Pro’s Picks: Pella Steady-set Windows

Michael Anschel

Otogawa-Anschel Design + Build / Minneapolis, Minn.

Pella Steady-set Windows

We've been installing windows for a long time. Rarely have we encountered an innovation that totally changes how we install the windows. Now, we have not just one but six innovations in a single window that completely change how we install windows. Rather than run through all of the new features, I will focus on the three that excite me most.

1/ The flip-and-click brackets allow us to install the window inside the framing. Once slipped into the receiver, the clip locks into place, and now the window is in the exact location it needs to be when it's installed.

We're not carrying windows on ladders or messing around with scaffolding. We have a very simple, very safe, and consistent installation system.

2/ Head stabilizers keep the window in the opening. These windows also have head stabilizers, which engage with the wood framing above, allowing one person to install the window independently.

3/ Flashing fin provides airtight integration with WRB. Many windows have nailing flanges; these windows have a flashing fin. The fins are folded against the window frame and held in place with fin guards until they are installed. When the guards are removed, the fins are folded out for a fully integrated flashing fin, which is remarkable. It's a substantive change from how we've done it in the past. Previously, the challenge was getting our flashing tapes onto the window unit's frame.

With this system, we're fully flashed as long as the flashing tape is somewhere on the yellow. Those silly sticky foam corners are gone. Instead, we have a rubberized connection between the fin and the frame that is flexible and watertight. At the bottom fin is a subtle geometry that allows for any water that gets in to get back out again.