Architectural Imports Northwest

Access® Window: Loewen trade name for a window designed to allow the sash to rotate 180° outside the window frame.
Active Panel: Primary operating door panel.
Argon Gas: An inert, colorless and odorless gas used to fill the airspace between insulating Low E glass.
Assembly: Single units mulled together.
Awning Window Unit: A combination of frame and sash, hinged to allow the unit to pivot from the top with the sash opening to the exterior of the building.
Balances: A block and tackle system used in the jamb liner of Double Hung or Single Hung units.
Bay Windows: A series of windows installed in a bay configuration (two flanker units and a center sash). A bay may be an arc or a polygon. A bow is simply a bay configuration that approximates an arc. See Bow Windows.
Bow Windows: A series of adjoining window units, installed on a radius.
Brickmould: An exterior moulding of window and door frames that abuts the exterior facing material of the structure.
Cam Lock: A lever-operated lock which is used to prevent intrusion through the sash.
Capillary Tubes: A tube inserted into the insulating glass spacer that allows the inside and outside air pressure to equalize in higher elevations.
Casement Window: A combination of frame and sash, hinged to allow the unit to swing open from the side like a door, with the sash opening to the exterior of the building.
Cladding: Wood window and door parts which are covered with an extruded permanent colored aluminum jacket on the exterior side of the frame and sash.
Cottage Style Window: A window with unequal sash, top and bottom.
Direct Set: Refers to a window with no sash. The glass is glazed directly into the frame and is stationary.
Divided Lites: Division of light by the use of muntin bars.
Double Hung: Double Hung windows have two movable sash which operate vertically.
Double Hung Renovation Pak: A specially designed package which includes everything needed to replace Double Hung sash and hardware in an existing frame without changing the frame.
Finger-Joint: A series of fingers machined into the ends of two pieces of lumber to be joined together. They are then held firmly in position by adhesive. Finger-jointed wood is very strong and has a lesser chance of warping than does a clear piece of wood the same length.
Fixed-Operating-Operating-Fixed (FOOF): Description of Patio Door configuration.
French Chateau® Casement: A Casement-styled unit with two sash in one frame providing a sense of openness unrestricted by a vertical mullion or stile when both sash are open.
French Terrace Door: Loewen French Terrace doors are available in either inswinging or outswinging rectangular or arch-top style choices. Doors are hinged on the left and right to allow both doors to open/close from the middle.
French Patio Door: A wide bottom rail gives this door a classic Mediterranean look.
Glass Size (GS): The measurement of the actual glass, not the visible glass.
Glazing: Installing glass into windows and doors.
Glider/Slider: Horizontal operating units which have one sash fixed while the other glides open and shut horizontally.
Grilles: Removable wood dividers made to simulate True Divided Lites. Grilles are easily removed for cleaning purposes.
Grilles Between Glass (GBG): Flat or contour bars divide the glass visually. Because the grille is between the glass, grilles do not become misplaced or damaged. Cleaning is easy without small panes of individual lites.
Inactive Panel: Secondary operating door panel.
Insulating Glass (IG): Two panes of glass separated by a spacer and hermetically sealed together with dead air space between the panes.
Interior Casing: The casing trim used on the interior perimeter of the window or door. Generally supplied by others except in the case of round top casing which is factory supplied.
Jamb Extension: A jamb-like member, usually surfaced on four sides, which increases or extends the depth of the exterior or interior window or door frame; jamb extensions imply a larger depth than wood jamb liners.
Laminated Glass: Glass composed of two sheets of glass fused together with a sheet of transparent plastic between the sheets. When broken, laminated glass will generally not leave the opening.
Laminating: A method of gluing strips of thin clear wood to the lengthwise surfaces of finger-jointed material to provide the appearance of clear stock.
Low E Glass: Low E stands for low emissivity. The lower the emissivity, the higher the percentage of long-wave radiation blocked, thereby improving thermal performance. Low E glass is coated with a thin microscopic, virtually invisible metal or metallic oxide layer. The primary function is to reduce the U-Value by suppressing radiative heat flow. A secondary feature is the blocking of short wave radiation to impede heat gain.
Masonry Opening: A brick, stone or block opening into which a window or door unit is installed, including the outside casing.
Mission Window: Loewen name for product that simulates traditional styling with a wider bottom rail.
Mulling: The act of attaching two or more window or door units together. The joint is then finished with a mullion center cap or mull trim.
Mullion: The vertical member of a sash, window or door frame between openings in a multiple opening frame.
Multi-Lock Hardware: An adjustable lock system used to ensure a tight seal and provide a secure locking system.
Multi-Point Locking System: A line of standard or optional multiple-point locking mechanisms installed on the operative panel(s)/sash of various Loewen products to enhance security and performance.
Muntins: The actual bars that comprise a grille. The muntin bars of a grille create a pattern in the window.
Obscure Glass: Glass formed by running molten glass through special rollers. These rollers have a pattern on them causing the glass to become patterned and thus obscure.
Operator: An operating sash, panel or unit.
OSM: Outside Measurement.
Pitch: A term used to describe the angle of a roof. For example: A 4-12 pitch indicates that the roof rises 4” vertically for each 12” horizontally.
Plinth Block: A decorative wood block placed between the vertical casing and the top casing of a unit to provide an elegant interior casing profile.
Prime: The first coat of paint in an application that consists of two or more coats; also refers to the paint used for such an initial coat: primer.
Push Out: Suite of Loewen windows featuring a simple outswing mechanism. Casement, Awning and Access models available.
R-Value: The resistance a material has to heat flow. Higher numbers indicate greater insulating capabilities.
Rabbet: A groove along or near the edge of a piece of wood.
Radius: The length of an imaginary line from the center point of a circle to the arc or circumference of a circle.
Rail: The cross or horizontal member of the framework of a sash, door or other panel assembly.
RF: The percent of visible light reflected from a glazing system.
Roto-Gear: A term used to describe the steel drive worm, gears and crank device used for opening awnings and casements.
Rough Opening: The opening in the wall where a window or door unit is to be installed. Openings are larger than the size of the unit to allow room for insulation and to shim the unit square.
Round Top: Generally a semicircular window that is mulled to the top of another window or door, thus forming the round top appearance.
Sash: The operating and/or stationary portion of the window unit that is separate from the frame.
Sash Lock: A locking device which holds a window shut.
Screens A: close-mesh woven screen material used to inhibit entry of insects, yet permit light, air and vision.
Sidelite: A stationary or operating glass panel mulled to or installed next to a door.
Sill: The horizontal member forming the bottom of a window or exterior door frame; the lowest member of the frame of a structure, resting on the foundation and supporting the frame.
Simulated Divided Lites (SDL): muntins permanently adhered to the interior and exterior of the glass.
Single Hung: A window very similar to a Double Hung window, except that the top sash is stationary or non-operable.
Sliding French Door: A sliding door utilizing French door-style panels.
Solar Energy Transmittance: The percentage of the solar spectrum energy (ultra violet, visible and near infrared) that is directly transmitted through the glass product.
Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC): The ratio of solar heat gain through a glazing system compared to that of an unobstructed opening.
Shading Coefficient: Relative measure of the total amount of solar energy that enters a building space through a glazing system compared to the total amount of solar energy that enters a building through a single 1/8” clear glass pane.
Spacer: Used to separate the two pieces of glass in an insulating glass panel.
Square Foot: For measuring the area of a unit. RO width (in inches) x RO height (in inches) divided by 144 equals the area in square feet of a unit.
Stile: The upright or vertical perimeter piece of a sash, panel or screen.
Stool: A horizontal trim member that laps the window sill above the apron and extends beyond the interior casing.
Tempered Glass: Float glass panels heated and then cooled rapidly in a controlled environment. This process makes the glass several times stronger than regular glass. It also makes it safer because when broken it yields small pebble-like fragments.
Template: A pattern of a window unit from which dimensions and measurements can be determined.
Transom: A window above a window or door.
Tranquility® Glazing: Loewen trade name for a sound reduction glazing system.
U-Factor: A measure of total heat flow through a window or door barrier from room air to outside air. Lower numbers indicate greater insulating capabilities.
% UV Transmittance: The percentage of ultra violet radiated wavelengths allowed to be transmitted through the glazed product.
Visible Light Transmittance (VLT): The percent of visible light transmitted through a glazing system.