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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1965-07-22, Page 16Congratulations to . . . on the completion of their CENTRALIA PLANT JOHN R. McCONKEY General Insurance 360 Queens Avenue London, Ontario Our Congratulations to DASH WOOD PLANING MILLS THIS POPULAR BOW WINDOW IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY DASHWOOD STYLES Old fight—same decision Wood easily whips aluminum There have been so many general statements made on the subject of wood vs alu- minum that maybe, as one great man once said, we should look at the record. This article will deal with the subject as it relates to the heating of surfaces such as house siding, windows, storm sash, screens and ventilated awnings when ex- posed to the sun and the effect therefrom on the tem- perature inside the building. Most of the data used are contained in Building Mater- ials and Structures Report (HMS) entitled "Solar Heat- ing of Various Surfaces" which is a publication of the National Bureau of Standards —sort of a bible on the sub- ject. All authorities agree that a dark surface absorbs heat and becomes warm when ex- posed to the sun, so we will dismiss dark surfaces with- out further discussion. Various kinds of surfaces were exposed to the sun by the Department of Standards and their temperatures de- termined. A surface covered with glossy white paint was cooler than any other tried and that one covered with flat white was nearly as cool. It is reasonable to believe that the tendency of an ex- terior covering to impart heat to a house is increased as its temperature in- creases. Most aluminum siding is pre-coated or painted on the outside surface. This im- mediately changes the re- flective property of the sid- ing from the value of alumi- num to that of whatever color is used, and seldom is that color white—that best of all reflectors. When it comes to heat conduction, woo d—painted or unpainted—is so far su- perior to aluminum as an insulator that it is positively amazing. Engineering figures show that, in a given length of time, aluminum of a given thickness and area will transmit almost 2,000 times as much heat as will a piece of wood of the same dimen- sion; and this means hot sun heat into the house or other building in the summer and expensive furnace heat out of the house in the winter. Is it any wonder that those with windows of aluminum (or, for that matter, any metal) cannot sit within sev- eral feet of them on a cold winter day without feeling the Rill force of Jack Frost's attack. Just touch the different materials with your fingers and you will understand why the area around the alumi- num window is so uncomfor- tably cold in the winter. These cold surfaces cre- ate drafts and also we lose at least a small amount of our body heat to them by radia- tion, thus adding to our dis- comfort. This is even notice- able when sitting near the best of all metal windows— those in railroad diners and Pullman cars, which are built of metal because of structural reasons. Unfortunately, this condi- tion is made worse by infil- tration around the edges of metal windows and storm sash due to the contraction of the metal because of low temperature. Aluminum is worse than steel in this respect as it shrinks twice as much as steel. And to aggrevate the condition still more, the alu- minum and steel shrink in the winter—when we would like them to swell to make a tight joint—and then ex- pand in summer, causing sticking—when we would prefer a little looseness. Investigation by the Pitts . burg Testing Laboratory disclosed that, when placed over the same window, a make of wood storm sash marketed in large quantities throughout the nation was five times as effective in preventing cold air infiltra- tion as the best of the alumi- num storm sash and those of other metals. When it comes to keeping heat from the sun out in the summer and heat from the furnace in during cold months, the above data merely confirms actual ex- perience that wood is by far the best answer—and it looks better, too. As for the expense of painting windows—well, we paint wood only because we believe it gives wood a nicer appearance. Not many people will say that unpainted alu- minum looks very nice sev- eral years after installation; and few people enjoy the condensation which is fre- quently experienced during the winter months on the interiors of metal windows. Know le s Li thog raphing Co CREATIVE PRINTING INSIDE EFFECT ATTAINED FROM THE BOW WINDOW OPM 4 Exeter Times-Advocate