Modern materials technology has greatly expanded the choices of architectural styles that manufacturers of building products are able to create. In particular, polymeric and composite building materials lend themselves to new production methods such as molding and extrusion techniques that result in a greater variety of configurations, shapes, and colors of building products. It is technically possible for such new materials and technologies to be used to produce building products in an almost unlimited range of architectural styles and configurations as custom crafted items. However, custom crafted building products can be prohibitively expensive for many. Meeting demand for a variety of architectural styles and combinations of architectural styles in a standardized mass produced building product line for a diverse customer base with diverse tastes is a challenge.
The challenge has been particularly acute in the fenestration or window and door industry. While custom crafted windows and doors can be made to order with any desired combination of configurations, architectural styles, and functional features, such custom crafted products are not affordable for the majority of homeowners. The fenestration industry has traditionally found standardization of window and door units to be a powerful tool in simplifying production processes for mass production, improving efficiency, and producing window and door products at reasonable prices for those unable or unwilling to afford custom crafted windows and/or doors. However, such standardized lines of windows and doors limit severely the variety and architectural choices available to consumers. Producing standardized mass produced window and door products that provide customers with a wide range of functional and architectural style options has not generally been possible. A related challenge has been to produce a line of standardized fenestration units adapted to be arranged and mulled together in a large number of possible configurations to produce compound fenestration units that are proportionally and architecturally correct and visually pleasing.
A line of windows can comprise hundreds of individual window units representing a wide array of available window configurations and a wide array of available sizes for each configuration. A large volume of associated data specifying uniquely the size and configuration of each unit available in the line must be communicated accurately to architects, building designers, and homeowners to enable them to make informed choices from the available options. Traditionally, such window units have been specified by, for example, the size of the glass or by the exterior dimensions of the window unit itself, which can result in a somewhat odd and not readily meaningful specification. Further, such specifications have not immediately conveyed meaningful information regarding, for instance, the rough opening size required for the window. Instead, designers have had to calculate such requirements and hope that their calculations are correct. This has made selection of individual window units and subsequent specification of rough framing requirements complex and time consuming. This is particularly true for compound windows that are made up of a plurality individual window units mulled together and installed in a rough opening. In such cases, the complexities and potential for costly errors are multiplied.
A need therefore exists for a system of windows and doors that successfully addresses the forgoing and other needs and shortcomings of the prior art and it is to the provision of such a system that the present invention is primarily directed.