Why do we make fiberglass?
Where it’s critical to quality, we manufacture our own fiberglass. With quality control that starts at the materials level, we’re able to deliver on the promise of the A-Series product line, which is our best-performing and most energy-efficient product line. Our fiberglass is made by encasing continuous, dense strands of glass in resin. Once solidified, the shape of the material is strong and stable, which means it’s tough enough to stand up to some of the worst weather conditions, including hurricane-force winds.*
See how we combine the strength and stability of fiberglass with our exclusive Fibrex® composite material to create a cladding for our A-Series product line, at right.
Explore our fiberglass products
What are the benefits of our fiberglass windows and doors?
All our materials are chosen because they deliver the benefits below. Here’s what to know about the benefits of our fiberglass-composite cladding:
Strength and durability
Fiberglass is made of continuous glass strands set in resin. The result is exceptional strength, stability, and integrity over time.
Beautiful aesthetics
The strength of our fiberglass-composite A-Series frames allows for expansive glass with thin, detailed profiles.
Low maintenance
The exteriors of our A-Series products never need painting and won’t flake, rot, blister, peel, pit, or corrode.*
Energy efficiency
Fiberglass is an insulating material, especially when paired with wood like we do with our A-Series windows and doors — our most energy-efficient product line.
Get started specifying
Product guides
Sizing resources
Installation resources
How does our fiberglass product compare to other fiberglass products?
Fiberglass is a manufactured material. The materials and processes used to produce it can result in a higher or lower-quality output. Let’s look at how our A-Series fiberglass-composite-clad wood product line compares to other fiberglass products:
| Low-quality fiberglass windows and doors | Fiberglass-composite windows and doors | |
|---|---|---|
| Strength and durability | The density of glass strands, continuity of glass strands, resin, and many other factors can affect the final quality of fiberglass. Not all of it is equally high performing. | Our fiberglass is made of continuous, dense strands of glass set in resin. In combination with our exclusive Fibrex material on the exterior and solid wood interiors, our products are stable, strong, and rigid. |
| Beautiful aesthetics | Lower-quality fiberglass might have a significantly bumpy finish texture, called telegraphing. This can detract from a product’s overall aesthetics. | Thin, detailed profiles that are strong enough to hold expansive sheets of glass, along with the timeless wood interiors, add beauty to our A-Series windows and doors. |
| Low maintenance | Generally, fiberglass is a low-maintenance material. However, it sometimes requires waxing. Check the warranty to understand if the product you’re considering requires special maintenance. | Fiberglass-composite-clad A-Series products never need painting. They won’t flake, rot, blister, peel, pit, or corrode.* They’re warrantied against corrosion for the life of the products, with no washing or waxing required.* |
| Energy efficiency | To understand the efficiency of a competitive product, look for its National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) performance reporting and be sure to look at “whole unit” U-Factor or SHGC values, rather than “center of glass” values. | A-Series products have seals that go beyond what’s standard. Double-hung windows include dual-bulb seals, and casement windows have refrigerator-type gaskets. Additionally, triple-pane glass is available with all A-Series products. |
| Price | Fiberglass windows offered by other manufacturers run the gamut in terms of price. In some cases, this material is used in the most expensive product lines, and in other cases, it’s used in the least expensive. Sometimes, it’s used in both, which drives home the point that fiberglass varies in quality. | Our A-Series offers the highest performance and greatest energy efficiency of any of our product lines. It also comes with design flexibility. For these reasons, it’s a premium product line with a price to match its expansive offerings like size, color, and more. |
*Visit andersenwindows.com/warranty for details.
Takeaway: The manufacturing of our A-Series product line starts with the engineering of much of the fiberglass and all of the Fibrex material used in these products. We use our own purposefully engineered materials to add strength and durability, making this product line our top performing and most energy efficient, with most products achieving a Performance Grade (PG) 50 rating and specific products meeting Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS) standards. The control we gain by manufacturing many of our own materials also allows us to offer detailed frame profiles that can authentically enable a variety of architectural styles. This is how we leverage materials plus design to deliver both aesthetics and performance.
Our fiberglass is exceptional, but that’s not the only underlying reason behind the quality of our A-Series product line. There’s also the design, which leverages the best qualities of the material to reach peak performance and aesthetics. Don’t take fiberglass at face value — it’s not all the same.
