the total cost of the replacement.
Most other window frame materials blend into the home and nobody really notices them (this might be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your perspective). Wood windows, on the other hand, really stand out and bring significant aesthetic value to a home. Most manufacturers offer different wood options, although the most popular wood species include pine, white pine, mahogany, oak and maple. Many manufacturers also offer different stains, which provides a wide arrray of colors, tones and hues to the look of the wood.
Besides the high cost of wood windows, there are two additional noteworthy downsides. The first is their performance numbers, which simply can't compete with inorganic materials such as fiberglass and vinyl. The use of fiberglass and vinyl on the outside of most wood clad windows do help thire performance numbers, however a wood window can never achieve the same air infiltration or U-factor numbers of vinyl or fiberglass windows. Finally, wood windows require periodic staining or painting in order to maintain the overall quality of the wood. Without this care, the windows will not retain their high aesthetic level, which is usually the reason that homeowners purchased them in the first place.
