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You can choose 5/8-inch plywood or 3/4-inch plywood—anything thinner than these sizes may not withstand the impact of debris propelled by strong winds or can be easily torn off by intruders. Remember that the durability of the wood board is crucial, particularly for safeguarding your windows during severe storms. The effectiveness of using wood boards for protecting the investment you made in your home relies on using the appropriate material and ensuring proper installation.

Yes, you can install a bay window in an existing house. You’ll need to have a structural engineer draw up plans to add the necessary support to your exterior load-bearing walls and a general contractor to make the changes to the framing around the new wall opening. This will cost an average of $3,000. After that work is done, a window installer can set the new bay window in place.

It’s easy to tell if you have low-E windows. Light a match or grab a pen light and hold it up to your windows. You should see multiple reflections in the window—four for double-pane windows. If one of the reflections is a slightly different color than the other three, you have low-E windows. If you don’t have low-E windows, all the reflections will be the same color.

Energy-efficient windows are judged on their performance according to a few different factors, including heat transfer, air leakage, light transference, and condensation resistance. If you're unsure whether a window is energy-efficient, look for an ENERGY STAR® label from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If various products, including windows, meet energy-efficiency standards set by the federal government, the EPA issues this label to help consumers identify energy-efficient products.