Casement or Slider?

I have a side-by-side casement above my kitchen sink with 2 operating windows. North facing window in Western NY, 1 mile from the shores of Lake Ontario.

What are the pro and cons regarding replacing it with a slider?

If it matters, my wife and I are both about 5'4" and we can just reach the locks located on the center posts of the current casement.

If you go with a slider, there us a much smaller piece of vinyl obsrtucting your view in the middle of the window. Another pro to going with a slider is price... it's usually about 1/2 the cost of a casement.

We are debating the same situation. The one thing that my wife didn't like is that from the outside, one window is a little more set back in the slider. The other thing that I have seen is some people go with a 1/2 screen... I'd probably go with a full screen because it looks more uniform from the outside.

Something to consider is casements generally have a lower air infiltration rate than sliders.

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Lock for the slider will be right in the middle as well. Sliders, if the operating hardware is suspect, can become hard to operate as well if you can't grasp the window sliding rail at a couple of points.

They are cheaper as mentionned and you will get more glass.

Sky is also right in that Casements will give you better energy performance and they are easier to operate.

The sliders that I have seen installers recommend almost look like a double hung on its side. For locks, they usually have 2 locks positioned in the same places that a double hung would have. You may want to check that if that may be an issue for you.

That alone is enough to convince me to stick with the casements. We're not going to want to have to grab a chair to open the window if there is an issue with the hardware. I can imagine the window always being operated by the bottom portion of the rail, which I think would lead to uneven wear.

One thing that nobody mentioned is that I'd be losing half my ventilation area since both casements open now but a slider would only open half the window. That's a big factor for the wife.

Cost...schmost...money is no object.

Thanks to all!

I don't know how wide your opening is... but keep in mind that the center part of the frame, at least on the replacement casements that I have seen, are approx. 6 or more inches. That's including the the frames on the actual windows too... so you lose a little bit of view there.

+1 Casements are easier to operate as well.

if the size of the opening allows, why dont you look into a single awning