Essence windows are not merely a ‘fiberglass-clad’ wood product, but a true wood window enveloped by a tough, durable fiberglass frame.

Milgard’s secure connecting system firmly joins the wood interior frame to its fiberglass exterior frame for an aesthetically superior appearance with no unsightly nail holes or staples.

Essence Series fiberglass exteriors are resistant to water, cold, heat, insects, salt air and ultraviolet rays for long-lasting performance and low-maintenance. The powder-coated fiberglass exterior finish won’t crack, peel, bend, warp or stick due to expansion and contraction.

Every Essence Series window and patio door is designed and assembled in the U.S. and custom made to exact size and specifications.

Essence Series windows and doors can play an important role in obtaining the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System™ (LEED) certification. By optimizing energy performance, increasing ventilation and using low-emitting materials, paints, coatings and recycled content, Essence Series can contribute to your LEED rating.

• Lowest embodied energy while providing the longest life expectancy.
• Requires limited use of resources.
• Low pollution levels emitted during the manufacturing process.
• Made from silica sand, an abundant natural resource readily available almost everywhere.
• Embodied energy to extract glass from sand and convert raw materials into finished fiberglass is relatively low.
• Aluminum requires heating up to 1700°F while vinyl requires up to 425°F, and fiberglass, 200°F or less.
• Sustainable painting process uses no solvents, sprays or drips, produces little or no VOCs, recycles overspray, and yields very little waste (disposable as solid waste).

Durability — the Story behind Fiberglass

What is fiberglass? It’s a composite structural material consisting of fiber reinforcements, typically glass, bound together in a resin matrix. Used in many applications from household fixtures (tub surrounds) to car bodies and aircraft fuselages. By using fiberglass as a structural core and exterior, Essence Series windows are strong, durable and easy to maintain in any climate.

Milgard’s own fiberglass pultrusion process enables us to make the complex profiles required for the exterior look of painted wood windows.

Because fiberglass is known for its strength, durability and performance, Essence exteriors:

• Are scratch, dent and impact-resistant
• Unaffected by time or temperature
• Impervious to water, cold, & heat
• Withstand the corrosive effectives of salt air and pollutants

Our proprietary powder-coat process uses a similar electrostatic technique as the auto industry to produce baked-on, sag-free, extremely durable exterior finishes that:

• Resist scratches and gouges
• Provide better color stability that withstands the construction process and weathers well
• Takes paint easily with excellent adhesion