Get A Free Estimate
What is A Single-Hung Window?
A rectangular frame with 2 sections of glass inside. One on top of the other. The top section (or sash) is stationary. The bottom sash slides up. Only the bottom sash goes up & down. This is sometimes referred to as a vertical single slider. The factory screen for a single-hung window is always a half screen (just over the half that opens).
It is sometimes confused with a double hung window, but a double hung is different because both the bottom and top sashes move up and down.
When compared to a double-hung window in the same line, the single-hung windows would be more secure, tighter sealed, have a stable frame, require less service, & be easier to operate.
Single-Hung Windows are More Secure
The top sash is permanently fixed in the window main frame with a meeting rail at the bottom of the top sash that is permanently adjoined to the 2 side jambs of the main frame. This gives a fixed rail for the top of the bottom sash to latch into. A double hung window has no fixed meeting rail in the middle at all. Both sashes float in the mainframe.
Some people think double hung windows are more secure at night because one can lower the top sash a few inches for ventilation and no one can crawl in through the top. The problem is to lower the top sash you must first unlock the bottom sash. The two sashes lock into each other. Both must be unlocked to open either. Anyone can crawl in through the bottom when the top is down. No window is secure unless it is closed and locked.
Single-Hung Window Benefits in Phoenix Mesa, Arizona, & Surrounding Areas
A Single-Hung Window Frame is Easier To Operate
Since only the bottom sash is opened on a single-hung window, it is always low and easy to get to. Even when it is time to close it, you only need to grab the bottom and pull it down.
It is a different story for the modern double hung windows in the southwest United States. The tops of Double hung windows are very high up close the ceiling. The old double hung windows from 20 to 60 years ago were lose fitting, lightly weather-stripped and small (2- 3 foot wide and 3-4 feet tall). The energy codes were negligible and the windows were low. It didn’t take much to reach the top.
The modern double hung windows are very tightly weather-stripped and have an inter-lock where the 2 sashes meet to keep air from flowing between. This helps allow them to meet modern energy code and air infiltration requirements.
This results in the two sashes rubbing each other when raising and lowering them. So, when you lower the bottom sash to lock it, the interlock at the meeting rails, nudges the top sash down, slightly.
You can’t latch them without pushing up on the top sash at the same time you are pushing down on the bottom sash. This isn’t a problem for small and short windows. When the bottom of the window is 2½ feet off the floor and the window is 5 feet tall, it is a problem to push up on the top sash being it is 7½ feet in the air.
