OT new house windows?

Have any of you installed new windows in your home recently? What brand did you buy? Are you happy with that brand? Have you noticed an improvement in heating and cooling efficiency? Any idea of a percentage improvement?

Specifically I'm lookig at Thermo-Tech as a brand. They are made in Sauk Rapids, MN. Anyone know of good and/or bad characteristics about them?

Thanks

Colby and Colby I think was the name of the ones that I put in. I'm no carpenter,but I installed them all myself,did the whole house,upstairs and down. Simplest things to install you'll ever see. Takes longer to take the old ones out than it does to install the new ones. There's just two little metal clips that install on each side,then you snap the vinyl track on and tip the two window halves (top and bottom) in and that's it. They tilt in for cleaning,super nice units. It's probably been close to 20 years now since I put mine in. No idea how much they've saved me,but it has to be a bundle.
Only thing with those,they're all custom made and you have to measure exact. Not any real room for error. They go right in the old casings without disturbing any siding or the walls inside.

If you replacing windows in a finished house, get replacement windows not new construction windows. Replacement windows are much eaiser to install. Look into Pella, they usta be good, dont know about todays ones though.

We re-did the house here in 2005 and had to replace the windows, doors, siding and sheathing, as well as insulate and rewire. For that type of job new construction window are nice because they fill the gap more fully and sort of overlap on the outside to keep out drafts. We bought Xact windows and were and are happy with them.
Zach

I used Silver Line in our old farm house, and they have been good. They are the kind that tilt in for cleaning, wife really likes that option.

Windows saving energy in a house is much like adding all the gadgets to your automobile. Each one saves you 20 percent and when you get enough different energy saving devices ( widows, doors, new furnace etc etc) you have energy left over. In the case of the auto you start draining the excess gasoline out of the tank every day. In other words, don't believe most of it. Windows help a little but I would sure hate to try to put a percent figure on it in my house.

I put in Andersons in my new house. If I remember correctly they were "400" series. Double pane, vinyl outer, stainable wood interior, with between the pane mullions.

The windows are OK, but I think they were a little over priced. Anderson also has an "800" series. I didn't see features that justified paying even more than the "400s".

I looked at Pella, they were even more than the "800" series Anderson.

If I had to do it over again, I would buy from the local place that built windows for my farm house remodel. They look and function like the Andersons and a whole lot cheaper.

Installing was easy, just take your time with the level.

Rick

Make sure you get some from a company that's been around awhile and has a good warranty against them filling up with water inbetween.

Our house has Simington (SP?) they replaced a few sections a couple of times and then said the warranty ran out once they were 10 years old.
Mom has had a few of hers replaced whatever Window World sells. so far they did them for free. Hers the coating inside or something streaked the insides smearing them.

These were all the complete vynil type.

Last summer we did some remodeling, including new patio door, front door, and some new windows. After a lot of research and advice from friends "in the business", we went with Polaris windows & doors. So far they have been great, no complaints at all. Seem to be very good quality. They were bought from Modern Builders Supply.
Time will tell!

A second vote for Polaris. We replaced 14 windows 2 and half years ago with Polaris Thermawelds. I did the research on them and they are a good window. Double payne, double hung, low e with argon gas between the glass. Excellent windows. Lifetime warranty on the frame and a I beleive it was 30 year on the glass(doesn"t cover accidental breakage, like a baseball). Warranty is transferable to the next owner. If it is transferred, then the lifetime frame warranty goes to whatever is left on the glass. I figure after 30 years they"d probably be do for a change anyways. If I remember right, they are built in Youngstown, Oh. I"m more than satisfied with them and they were easy as 1,2,3 to put in.

I work for a window company up here in northern minnesota, marvin windows is the name of the place, They just introduced a new window to the market, it is a tripple pane of glass, it has krypton gas in between the layers of glass, supposed to be the most efficiant window on the market. If your looking for a casemaster style (crank out) instead of the the double hung they redesigend them last year and they are way better than the older style. every so many years they do a redesign, these new ones are some pretty impressive window!! they take like 5 out of 10 off of the line and test them before it goes out the door too, for water leakage and air flow, if a drop of water is seen where it is not supposed to be, it get taken a part and they find out why it did that then they make sure no more come down the line that way. Been in business since 1902 i think, the only window manufacturer to not lay any one off during these tough times. They are spendy window, but well worth the money! Bob

I've installed over 1000 windows and replacement windows. You have allot of options when it comes to windows! I removed the original windows in my house and replaced them with new construction Premiere windows because we wanted real wood interiors. If I had it to do over again I would have gone with new construction Hurd windows, or Simonton replacement windows.
You'll be money ahead to buy better windows, but that doesn't mean the most expensive. Andersen spends their money on advertising instead of R&D. You can get better windows than Andersen for the same or less money.
Most brands have several levels on energy efficiency. A good quality replacement window is the Simonton 5500 series, low E, argon filled, full screens.... Simonton has a 5300 series that would save you about $300 compared to the 5500 series on a typical ranch house. I recommend the 5500 series. Of the several hundred Simonton windows I've installed I've only had one problem with them, and they took care of it in a timely manner.
If you do your own installation I suggest buying a Tech Foam insulating gun ($55+ the cans of foam insulation) to insulate between the replacement window and the existing window frames. DO NOT use expanding foam like great stuff!!!!!!
If you're hiring the job done and you live in a house built before 1979 they will have to test for lead paint. If your existing windows test positive for lead paint you can expect to pay $150-$200 per window more for installation because of the US EPA RRP (lead paint) regulations. The EPA regs are national and have been in effect since April of last year but there are still contractors that don't know about it.
Someone mentioned changing just the sash. "Sash kits" are quick and easy to install but usually don't meet the energy efficiency of replacement windows.
How much energy you save will depend on how bad your existing windows are, the efficiency of the replacement windows, and the quality of the installation. It's not unheard of for the payback to be 3-5 years.

About 20 years ago we put on a big addition and at the same time replaced all the existing double hung windows with Pella casement (at the time they were actually less than Andersen). We doubled the size of the house but the heating bill remained the same plus the added outside sound reduction. They were "OK" but not too crazy about them. Just last year we built a new house using Marvin's Integrity line casement windows and doors (built on the same production line as the Marvins). I like the operating system and quality. They were energy star rated (got a tax deduction) and the house went on to get a certified 5 star plus energy star rating. House is so tight now that I have to install an air exchanger to breath.

Jim

I don't know your location but for many many locations a plain thermo tinted window, not double hung, not crank open is better and cheaper. I'm sure there are many places and rooms in the new house that you will never need or want to open the window. All the AC installers recommend you never open your windows when operating the AC. I never do here in SD. It's either pollen, dust, cold or heat. It seems the outside air jusn't isn't what it used to be. Fresh air ain't all the fresh.

Slightly dated info but, when I built in93 I was of the opinion that in Andersen you pay for the name. My buddy could get Caradco at cost and they were aluminum clad not vinyl which is what I wanted. They are sh!t and I hope they are out of business!! I did put in a Pella Designer slider (not the home owner one you get at HD) it is sh!t too. I had numerous swervice calls from Pella and they admitted they went through a quality issue for a year or two. On the other hand in 94/5 my folks put in Marvin casemnts, real wood interior, alum clad ext. they are EXCELLENT. High qualty, made to fit and honestly cut their bill 30%.

We used M&W special ordered from Lowes and I have been extremely pleased. I would also like to let y'all know that Simonton windows are made right here in WV, Ellenboro over in Ritchie County. Nice folks and they have a scratch and dent center where you can find some awesome deals if you only need one or two.

Aaron

What is wrong with your Caradco windows?.I'm in a different part of the country from you "the deep South" but,I have had Cradco windows in my home since 1989 with absolutly no problems.I also went with them because of cost and have been well pleased with them.

I don't live there now, but when I was in Romeoville, IL, and replaced all of my windows and doors, I priced windows at Menards and Home Depot, and just for the heck of it, stopped in at a place that I passed by all the time while working at near by power plants, R.O.W. Windows in Rockdale on the south side of Joliet and got them to price for me. They were a heck of a lot cheaper, and made them for me to my sizing. They asked me for my dimensions (rough hole), and I gave them to them, and they not only saved me serious $$$, they delivered them to my home in Romeoville. I don't need windows now in my Indiana home, but if I needed a few or plenty of them, it'd be worth the three hour drive to go pick them up for the quality and what I saved last time used them. And since they made them for me, I know they were Made In America, and cost me less.

One window that I replaced, my front living room was a solid picture window 80"x58", so I had them make a new one that had two 20" sliders on each end, and the remainder in the middle, just under 40", solid picture window, cost me about $450.00. That was back in 2003, custom made to my dimensions. Obviously prices have gone up since 8 years ago, but I was looking at double that at Menards and Home Depot at the time, custom made as well.

Good Luck, where ever you buy and who from.

Mark

I will not say any names but recently I have been installing in new adition and replacing some others.I have the vinal as well as the aluminm clad wood and I can tell the difference in the temp of the frames by feel, the wood are warmer and then I am still installing storm windows for more protection, Everybody says I don't need the storms but I can tell the difference on the ones that have verses the ones that do not. Most I got off the shelf but one I had to special order in the Aluminm clad wood and it came from the factory with the storm attached and is the warmest of all.

I built a new house 7 years ago with Anderson, would never use them again.

Some of you think Andrsons are over priced. They may be higher but if you ever have a problem with them, they will stand behind their warranties. I had some in my own house that developed a oval of condensation in the center of the window. House was 10 years old and they came out and replaced every window in the house at no cost. Then, they gave me a new 20 yr. warranty on those. A neighbor built a new house and his well cost more than he thought so to save some money, he put in Crestlines. Everytime it rains against his patio door, he has to put towels down to catch the water. No support from the company on them. He says he is still paying for those cheap things. I won't put anything but Anderson in the houses I build. I know once they are in, I won't be out there trying to figure out what is wrong with them and how to get service for them. Also, there is a lot of difference in the glass used by the different companies. Look at the spec sheets. You will find that Anderson is rated at or near the top on most of the specs. They come with a coating on the outside now that actually repels dust and dirt. Saves on cleaning windows.

I bought a bunch of Harveys (probably northeast only) a few years ago and put them in myself. probably saved about 20% of heat bill because they were replacing windows that were probably over 100 yrs old. I paid $176 apiece for them.

We"ve installed many. You usually get what you pay for. I can second the Andersen warranty - had a patio door cladding fail at 9 1/2 years. They didn"t need a picture or even want the old door. Just sent me a new one.
My preference on good windows, in order top to bottom (and the bottom is still a decent window):

Marvin
Andersen
Pella

Hoping to install some Hurd soon as well as some Kolbe, so don"t have a feel for them yet.

They all have different levels and lines, so check them out.

Good Luck.

It really depends on what you want to spend and how much remodeling you want to do. The wood window people make certain size windows. You have the choice of sizes and then you modify your house to fit the window. You can go with a vinyl window and they will manufacture it the size you need to fit the opening. That being said if you are replacing windows custom sized vinyl are the way to go. If it is new construction the wood windows are nice. I myself like the PLYGEM brand. They have a lifetime warranty on glass and frame. Good luck.


Steven

Marvin's -- first, and second is Pella

Understand from a friend who is a window contractor, that prices for replacement windows are very reasonable right now, as the recession has window manufacturers struggling to stay open.

Last fall replaced 30 year old wooden single pane double hungs with Pella vinyl Energy Stars.
Easy changeout and although don't have enough data yet to determine exact savings, feel that there will be substantial over old units. Will be less exterior maintenance and are REALLY ENJOYING reduction in road noise from those who feel vehicle performance (and manhood?) is measured in decibels.

They are doublehung and the first two that I tried to tip in for cleaning, the sides split the wood off the sashes. Two of the sashes the sides rotted the wood from the outside in the first three years. From what I can see the aluminum cladding leaks through at the corner joints. The inside "grilles" are held on with two thumb tacks which are gradually egging out the holes that hold them on. The dealer in my town got out of them about 3 yrs after I bought. I was able to get replacement sash sides from accross the state but I think since then they have discontinued too. I talked down on Andersen at the time but a co-worker got his panes replaced for seal leakage at about 20 years old at no cost.

A few more points...
Check the building codes before buying "fixed sash" windows!

Andersen has a good warranty. They make a good window. There are companies that make better windows for less money.

Crestline ....... I wouldn't consider installing what they make today. Crestline has a secondary brand named Vetter.

Pella used to be the best, and the most expensive. Not so on either count anymore.

I've never used Marvin windows only because my suppliers don't carry them, but I hear from other professionals that they are great windows.

Hurd had a problem several years ago, but that is behind them. Check out their construction. They are a high quality, energy efficient window.

Coradco. Absolutely positively the worst windows I've ever seen!

The LAST place I'd buy windows is at a box store! Buy them from a "real" lumber yard or siding, window, and door supply company that sells primarily to contractors. Do yourself a favor and by according to quality and energy efficiency rather than price alone.

Few years back replaced all mine with Pella. Have installed Andersen before at in-laws house.
My comments on Pella:
Easy to install
Like the wood inside, aluminum cladding on outside
Like the fact that the inside pane is removable for cleaning, eliminating moisture between the glass.
Would NOT get the coated option again. Windows always look hazy and can't get that "crystal clear" look.
The weather stripping along the bottom of the movable sash has come out on some of the double-hungs. Have to glue them in, originally just a press fit.

Would I do Pella again? Yeah, but I may look at Marvin for my next house. Have heard good things about them.