Not only does keeping your house in good condition contribute greatly to the comfort and well-being of your family, it also enhances the safety of your home by ensuring it can’t be breached by the elements. To make certain that your windows and doors are strong enough to stand up to whatever Mother Nature throws at them, proper maintenance is essential. Follow this checklist provided by Renewal by Andersen of Northeast PA as you work to maintain your windows and patio doors throughout the year.

• Check the weatherstripping. Weatherstripping is a durable, flexible material used to prevent air and water leaks by sealing the tiny gaps and cracks that can be found between the frame and sash of your windows. If your weatherstripping is no longer in good condition or not staying in place, consider contacting your window installer.
• Inspect your window finish. Take a look at the interior and exterior finishes of your windows. If the surface is damaged in any way, it may be necessary to repaint or restain the damaged portion. Before doing so, however, it’s best to consult your contractor or the care and maintenance guide for your windows and doors to learn the right type of cleaning solution to use in preparation for any painting or staining.
• Examine exterior caulking. Caulking surrounds the edges of your window frame in order to keep out air and moisture. If you find any loose caulk, remove it completely and reseal the gap with fresh caulk.
• Check your window and door hardware. Test and closely examine the hardware on all of your windows and patio doors, including the locks and operating mechanisms. If they’re not working correctly or seem to be failing, ask your contractor for a fitting replacement.
• Tighten things up. Keeping things clean and tight will ensure that your windows and doors work better longer. Do this by tightening all hardware screws and cleaning any dust or dirt from the hinges, tracks and sills of your windows and doors.
• Find a buddy. Some window maintenance will require a ladder. Whenever you need to use a ladder, ensure your safety by taking precautionary measures and asking someone to support it from the ground.
• Follow safety precautions. Working with paint and cleaning solutions can be hazardous to your health. Be sure to take your safety seriously and wear protective clothing and eyewear when appropriate.

After inspecting windows that are old or outdated, you might feel it’s time to think about double-pane replacement windows from Renewal by Andersen of Northeast PA. Give us a call today at 610-798-1708 and our experienced staff will guide you through the entire process, from selecting your windows and replacement doors to installing them.

The post 2019 Home Improvement Checklist: Mind Your Windows & Doors appeared first on Renewal by Andersen of Northeast PA.

Our next Renewal by Andersen of Northeast Pennsylvania family member we would like to introduce is Tim Snyder.

Installation Manager. I manage the technical measures, installation and service processes.

How long have you worked for RbA?

8 years

What do you like most about your job?

Meeting new customers and knowing they made the right decision going with Renewal by Andersen of Northeast Pennsylvania.

What is your interaction with RbA customers like?

Always enjoyable. Understanding they just made a large investment to replace their old windows and doors, they may be a little nervous. After I spend time with them going over the entire project and measuring for each new window, it’s always nice to see them become more at ease.

What makes you proud about working at RbA?

The teamwork. Everyone in the company is always focused on delighting the customer every time and knowing that we deliver by installing the best replacement window on the market.

What has surprised you most about your work?

The overall growth. Every year, we continue to get bigger and better.

What’s your favorite thing to do/favorite place to visit in Northeast PA (can be outdoor activity, shopping spot, town to visit, etc.)?

I really don’t have one specific place; however, I have always had an appreciation for the outdoors. So I have always enjoyed just taking in all  the scenery NEPA has to offer. Seeing all the mountains, lakes and wildlife never gets old to me.

What makes you laugh?

I really look forward to our family vacation every year in Ocean City, MD. Always plenty of laughs there.

Favorite thing to do?

Any time I can get on a golf course is always a good day.

The post Meet the RbA of Northeast PA Team: Tim Snyder appeared first on Renewal by Andersen of Northeast PA.

Our next Renewal by Andersen of Northeast Pennsylvania family member we would like to introduce is Joe Winters.

What is your role at RbA?

President. I’m responsible for providing overall strategy and direction for the business.

How long have you’ve worked for RbA?

7 Years

What do you like most about your job?

Working with the entire RbA Northeast PA Team to try to delight our customers in everything we do for them and their homes.

What is your interaction with RbA customers like?

Always trying to figure out a way to do something that our customer doesn’t expect, but that will end up delighting them.

What makes you most proud about working at RbA?

Our ability to help our customers put the absolute best windows and patio doors in their homes.

What has surprised you most about your work?

How fast the business has grown and the number of very satisfied customers we have helped with making their homes more energy efficient and beautiful with their Renewal by Andersen windows and Andersen patio doors.

What’s your favorite place to visit in Northeast PA?

Visiting the Lehigh Valley Zoo with my granddaughter. She loves the penguins and giraffes.

Favorite vacation destination?

Bermuda

Go-to snack?

Pretzels

The post Meet the RbA of Northeast PA Team: Joe Winters appeared first on Renewal by Andersen of Northeast PA.

Our next Renewal by Andersen of Northeast Pennsylvania family member we would like to introduce is Lindsay DiPierdomenico.

Lindsay, what is your role at RbA?

I am the Customer Care Manager/Office Manager. I ensure all departments have the best practices for delighting our customers.

How long have you worked for RbA?

3 years. The longest I’ve stayed anywhere because of the team and how well Joe treats us!

What do you like most about your job?

Getting to connect with a diverse customer base and working alongside my peers to problem solve tough situations!

What is your interaction with RbA customers like?

I usually get the tough phone calls. I love being able to get customers back to a good place or being able to come up with a solution that delights them.

What makes you proud about working at RbA?

Working for an owner/brand that holds integrity and “taking care of the customer” above anything else. Coming from the hospitality industry, I know that excellent customer service is very hard to come by.

What has surprised you most about your work?

How long I have stayed at RbA. I usually get bored and want to try something new. Every day is a new adventure, and I am NEVER bored.

What’s your favorite place to visit in Northeast PA?

My husband, daughter, and I like to travel throughout Northeast PA in our RV and seek out breathtaking hiking spots. Our favorite last summer was the PA Grand Canyon.

What makes you laugh?

Jared, our Sales Manager, always makes me laugh because he has a funny remark for mostly everything!

Favorite pizza topping?

I love pepperoni pizza.

The post Meet the RbA of Northeast PA Team: Lindsay DiPierdomenico appeared first on Renewal by Andersen of Northeast PA.

 At our last Window Replacement Lunch & Learn in February we were able to answer questions about the installation process, our unique and patented Fibrex material in which our windows are made out of and how you can save money by replacing your windows.  We also demonstrated how our windows operate.  This month’s event will be no different as John Hasili, a design consultant with us here at Renewal by Andersen, will be on-hand to answer all of your questions during this informal, yet informational, presentation.

If you would like to attend on Saturday, April 18th, please RSVP to 610-849-2805.  Seating is limited so please be sure to RSVP.  This event will be held at 9am at the Hampton Inn located on Rte. 248 in Easton, PA.  Breakfast will be catered by Panera.

The post RSVP – Breakfast & Window Seminar – April 18th appeared first on Renewal by Andersen of Northeast PA.

Fight the energy monster

Vendors at the 12th annual Eastern Pennsylvania Home Show in Allentown feature ways to bring down home heating costs.

By Jack Romig
Special to The Morning Call

Colder weather finds the energy monster stalking once more around your house, robbing you of heat and trying to empty your bank account. Taking the icy wind out of his sails will be one of the main focuses of the 12th annual Eastern Pennsylvania Home Show Saturday and next Sunday in Ag Hall at the Allentown Fairgrounds.

Plus, a good “monster” — a huge, plasma-screened display that digitally remodels a whole home’s exterior — will be sure to captivate visitors.

“Naturally, a fall show is concerned with heat conservation as we head into winter,” says Charmagne Harris, show coordinator for Connecticut-based Jenks Productions, which runs the event. “As you’d expect, the vendors will spend a lot of their energy on energy.”

Pocono Home Exteriors is a good example of one vendor eager to show off an energy-saving product. The Blakeslee, Monroe County, company is an all-around provider of home improvements, among them siding, roofing and whole-house remodels.

Owner Don Verge says his firm will be working closely with one of the show’s most visible vendors, Mastic Home Exteriors. This manufacturer hopes to wow attendees with a 60-foot trailer that, with its plasma screens, takes up one whole row on the show floor.

Verge says this venue can show prospective buyers what their remodeling ideas will look like on their own houses. “We go out on a consult, and we take a digital picture of a house,” he says. The image is fed into a computer equipped with display software, and the customer then can see what a range of improvements will look like on his or her house — variations in color, exterior cladding, stone facing, windows, different siding selections and more.

Pocono Home Exteriors also will display siding that incorporates built-in insulation. The insulation, available with R ratings from 3.5 to 4, is contoured to the siding and goes up at installation.

And, contrary to what consumers might think, Verge says it’s not too late to consider installing a new exterior treatment this season. “We side all year,” he says, adding that customers who schedule winter projects receive a seasonal discount.
Although the energy-saving ideas from Maui Kitchens, Allentown, are not seasonal, they are significant. “One big thing is LED lighting, which uses about a fifth of the energy of old incandescents,” says owner David Iacovone. “They have no filaments, and they last 50,000 hours, which is pretty much indefinitely. These days all our floodlights and under-cabinet lights are LEDs. That’s what we use.”

Iacovone says his customers are just as strongly focused on energy savings in the kitchen appliances they buy, and in the new doors and windows that are usually part of the company’s whole-kitchen remodeling projects.

Front and center at the Maui Kitchens booth will be a painted or glaze-finished kitchen island, which offers among other features a new place to locate microwave ovens. (Some homeowners dislike above-the-range mountings, Iacovone says.) The island on display at the show will include a countertop in concrete, an option that offers versatility in size, color, edge treatments and possible inserts or inlays.

Insulation is key for the window-replacement customers of Bethlehem’s Renewal by Andersen of Northeast Pennsylvania, says Lynann Everett, interactive marketing manager.

For instance, the company’s double-pane windows, including bay, double-hung and casement varieties, include an insulating space filed with an argon-gas blend between panes. A metal oxide coating on glass surfaces “maximizes visible light while reducing solar heat gain,” Everett says. “In winter, the coating helps keep heat in. In summer, it helps keep it outside.”

Everett adds that the coating makes windows easier to clean “and reduces water spotting up to 99 percent.”

Renewal by Andersen also installs year-round. “Winter is a good time to do it,” Everett says. “There’s only one window out at a time, and we seal up each room while we’re working. Because of contraction caused by the cold, you get the tightest fit with windows installed in the winter.”

Tru-Comfort, a Bethlehem-based provider of heating, air-conditioning and indoor air quality products, also will be focusing on energy-saving solutions.

Jeff Frantz, Tru-Comfort sales manager, says setting up individually controlled zones in a home saves on energy. One system that effectively does that, he says, is the Mitsubishi ductless heat pump. The wall-mounted units, each with its own thermostat, can heat individual rooms. Alternatively, they can be installed with multi-zone outdoor units that serve up to eight zones, each with its own controls.

“Users can save around 50 percent on energy costs compared to conventional electric heat,” Frantz says. “These units can deliver 100 percent of their rated heat capacity when temperatures outside are down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit. The only thing that can beat that is geothermal.”

Reprinted from: https://www.mcall.com/features/home/mc-homeshow-sunday-real-estate-1019-20141017-story.html

The post Bundle Up on Energy Saving Tips! appeared first on Renewal by Andersen of Northeast PA.

As the nights are turning colder many homeowners begin to turn on their heat, and as their heat costs rise so does their interest in energy-efficient products – such as Renewal by Andersen replacement windows.  The Renewal by Andersen staff enjoyed talking with visitors of the show and letting them know about Renewal by Andersen’s energy-saving windows which meet or exceed ENERGY STAR® efficiency performance criteria. For more information on the energy efficiency of Renewal by Andersen’s products visit our “Energy Efficiency” page here on our website.

The post Allentown Fall Home Show appeared first on Renewal by Andersen of Northeast PA.