Case Study 004 · Hartford County
34 windows, one 1920s Colonial, zero drafts by January.
A Farmington family had already replaced their windows once. Ten years later they were taping plastic over the dining room again. Here is what we found, what we built in Plainville, and what changed.
- Units installed
- 34
- Home built
- 1923
- Lead time
- 7 weeks
- Install window
- 4 days
The challenge
Replaced once already, and still cold.
The homeowners called in October, which is when most of Connecticut discovers what its windows actually do. Their 2014 vinyl double-hungs were sagging in the jambs, the sashes rattled in a north wind, and the second-floor bedrooms ran eight to ten degrees colder than the thermostat claimed. Heating bills had climbed every winter since the last replacement.
The house itself was the constraint. A 1923 Colonial with original casing, plaster returns, and openings that were nowhere near square after a century of settling. Anything stock-sized would have meant furring strips, filler trim, and a compromise the owners had already paid for once.
Why the first replacement failed
Stock windows are sized to the catalog, not to the opening. The gap gets packed with foam and hidden behind trim, and that gap is where the heat leaves.
Made right here in Plainville, Connecticut
No stock catalog. No shelf. No compromise on the opening.
Galaa builds every window to order. That is the entire answer to a 1923 house whose openings have moved half an inch in a century.
What we specified
Every unit measured, then built to that opening in Plainville.
There is no stock to pull, because there is no shelf. Each of the 34 openings was field-measured, and each frame was manufactured to those dimensions at our Camp Street facility, twenty minutes from the job site. Triple-glazed Cardinal glass, multi-chamber GEALAN uPVC with steel reinforcement throughout, WINKHAUS multi-point locking on every operable sash.
| Product | CoreLine tilt-and-turn, 34 units |
|---|---|
| Frame | GEALAN 5–6 chamber uPVC, steel reinforced |
| Glazing | Cardinal triple-pane |
| Hardware | WINKHAUS multi-point locking, RC2 |
| Finish | Anthracite exterior / white interior |
| Manufactured | Plainville, Connecticut |
Installed unit performanceCoreLine
U-factorLower is better
0.19
Sound transmission classHigher blocks more noise
35STC
Burglary resistanceEuropean resistance class
RC2
Sealing gasketsPer frame
2
NFRC certified · NAHB member · Built in Plainville, CT
South elevation
Drag to compare.
Before
After · CoreLine
How it ran
Seven weeks from measure to final walkthrough.
Week 1
Site visit
Every opening measured, out-of-square logged, sightlines agreed with the owners.
Week 2
Spec and quote
Glazing, hardware, and finish confirmed. Fixed price, no change orders.
Weeks 3–6
Manufacturing
Frames welded, reinforced, and glazed in Plainville. Nothing shipped from overseas.
Week 7
Installation
Four days, one crew, room by room. The house stayed livable throughout.
Week 7
Walkthrough
Every sash tilted, turned, and locked with the owners present. Then we left.
Results
What changed after the first winter.
0.19
U-factor on the installed units, against a 0.30 Connecticut code maximum.
Source: unit specification
−31%
Heating cost, December through February, against the same months a year earlier.
Source: homeowner utility statements
2°F
Spread between the second-floor bedrooms and the thermostat, down from eight to ten.
Source: homeowner reported
Paste a verbatim quote from a Google Business Profile review or a signed client sign-off here. Do not write this line on the client's behalf.Client name · Farmington, CT · Google review, March 2026
The finished home
Farmington, March 2026.
Questions
About projects like this one.
Can tilt-and-turn windows go into a historic Colonial?
Yes. Because every frame is built to the measured opening, the window meets the original casing without filler trim. Rules vary town by town, and homes inside a local historic district may need commission review of the exterior finish before work begins.
How long does a 30-plus unit replacement take?
Roughly seven weeks from the site visit, with four to five of those weeks in manufacturing. Installation on this project ran four days.
Do the homeowners need to move out?
No. The crew worked one room at a time, and every opening was closed and weathertight before the end of each day.
Is CoreLine or ProLine the right line for a project like this?
CoreLine carries two sealing gaskets and suited this budget and elevation. ProLine adds a third gasket and a six-chamber profile, and is the usual choice for Passive House and net-zero targets. Compare the two lines.
More projects
Other Connecticut homes.
New construction · Fairfield County
A net-zero build in Westport
52 ProLine units specified to a Passive House envelope target.
Replacement · New Haven
Quieting a house on a state road
High-STC patio doors cut traffic noise in a front-facing living room.
Commercial · Hartford
An 18-unit multifamily retrofit
Phased installation with no tenant relocation.
Tell us about your openings.
Every Galaa window is built to order in Plainville, Connecticut. Send us the house, and we will send you a measured plan and a fixed price.
Or call +1 860 515 7203