The nuts and bolts of windows and doors

At Modern-Shed, we have done extensive research to find the most appropriate window and door lines to meet our customer’s needs and style. We searched for windows and doors with lifetime warranties, high-quality sustainable or recyclable materials with modern styles and energy efficiency.

For windows and sliding glass doors, we chose companies based right in our backyard of Tacoma, Wash., Milgard and Ply Gem. For single and French doors, Codel Entry Systems was the manufacturer of choice.

When Modern-Shed was started in 2005, owner and designer Ryan Smith wanted windows and doors with a very slim and modern profile to fit the mid-century modern architectural design, so he chose Milgard’s aluminum series.

As energy codes became stricter, however, we needed to find some alternatives to offer customers in our northern and southern climates and so added the Milgard Ultra Fiberglass line, as well as Ply Gem vinyl windows.

Before getting into details about the different windows and doors, it is important to note that small structures cannot be price quoted by the square foot because there is a very large differential in price between window type by material and manufacturer, which can change the price of the same 120-square foot shed by as much as 35 percent. 

Aluminum

Milgard’s aluminum series windows and doors are manufactured to the highest quality using anodized aluminum available in two colors, silver and dark bronze.

At Modern-Shed, we use only the company’s “thermally improved” windows and sliding glass doors. As a recyclable product, aluminum provides a sustainable, “green” choice.

Although these windows and doors have a slim profile and are Energy Star-rated, they aren’t quite efficient enough for stricter energy code requirements in northern and southern climates.

Vinyl

Ply Gem windows and doors are made of durable, recyclable high-grade vinyl and offer a less expensive, yet more energy efficient alternative to aluminum. As a standard, Modern-Shed specs all Ply Gem windows and sliding glass doors with their high performance LowE, Argon glass units.

Ply Gem wastes no vinyl in their production and recycles 100 percent of any waste from the frame manufacturing. Modern-Shed looked at other vinyl window manufacturers but none had the combination of having a slim profile, energy efficiency, quality materials and lifetime warranty.

All of the Ply Gem products we offer come standard with stainless steel hardware and upgraded screens. We only offer the upgraded Pro and Premium Series line, enabling our customers access to the exceptional EuroGlide lift ‘n’ slide patio door. Ply Gem windows are available in eight frame colors.

Fiberglass

The ultimate in windows and doors are the Milgard Ultra Fiberglass line at the high end of the spectrum. These are tough, durable windows and doors offering a slim profile. These windows and doors meet all energy codes, have stainless hardware and come in seven exterior colors and four interior colors.

They are even available with real wood veneer in the interior and can better hold larger panes of glass compared to aluminum or vinyl.

For single and French-style doors, we chose the Codel flush glaze French and single doors because of the smooth surface and integrated flush glazing giving it a contemporary look and feel.

The fiberglass door is strong, durable and carries an excellent warranty. We don’t use the bottom of the barrel hardware, but upgraded satin nickel finish locksets.

To date, Modern-Shed has not had a single call back on the Codel Doors. We remove the door panels and hardware from the frame and use professional painting practices to paint the doors to the customer’s chosen color in our factory.

We also offer smooth steel single or French doors by Codel to keep the customer’s belongings out of sight.