New Steel Windows Used in 19th Century Building

Steel Windows in Historic Building - Click here for funny video clips

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Eco Friendly Steel Windows Used At Bronx Zoo

Optimum steel windows were used in the Bronx Zoo's new eco friendly restroom.

Steel Windows Gallery for June 17, 2009

Here are the steel windows gallery for June 17, 2009.

Steel Windows Improve Home Depot's Manhattan Store Entrance

Optimum Windows of Ellenville, NY supplied the custom public entranceway and other windows for the new Home Depot Manhattan flagship store at 32 West 23rd Street. The two-story tall glass atrium vestibule and other window openings along the building’s front and rear used Optimum Elegance Series C55 steel windows and French doors and Series HR4500 steel fixed windows. Christy’s Glass and Architectural Metals of Jamaica Hills, NY, the fenestration contractor for the project, installed the windows and entranceway.


The new entranceway was custom designed to provide modern functionality while blending with the vintage building’s grand arched entrance. The large expanses of tempered glass used in the Optimum doors and windows let in copious amounts of sunlight and entice the public to come in and shop. Pressed for time to meet the store’s aggressive opening scheduled last fall, Optimum’s superior production process rapidly and successfully geared up to meet the challenge.


“I’m proud that Optimum products were selected to literally greet the public at Home Depot’s premier Manhattan location,” said C.J. Perez, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Optimum Windows. “Like others, Home Depot recognizes the beauty, strength, design and quality of Optimum’s special metal and fire-rated windows and doors.”


The Optimum Elegance Series C55 is an 18-gauge steel cold rolled formed swing door and window system with a 2-¼ ” frame depth, which was fitted during installation with 1” insulated tempered glass. This Optimum product is noted for its flush-faced design, elegant style and clean, uniform lines. The Elegance Series C55 door system is not only attractive but also strong and durable. The doors feature mitered, corner keyed reinforced welded frame and sash joinery. The Elegance Series C55 family of fenestration products is fabricated in accordance with the specifications of the Steel Windows Institute (SWI) and has achieved ANSI/AAMA 101-93 ratings of HC-40. The Home Depot entrance doors each feature 3 heavy-duty European paddle hinges.


Optimum’s fabrication of the doors included project specific alterations in order to accommodate the special lock and handle hardware specified by Home Depot. The doors and windows were custom finished with a white color powder coat of paint to match the ornate white façade of the building.


The fixed windows used on the Home Depot project were Optimum’s Series HR4500 hot rolled steel windows. Hot rolled steel windows use solid steel sections and have renewed architectural interest due to their landmark quality, strength and narrow sight lines. These 1-½ ” frame depth windows use mitered, flash-welded frame and sash construction. This series is fabricated in accordance with the specifications of the Steel Window Institute (SWI) and has achieved ANSI/AAMA 101-93 ratings of HC-40. Like the Elegance Series C55, these windows accept 1” insulated glass units. These intrinsically tough windows, featuring uniform sight lines, were finished with a custom green/black powder coat paint to match the building’s rear façade.

History of Optimum Window Manufacturing

Optimum Window Manufacturing Corporation was formed in 1985 by Candido Perez, whose experience in all facets of the window industry spans five decades. The company began in the Hunts Point industrial area of the Bronx, in New York City, with 7 employees in a 20,000-ft² factory. Not long after an impressive first year in sales, Optimum doubled its manufacturing space to meet growing demand for its products, particularly fire-rated windows for the New York City market.

The company continued to grow steadily, adding major markets in the Chicago area and on the West Coast. In 1989, Optimum moved just market outside the New York metropolitan area to Warwick, NY, to a larger facility. A few years later, the company purchased the famous Schrade knife factory in Ellenville and relocated its operations to this 137,000-ft² facility. The entire Optimum product line is manufactured here.

Optimum's success is largely a result of the experience the company's founder and key senior management personnel bring from the fenestration industry, combined with their business vision. Candido Perez was instrumental in establishing businesses in glazing and storefront glass systems, window product wholesaling, window manufacturing, and installations before launching Optimum. It was through this very comprehensive experience that market opportunities for growth with product specialization became clear. Mr. Perez realized that a tremendous need for fire-rated and other quality steel windows existed in urban environments such as New York City, with stringent building and fire codes as well as historic and landmark structures.

He teamed up with and Italian window maker to design and manufacture a fire-rate window line, well-suited to the demands presented by New York and other U.S. cities. Optimum was created to focus on these windows, and the company continues to introduce new window products and features regularly.

The move to Ellenville, NY, just outside the high-expense New York metropolitan area, allows Optimum to operate cost-effectively yet remain well poised to serve the entire Northeast region's metropolitan centers. A strong, competent local labor pool is readily available to meet the need as the company expands and the current factory space permits new lines and equipment to be added with ease.

Optimum's strategic planning ensures it is prepared to take advantage of opportunities, shifts and changes that lie ahead.

Five Key Reasons Why Steel Windows Are the Architect's Choice

Steel Windows are the architect's choice for just about every kind of building. These windows are incredibly versatile, in that they can evoke both a modern and bold look, or conversely give the feel of classic style. In this article, we will discuss the five key benefits of choosing windows made of steel for your building -- whether it be a home, commercial structure, hospital, school, or public building. These benefits are narrow sightlines, strength, versatility, lifecycle, and fire rating. When you are finished reading, you will have all the information you need in order to decide if these windows are the solution for your building.

The first reason is their narrow sightlines. When people think of steel windows, the quality most often associated with them is their narrow sightlines. As a consequence, over centuries, this attribute has been incorporated into just about every kind of building. Architects have taken advantage of this great quality inherent to steel windows and used their narrow sightlines to construct different architectural styles. The material's massive and incredible strength allows for this minimalism in regards to sightlines. Other materials, such as aluminum, vinyl, or wood simply do not have the integrity to allow for maintaining their structure while having narrow sightlines. This gives steel windows a unique and distinctive appearance.

The second major benefit is their strength. Head to head, aluminum is three times weaker than steel. The advantage offered by steel's inherent strength also allows it to hold glass lights of immense size and offer astonishing openings, even as the material maintains narrow sightlines. This also allows for the use of ventilators, which in a steel window do not rack with age or distort.

The third reason for choosing steel as your material for windows is its versatility. Whether the building has a Gothic theme, is a more traditional structure, or highly modern, steel windows complement the look of the building's exterior and interior. Municipal buildings, churches, universities, private homes, commercial buildings, manufacturing facilities, transit terminals, hospitals and retail establishments have all benefited from using these type of windows.

The fourth benefit is their lifecycle. Far above and beyond other construction materials, steel windows offer unsurpassed durability. For example, in Europe, the original windows are still maintaining themselves in silent elegance even in buildings that are more than a century old.

In the United States, there are many examples of steel windows which after three generations still remain quite functional. In fact, when these windows are replaced, it is usually due to surface issues such as glazing, ventilator technology, or finishing, not the general functionality of the window. In essence, steel windows effectively stand the test of time with far more grace and elegance than other materials.

The fifth reason is their excellent fire rating. Manufacturers of steel windows offer a variety of designs which are fire rated, this fire rating confirmed by independent laboratory fire labels. This fire rating is not limited to fixed lites. A number of operable designs are able to be fabricated, provided specifications are constructed in consultation with individual manufacturers.

If you are looking for excellent window for any number of structures, consider steel windows. Architects give these windows the seal of approval for their narrow sightlines, strength, versatility, lifecycle, and fire rating. These windows complement any number of styles, and allow for a unique look for any building.

Optimum Window Manufacturing Corp. is the largest and most diversified manufacturer of Fire-Rated windows and doors in America. Specializing in cold-rolled steel, hot-rolled steel, aluminum, stainless steel and bronze windows. http://www.optimumwindow.com

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Steel Windows Installed in Your Business or Home

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