News Trends & Tips: Great Style for Ranch Homes
Updated windows and doors help refresh these hardworking homes

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. October 22, 2007 — It’s the house in which many Americans grew up, and today homeowners are falling in love with the original ranch home all over again.

As proof of its revival, the classic suburban ranch home was the favorite architectural style of respondents in the Perfect Home Survey, a home improvement study commissioned by window and door manufacturer JELD-WEN. Given a choice between eight architectural styles, more than one in four homeowners surveyed said ranch was the type of home in which they would most like to live.

The most commonly built home from the 1950s to the 1980s, ranches, or California ramblers, are known for their long, narrow, low-to-the-ground appearance.  However, their rooms can feel dark, cramped and outdated, especially to new buyers who crave lots of natural light.

“Homeowners love the floor plans of traditional ranch homes,” said Rod Clark, product marketing manager for JELD-WEN. “But not all ranches feature an abundance of style or energy efficiency. Updated windows and doors can transform ranches to fit the needs of today’s homeowner. Window and door technology has come a long way since the beginning of the ranch era more than 50 years ago and can help bring new life to worn-out, dark living areas.”

Today, established ranch homes are back in vogue thanks to great neighborhood locations and age-friendly, one-level layouts that appeal to boomers as well as young families. For revitalizing a ranch, JELD-WEN offers homeowners a number of window and door products that can turn these hardworking homes into modern marvels while still maintaining the character of the original ranch era.

Revitalizing the Ranch Home with Windows and Doors

Updating old windows and doors can dress up any ranch style home. The following JELD-WEN products offer homeowners the latest in window and door technology that keeps alive the character of the ranch era, and caters to the home’s design features:

Window shopping
Authentic wood windows with single pane glass were traditional components of many ranch homes. Homeowners who want to stay true to the style can replace old units with new JELD-WEN® Premium Wood Double-Hung Pocket Windows.

These new clad-wood replacement windows are designed for easier installation into existing window frames, regardless of the brand of the original window, and also guard against decay – a major reason why many homeowners need to replace wood windows in the first place. JELD-WEN is the only manufacturer to offer pocket windows made with AuraLast® wood, which provides protection from the surface to the core and has an industry-leading 20-year warranty against wood decay and termite infestation.

For regions where ranches were built with single-pane aluminum windows, upgrading to JELD-WEN® Vinyl Windows with a limited lifetime warranty is an ideal way to increase curb appeal and energy efficiency. Vinyl windows are available in a variety of styles, including double-hung, casement and slider.

Energy efficient Low-E insulated glass is standard on all JELD-WEN wood and most vinyl windows. Optional Low-E 366 glass provides increased solar heat gain protection and greater energy savings. As an added benefit, ranch home owners who install energy efficient window or door upgrades in 2007 can qualify for a total federal tax credit of up to $500. Look for the ENERGY STAR® label on JELD-WEN products.

Breaking the mold
Personalization is a big trend with homeowners today. However, original ranch homes usually were built using just a few basic templates. This universal look has prompted today’s homeowners to seek new and unique front entry door designs to make their homes stand out from the neighbors’ and increase curb appeal.

For many, this means thinking outside the box – or even outside the century. Dutch doors are popular again for their handsome proportions, practical functionality and casual, country feel.

Perhaps the biggest innovation for the Dutch door style is that it now comes in low-maintenance fiberglass. JELD-WEN is the only manufacturer to offer many Dutch door styles in fiberglass that looks and feels virtually identical to wood.

Besides beauty, many of today’s fiberglass or wood entry doors are energy efficient, especially those with Low-E insulated glass.

Boosting interior style
Inside the home, hollow core flush interior doors were standard issue during the ranch home building boom. Lacking visual appeal, these doors hardly measure up to today’s designs and materials.

For example, JELD-WEN offers builders and homeowners a wide array of molded interior doors including the largest selection in 7-foot heights. Made of mostly recycled content, molded doors feature a multitude of style choices, including new panel designs and built-in mirrors to add spaciousness, plus all-important sound reducing benefits.

Rambling styles and single stories also mean noise reduction is paramount for ranch homeowners.  JELD-WEN? interior passage doors with ProCore The Quiet Door? construction transmit up to 50 percent less sound than hollow core flush interior doors. ProCore The Quiet Door is ideal for kids’ rooms, master bedrooms, home theaters and offices. 

Raising the bar on patio doors
A traditional characteristic of the ranch home is a sliding door off the dining area that leads to a back patio or deck. Today, ranch homeowners can take this door to the next level and increase the amount of natural light entering the home as well as expand small dining areas into outside entertaining spaces.

Replacing a traditional patio door with the JELD-WEN® Folding Door System opens up an entire wall of a home and adds a welcome connection to the outdoors that original ranch designs lacked.

Easy to operate and available in wood or low-maintenance fiberglass, the JELD-WEN Folding Door System provides a modern look with updated technology.

About JELD-WEN
JELD-WEN, inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of reliable windows and doors. Based in Klamath Falls, Ore., JELD-WEN began as a small Oregon millwork plant in 1960 and has grown into a company with nearly 150 divisions and more than 20,000 employees worldwide. JELD-WEN is the official window, door and millwork provider of the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour, Proud Partner of THE PLAYERS and title sponsor of the JELD-WEN Tradition. Since 1998, JELD-WEN has been an ENERGY STAR® Partner with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. Eleven JELD-WEN® product lines and all windows and doors constructed with AuraLast® wood have earned the Good Housekeeping Seal. JELD-WEN® windows and doors have been honored by numerous consumer and industry publications. In 2005, JELD-WEN® Custom Fiberglass exterior doors received a Consumers Digest Best Buy rating.

For more information about the exceptional value and reliability of JELD-WEN products, or to find a dealer near you, please visit www.jeld-wen.com or call 800-877-9482.