Casement vs Double-Hung Windows for Pacific Northwest Homes

Casement windows seal tighter and open wider than double-hungs, because the sash swings out on a hinge and presses into the frame when you lock it. Double-hungs slide up and down in the frame, keep the traditional look on older homes, and tilt in for cleaning. For most Pacific Northwest houses the honest answer is that you want both, in different rooms.

Here is how to decide which goes where.

How each one works

A casement is hinged on one side and cranked open like a door. Nothing slides. When you turn the handle to lock it, the sash pulls into the frame and compresses the weatherstripping all the way around.

A double-hung has two sashes in one frame, both of which slide vertically. Open the bottom, the top, or both. A single-hung is the same window with a fixed top sash, which costs less and is common in bedrooms and secondary rooms.

Both come in vinyl and fiberglass, both take double or triple pane low-e glass, and both are on the list of window styles we install.

How they compare

Sealing and energy

This is where casements win on paper. The compression seal on a casement is tighter than the sliding seal on a double-hung, so on a windy site or an exposed wall a casement holds a draft out better. That advantage is real, and it is also smaller than most people expect once you compare two modern windows with the same glass package.

The number that decides comfort and rebate eligibility is the U-factor on the label, not the style. A double-hung with a good glass package will outperform a casement with a cheap one, and every window on our quote lists its U-factor.

Ventilation

Casements catch wind. The open sash sticks out into the air stream and scoops a breeze into the room in a way a slider or a double-hung cannot.

Double-hungs ventilate differently and sometimes better for a bedroom. Open both sashes a few inches and warm air leaves at the top while cooler air comes in at the bottom, with nothing hanging out over a walkway.

One local point: a casement cranked open catches rain as well as wind. If a window faces the weather and you like sleeping with it cracked, an awning window, hinged at the top and opening outward at the bottom, does that job better than either style.

Egress, and why it decides some rooms for you

Bedrooms need a window that a person can get out of and a firefighter can get into. The rules are written around the clear opening you get when the window is fully open, not the size of the glass, and they also cover how high the sill sits off the floor.

That is where casements have an advantage. A casement opens its full width, so it can meet an egress requirement in an opening where a double-hung, which only ever gives you half its height, cannot. In older homes with short, wide bedroom windows this comes up regularly, and Cory checks the opening against the rules your city uses before anything is ordered.

Cleaning and upkeep

• Double-hung: both sashes tilt in on modern units, so you can wash the outside of an upstairs window from inside the room. That is the single most popular feature on these windows.
• Casement: you crank it fully open and reach around the sash, which is easy on a ground floor and awkward on a second story. Casements have crank hardware and hinges, which are wear parts a double-hung does not have.
• Screens: a double-hung screens on the outside, where the mesh sits in the weather. A casement screens on the inside, which keeps the screen cleaner and out of the wind, but means the screen is what you look through all the time. Either way, the mesh choice matters here more than people think, which we covered in choosing window screens that last.

The look, by house era

The old window in the opening is usually the best guide to what the house wants.

• Craftsman, bungalow and Tudor, pre-1940: double-hung, in the original proportions, with the grid pattern kept in the upper sash if that is what is there. A casement in a Craftsman street face reads wrong from the curb.
• 1950s and 1960s ramblers: these were built with sliders and picture windows. Casements suit them well, and they modernize the house without fighting it.
• 1970s and 1980s split-levels and two-stories: sliders in most openings, casements over kitchen counters and in bathrooms where reaching a sash is awkward.
• 1990s onward and modern homes: match what is there now, with casements and awnings around large fixed glass.

Where each one belongs, room by room

1. Over a kitchen sink or counter: casement. You reach past the sink once, turn a crank, and the window opens.
2. Bathrooms: casement or awning, set high, with obscure or tempered glass where code requires it.
3. Bedrooms: double-hung for the look and the tilt-in cleaning, casement when the opening is too short for a double-hung to meet egress.
4. Living room and dining room: a fixed picture window flanked by casements or awnings gives you the most glass and the tightest seal. Double-hungs on either side of a picture window keep an older house looking like itself.
5. Upstairs and hard to reach openings: double-hung, so you are not leaning out to wash glass.
6. Weather-facing walls: casement for the compression seal, or awning if you want to leave it open in the rain.

What Cory looks for

On the estimate visit Cory measures every opening, checks the header and the framing, and tells you which styles the opening will take: egress in bedrooms, reach over counters and tubs, whether a style change needs structural work, and how the sash will behave in the wind on that wall. He does every estimate himself and he is the owner, so nobody is steering you to the more expensive window. See what we install and how we price it, then get a written quote within 48 hours.

Questions homeowners ask

Are casement windows more energy efficient than double-hung windows?

The casement seals tighter because the sash compresses into the frame when locked, so on an exposed wall it holds out drafts a little better. The glass package matters more. Compare the U-factor on the label for both windows before you decide, since that is the number your utility reads for a rebate too.

Can I replace a double-hung with a casement?

Usually yes, in the same opening, without structural work, as long as the swing clears the outside. Going the other way is also possible. Cory confirms the opening, the header and the egress requirement on the visit before anything is ordered.

Which style is easier to clean on a second story?

Double-hung. Both sashes tilt in, so you can wash the exterior glass standing in the room. A casement on a second story means reaching around the open sash, which is why we often put double-hungs upstairs and casements downstairs in the same house.

Get the styles matched to your rooms

Cory measures every opening, checks egress and clearance, and gives you a written quote within 48 hours that lists each window by style, frame and U-factor. Ask for a free estimate and we will help you decide room by room.