Innovative Products: Andersen Easy Connect Joining System

With many of us spending our days bathed in artificial light, it’s no wonder we crave natural light at home. But installing massive windows to let that light in takes a lot of manpower and can turn tricky in an instant. 

To satisfy consumer cravings while keeping installers safe, Andersen debuted the Easy Connect joining system for its A-Series windows. Easy Connect is an interlocking system designed to simplify large window installations and reduce the number of installers needed.

The system consists of factory-assembled window combinations—often, an awning and casement—that are fitted with fiberglass joining plates prior to jobsite arrival. Each combination slides into place in the rough opening, where the plates lock together to create a reinforced mull and one enormous window.

“From the builders I talk to, a very common response is, ‘I wish I would have had this last month, because I had a job where I needed something like this,’” says Steve Berg, Andersen technical marketing manager. Out of 156 contractors surveyed by the company, nearly 70 percent said they could reduce the number of installers by half using the Easy Connect joining system.

Andersen’s system has a rough opening maximum of 12 feet in one direction, with no maximum in the other direction. The fiberglass plates—replacements for the laminated veneer lumber (LVL) plates for all A-Series windows—prevent thermal transfer and provide the strength needed to meet air, water,
and structural pressure requirements.