What are Window Lites?

What are Window Lites?

‍

It’s a question we get quite often here at Clear Estimates? The most common follow up questions we receive is, don’t you mean lights? It is somewhat confusing, so let’s set the record straight. First, window lites are not lights. Window lites are the sections in glass windows. They are the separately framed panes of glass. The most common types of window lites are wood and vinyl.

The history of window lites dates back as long as glass has been used in windows. Glass, when discovered, was considered a valuable commodity (it still is today). Valuable commodities come at a high cost. So, how can you reduce that cost? Lites allow you to “section off” a window into many small pieces of glass, therefore reducing the size, amount and cost of the glass needed. There’s a certain charm to these divided windows that give you a more natural, and sometimes, more expensive look. Lites, in the earliest and most handcrafted form, take a master carpenter to achieve a quality look. Although saving money on the amount of glass used, crafting the actual lites proves difficult, making the window an act of beauty. Handcrafted lites are the result of great craftsmanship. Large windows with crafted lites are often times very expensive. Nowadays, though, window lites are produced in mass quantities using wood and other types of material. This gives you the same look at a fraction of the cost.

‍

Hopefully, that clears it up. Lites are not lights. If you like these kinds of "clarification" blogs, be sure to let us know!

‍

Thanks for reading!