News from Glass Block Specialties in Erie, PA

Happy New Year and welcome to 2015. With the new year beginning and while winter still has us firmly in her grips.  We are once again entering the home show season. The two big home shows for the Erie Pa area are fast approaching.  The first one this year is The 55 annual Builders Association Home Show at Family First Sports Park in Erie.

So 2013 is over half way gone already. Is time flying by or what. We at Glass Block Specialties are staying very busy and working as hard as we can to bring you 100% American Glass block at affordable prices. In this day and age it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep your prices competitive in a market flooded with imported block. Our block are manufactured right here in PA and we are committed to providing our customers the ability to keep Americans working. Not one single part of our window assemblies come from outside the USA and we are the only local guys able to provide that type of product. Our Preferred methods of window assembly is to use White type S mortar to make and install your windows. Its a well know fact in the industry that Mortaring windows together is more expensive and time consuming. It also takes a skilled mason to do it right, But the end result is a window that will with stand the harsh climates and freeze thaw cycles that we experience here in North Western Pa and the whole tri state area for that matter. Other benefits to having your windows made with mortar cement is that you can custom build to a specific size by altering the size of the mortar joints. Those glued together windows you find a the big box stores or from those out of state boys are " One Size Only " when they build you a 32x16 inch window it really is 31x15.5 inch and that's it. Their glass blocks are butt jointed ( meaning its one block butted against the other and held there with caulking ) . A mortared 32x16 can be built using different sized Joints allowing for more precise fit. That is crucial in old foundations with inconsistent window opening. It also keeps the individual block from coming in contact with each other causing " tension damage" I.E cracked blocks. For more on that see our photo gallery called " The wall of shame " there you will find many examples of why you don't want glued together windows in your home. At G.B.S. we bring you 100% American made windows. The made in PA, The vent, Made in Chicago and Ohio, The Mortar, Made in PA, The sand in the mortar, Mined and milled in Oh. The Labor to install them , 4 life long residents of Erie, PA . The taxes paid on all ends of the business stay right here to. Fed, State , Local, SS All of it stay here to help our communities. That is something to consider when making your choices. When you buy from the cheap chain store your buying China big Corp. When you buy from the Out of state boys they pay no tax in pa and take the money back to New York. when they pay for their block they are paying China, Indonesia or Germany and Italy. So come on Erie, Let keep it Made in Erie, Lets Keep it Made in America, And lets keep it professional. Thanks and have a great summer. Hope to hear from you soon LOUIE ;)