Which Window Types Work Best for Chicago Homes?

Window types for Chicago homes are really window types for Chicagoland weather that also have to look right on a bungalow, a two-flat, a ranch, or a Northshore colonial. This page is the operation guide: hung, casement, slider, awning, picture, and the combinations people actually buy. It is not a trophy list. McCann Window & Exteriors, Inc. will spec more than one type on the same house when the rooms disagree, which they often do.

Chicago winters punish a weak lock. Summer humidity punishes a track nobody cleans. Pick the operation you will actually use with one hand.

Double-hung

Two sashes slide vertically. Crack the top in winter without opening the bottom onto a snowbank. Many replacements tilt in for cleaning, which matters on a two-story house. The meeting rail is the historic look on a lot of street elevations. Air leakage can be a bit higher than a cam-lock casement if weatherstrip is tired. New weatherstrip on a new unit closes most of that gap. Window air conditioners still want a hung opening or a different cooling plan.

Casement

Cranks out, locks by pulling the sash into the frame. Strong on a windward wall. Screens sit inside. Measure the swing so you do not hit a walkway or a patio table. Egress can be excellent if the unit is wide enough. A pretty narrow casement in a bedroom can fail egress. We check that instead of assuming.

Slider

Common on ranches and over kitchens. The interlock and the rollers are the story. A dirty track is why the door or window “got heavy.” Easy daily operation. Less classic on a formal front. Fine on a rear elevation.

Awning

Hinges at the top, opens out. Good over a sink, in a basement, or where rain should shed while the unit is cracked. Not the first choice as the only bedroom window if egress is a question.

Picture and combinations

Fixed glass for the view, with a venting unit beside it so the room can breathe. The classic living-room triplet is a picture flanked by hung or casement units. Those combinations have flashing needs a single hole does not. Changing a triplet into one big picture window also changes the look from the street. Do that on purpose.

Bay, bow, and garden

These are structure plus glass. The head and the seat board have to be real. A pretty bay with a tired roof over it is a leak. We will not treat a bay as three independent inserts if the unit is a system.

How we help you choose

As a Pella Platinum Elite Certified Contractor, an Andersen Premier Certified Contractor with Marvin also available, we can show you real examples of each on the consultation, side by side, so the comparison is honest instead of one-sided.

35 years in this climate. About 50% repeat and referral. Crews 10 to 15 years. We don’t play pricing games. Straightforward pricing names the operation and the series. We show up. We clean up. We deliver what we promise.

What we will not do with types

We will not put casements on a formal front just because they seal well if the street wants meeting rails. We will not put sliders on a historic bungalow elevation because they were cheaper that week. Type is architecture plus climate plus how you live. Write those three down before anyone talks series.

Ready to improve your home’s comfort and efficiency? Call McCann Window & Exteriors at (847) 562-1212 or visit McCannWindow.com to schedule your free consultation today.

Egress and one grille language

Sleeping rooms need types that meet egress. A pretty picture unit that fails that test is not a pretty choice. Match exterior color and grille language even if operation follows the room. Street hung, side casement, kitchen awning, picture where you sit is a house. Random sliders on a 1926 bungalow street is a mistake. McCann maps types in the room, not on a laptop. 847-562-1212.

Additions often got sliders because they were cheap. Attics that became offices need egress and glass that does not cook the room. Basements that became bedrooms need wells, not hoppers pretending. Type is a plan for the house you have now. Bring elevation photos to the measure. 847-562-1212.

Double-hungs for street and bedrooms. Casements for tight seals on side walls. Awnings over sinks. Pictures where you sit, with an operator beside them. Hoppers only in true basements. Bays as systems, including the roof. 847-562-1212.

Blinds versus cranks, furniture versus swing, and who actually opens the window belong in the type choice. A type that never opens is not better on a chart. 847-562-1212.