It’s no secret the continuing skilled labor shortage is a major roadblock for remodelers. Today, more than half of remodelers turn down work or lose sales to competitors who can better meet the homeowners’ delivery expectations, reports the National Association of Home Builders.
Replacement window contractors are one of the hardest hit trades. In many parts of the country, windows pile up in warehouses and homeowners fume because the projects go unfinished. The result? Jobs, money, and opportunity sit idly on the table.
Full-frame replacement window projects can often give contractors advantages at least three ways:
- To create a water-tight seal when replacing vinyl windows, it’s best to completely remove the old window (including its nailfin) and install a new window frame with an integral nailfin that can be properly flashed. The shortcut of sawing off the old nailfin creates an unstable water plane that could result in water damage, an unhappy homeowner, and an expensive callback. The proper removal method often involves removing or cutting back the siding on the home, adding time and creating extra trim work. Best practice requires a water-resistive barrier, sealant and flashing tape, in conjunction with the integral nailfin frame.
- With fewer finished trim pros around today, the task of measuring, bending, cutting, and mitering a 5- to 6-foot piece of sharp, wobbly aluminum is often left to inexperienced hands. That results in jobs that often take too long and have high scrap, driving up the cost of the job.
- Aesthetic variability is a subtle but expected part of trimming out replacement windows. A seasoned pro is skilled at presenting the homeowner with a uniform, pleasing aesthetic across all installed windows. Less experienced crews will find it challenging when addressing this variability.
Solving these issues isn’t easy. One leading industry player has heard the concerns and understands the difficulties they present. The work of window manufacturer Alside presents the trade with a replacement window product that breaks new ground with material and time saving value, unmatched trimming simplicity, and the kind of high-quality aesthetics contractors can count on. Alside recently introduced a contractor-friendly window system that features a breakthrough called Trimworks with SwiftLock Technology.
The patented SwiftLock Technology provides the means to quickly and simply finish off the trim work needed on each window. “The challenge of welded vinyl windows is an inherent but slight variability in window dimensions,” explains Alside Senior Vice President Shawn Hardy. “SwiftLock Technology addresses variability with a snap-in-place trimming solution that exactly matches and fits the window frame, no matter size or configuration. Beyond the simple attachment, it requires no work to be done on the job site and doesn’t rely on accessory grooves at all.”
For an industry looking to improve productivity through reduced crew size and lower talent requirements, the timing couldn’t be better. Contractors now have a proven workaround that eliminates the metal bending, measuring, cutting, and mitering that can easily add up to 40 minutes of time to each window installation. Now any rookie can trim out a high-performing, thin-line frame in under a minute. The time savings can mean nearly seven fewer hours for every 10 windows on a job, taking days off the time needed to complete larger jobs. Those days can then be used on the next job, providing window dealers the opportunity to complete more jobs per year. This can not only improve revenues, but it can enhance profitability, too.
To learn more about Trimworks with SwiftLock Technology, part of the Mezzo Full-Frame Replacement System, visit alside.com/mezzo.
Click here to watch a short video on proper window frame replacements.
