LESLIE: Alright, calling in with a window question we’ve got Dennis from South Carolina. Welcome.
DENNIS: Hi, my question is – I have a townhouse and I’d like to put hurricane-rated windows on the upstairs where I can’t get to put my steel shutters.
TOM: OK.
DENNIS: And I’d like to know if the glass can be replaced without putting in the window frame or you need to put a whole new window in. I didn’t know if there was anything like that. And what does the DP50-rated mean? Is that good enough for two or three category?
TOM: Good question. OK, first things first. You can’t just replace the window glass because it’s really a whole structural unit and the glass has to be impact-resistant and shatterproof and all of that. And DP50 is the rating for the durability of the glass. DP50 glass is going to qualify for the Miami-Dade code, which is considered to be the toughest in the country.
LESLIE: Right, and it’s up to 173 miles per hour.
TOM: Yep.
DENNIS: Oh, that’s good because I’ve seen them advertised here. That’s the rating that they use and I think I want to do that.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Yeah, that’s what you need. That’s what you need but you’re going to have to replace the entire window.
DENNIS: OK.
TOM: They’re pretty expensive but they do stand up.
DENNIS: Yeah, yeah. I know.
TOM: Listen, on our website, we’ve got a free downloadable chapter from our book My Home, My Money Pit. It’s called “Your Complete Replacement Window Guide” and right now it’s linked off the homepage, so you might want to check that out. Download it and just read through that. It’ll give you a lot of the sort of replacement window 101 background information that you need. Also talks about what is required to qualify for the energy tax credit.
DENNIS: OK, that’s good. That’ll give me some information when I’m going into the stores so I’ll have a little background.
TOM: That’s right. Alright.
DENNIS: Oh, thanks a lot.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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