Replacement Window Brands

[Crusader17]

What do you all know about replacement windows?
I need single hung, custom size.
Any brands to stay away from?

 

[04FXSTS]

Quite a few years ago ai replaced the old wooden double hung windows where I live at the time. "Crestline" carried by Menards was the brand and they came in a kit. You removed the old windows then installed plastic tracks and the new windows and then replaced the original trim pieces. Very easy actually since I just needed new windows, everything else was in good shape. Everything could be done from inside the house and the new windows were low-E, double pane and argon filled. I think we lived there for 15 years or so after replacement and never had a problem. I know this is not exactly what you want to replace but the quality was there in the brand. Jim.

 

[spec4]

Had good luck with Home Depot years ago. Would not consider Andersen, they came with the house and are crap. Ice forms on inside and melts on the drywall. Called them, no help.

 

[IndyIN]

That Andersen marketing hype is crazy. I was not impressed with the Andersen windows that friends had installed at their house.

To the original question- do you just have broken seals, or are the frames in bad shape? If it is just broken seals, you can buy entirely new glass most of the time. It is a lot less expensive and is quick. For vinyl windows, there is a trim piece around the inside of the glass that pops off, and you pull the old (need to cut caulk from the outside most of the time), clean up the frame, and put the new one in place. You just need to caulk the glass on the outside.

I replaced several this way at my old house, and it saved a bunch of money because my frames were fine.

 

[jsx1043]

This is a good conversation for @Steve!

 

[indykid]

When I built my house I used the wood double-hung Crestline and 29 years later they are still in great shape.

 

[Super Bee]

I replaced all my windows with vinyl replacement windows from Menards. I believe half are Crestline the other half were another brand they carried. Extremely easy to do. Once you get on a roll I could do one complete removal and install about every 30 minutes or so. You can order them right on their website.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Can't think of any name brand that is "bad", but there are some that IMO are way over priced. Depending on what you're looking for that is. Bee sells a good window and they are guaranteed for life, including labor. And unless you intentionally break them, they are covered. Neighbor kid hits a base ball and breaks the glass, covered. But you will be paying through the nose for them.

Lansing building supplies sells their own line, and they are reasonably priced. Lifetime guaranteed against defects on the frame, 25 yr full replacement on the glass 75% up to 40 yrs and 50% lifetime. I would go with the 80 series, the 90 is a better window but iffy if it's worth the extra. But you'll have to install them yourself or hire someone, they don't do installs.

 

[OkieGirl]

We replaced ours last month. We went with Apex, a local (regional) company and so far so good. They have their own installers and don't contract that out, that is big for me. The two man crew that came out to measure the windows took very thorough dimensions and were quick and organized. I believe their target was accuracy to 1/8th of an inch; after watching them install window after window I can say that investment was time well spent and a much better fit than what we would have been able to get from a big box store.

Their quality/technology beat Anderson and with the complications we had with our prior windows we didn't need any oops. Our house was a bank owned mess left abandoned for 2+ years when we bought it over a decade ago and we've been working on regular improvements along the way, this was probably the biggest after the roof and the HVAC. You mentioned custom sizes and that was what tipped us over the line to get something a little more complex than being able to purchase what we needed from one of the big box stores. The other nice thing is that they will happily do one window or the whole house and worked through pricing and options and finishes without any of that "let me call..." crap. I've kicked sales people out of my home because of that line. You know your product or you go; this isn't the 'phone a friend' option. If you can't sell what you came out here to sell...well...bye.

**On a side note, our crazy family protector of a mutt about took the door off the hinges when a salesman from Unique 'stopped by' and the longer he stayed the more I worried for his safety...everyone's patience was wearing very thing. The guy from Apex stopped by and our home defender of a four legged variety wasn't too sure at first but then settled in and decided he was ok. LOL, strangest thing I've seen. That dog tries to eat everyone but he was cool with this guy.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

We replaced ours last month. We went with Apex, a local (regional) company and so far so good. They have their own installers and don't contract that out, that is big for me. The two man crew that came out to measure the windows took very thorough dimensions and were quick and organized. I believe their target was accuracy to 1/8th of an inch; after watching them install window after window I can say that investment was time well spent and a much better fit than what we would have been able to get from a big box store.

Their quality/technology beat Anderson and with the complications we had with our prior windows we didn't need any oops. Our house was a bank owned mess left abandoned for 2+ years when we bought it over a decade ago and we've been working on regular improvements along the way, this was probably the biggest after the roof and the HVAC. You mentioned custom sizes and that was what tipped us over the line to get something a little more complex than being able to purchase what we needed from one of the big box stores. The other nice thing is that they will happily do one window or the whole house and worked through pricing and options and finishes without any of that "let me call..." crap. I've kicked sales people out of my home because of that line. You know your product or you go; this isn't the 'phone a friend' option. If you can't sell what you came out here to sell...well...bye.

**On a side note, our crazy family protector of a mutt about took the door off the hinges when a salesman from Unique 'stopped by' and the longer he stayed the more I worried for his safety...everyone's patience was wearing very thing. The guy from Apex stopped by and our home defender of a four legged variety wasn't too sure at first but then settled in and decided he was ok. LOL, strangest thing I've seen. That dog tries to eat everyone but he was cool with this guy.

We called Unique for something one time, don't even remember what for now, but they were awful. Super high pressure and even after telling them that we weren't going to go with them, they persisted in calling repeatedly. A few months later a young lady stopped by to try and sell us something else (from Unique) and I'm afraid she bore the brunt of my frustration with them. I made it clear in no uncertain terms that I didn't want anything to do with their company.

 

[Brandon]

Anderson quoted me $15,000.00 for 5 windows. Of which 2 were itty bitty windows for bathrooms.

I still need new windows.

 

[OkieGirl]

We called Unique for something one time, don't even remember what for now, but they were awful. Super high pressure and even after telling them that we weren't going to go with them, they persisted in calling repeatedly. A few months later a young lady stopped by to try and sell us something else (from Unique) and I'm afraid she bore the brunt of my frustration with them. I made it clear in no uncertain terms that I didn't want anything to do with their company.

Oh my goodness, they are absolutely intolerable. I actually programmed their number into my cell so that if it EVER called my phone again I would know not to answer. We had Unique out (seriously had no idea how freaking bad this company was) to give us a quote on siding. Simple, right? Nope! I cannot recall what the first "number" was but they compromised and would be willing to do just ONE SIDE of our two story home for $40,000!!!! I don't have a poker face. To say I was 'surprised' by that total would be a remarkable understatement. I let them know it was time for them to go, we were not even on the same planet to even begin a negotiation on price. They could loose our number and file our address amongst those who will not be doing business with them. And yes, we received numerous calls and a 'surprise' visit by someone else who wanted to provide the same service and wanted to give us a different sales pitch. Now, we barely wave sales people on and just let the angry four legged ball of fur and fangs answer the door bell for us. Unique will never be permitted in my home. Never. No.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

For vinyl windows, there is a trim piece around the inside of the glass that pops off, and you pull the old (need to cut caulk from the outside most of the time), clean up the frame, and put the new one in place. You just need to caulk the glass on the outside.

For the caulk, a heat gun or good hair dryer and a thin flexible putty knife work great. From the outside heat up the frame a bit and slide the putty knife between the glass and frame and just work your way around. Depending on the age/caulk used/etc can sometimes be done with just the putty knife pretty easily. And when we replaced them, we didn't caulk from the outside. Usually used a double sided foam/rubber like tape (can't remember what it's actually called) where the glass contacted the outside frame. Or occasionally a thin bead of caulk in the same place if they didn't send the tape and we didn't have any with us.

Anderson quoted me $15,000.00 for 5 windows. Of which 2 were itty bitty windows for bathrooms.

I still need new windows.

Say what? What were the other three, and what kind of options were on them? I could see that if they were 3 bay/bow windows(9-15 actual windows) if it was replacing a picture and 2 double hung or casement. Or maybe if they were vinyl with wood inside and internal grid or blinds, along with double strength glass. And included all new interior trim and exterior aluminum wrap.

I just replaced a dozen double hung, 4 casements, 1 awning, 1 medium picture, and a large 3 pane slider and the cost for just the windows (not installation) was well less than that. IIRC about 8k, for larson 80 series. It was paid for by insurance so I don't know the installation costs, but I would expect less than 15k total material/labor.

 

[paintman]

I used jeld-wen windows. Replaced every window in my house a couple of years ago with single hung low E windows. Did it myself for right around $2000

 

[paintman]

I will add that I did have one pane of glass lose the gas and haze over. I sent jeld-wen the serial number in the corner and they sent me a new glass and a check for $100

 

[Tactically Fat]

I don't remember the brand of my windows off the top of my head, unfortunately...

But fortunately for you, I don't think that DWC works as far north as you are. Because I'm not really all that happy with the custom vinyl windows we ordered through and had installed by DWC 6-7 years ago.

EDIT: Another post mentioned them. Lansing. Pretty sure that we have the 80's series windows.

I continually get moisture on the interior pane of the glass on some windows in the winter. Some overspray of the exterior color shows through on the interior. Some of the weather stripping wasn't done correctly by them - they shipped two different products for their regional rep to help fix it.

We had 3 HUGE customs, 2 decent size, and 1 small awning window installed. I THINK it was about $7k.

When I say HUGE - I'm talking one of them was about a 5' x 3' 4-light bow window with 2 crank-outs on the ends, and the 2 others were like 4' x 4.5' 3-light windows where the end windows slide inward to open.

The factory made the bow window like a foot too narrow at first. DWC wanted to offer us a free exterior door replacement if we'd accept the window. DWC's measurements were correct - this was a factory mistake. Anyhow - we declined the offer just so we wouldn't have awful looking trim to compensate for the too-small window.

 

[Brandon]

For the caulk, a heat gun or good hair dryer and a thin flexible putty knife work great. From the outside heat up the frame a bit and slide the putty knife between the glass and frame and just work your way around. Depending on the age/caulk used/etc can sometimes be done with just the putty knife pretty easily. And when we replaced them, we didn't caulk from the outside. Usually used a double sided foam/rubber like tape (can't remember what it's actually called) where the glass contacted the outside frame. Or occasionally a thin bead of caulk in the same place if they didn't send the tape and we didn't have any with us.

Say what? What were the other three, and what kind of options were on them? I could see that if they were 3 bay/bow windows(9-15 actual windows) if it was replacing a picture and 2 double hung or casement. Or maybe if they were vinyl with wood inside and internal grid or blinds, along with double strength glass. And included all new interior trim and exterior aluminum wrap.

I just replaced a dozen double hung, 4 casements, 1 awning, 1 medium picture, and a large 3 pane slider and the cost for just the windows (not installation) was well less than that. IIRC about 8k, for larson 80 series. It was paid for by insurance so I don't know the installation costs, but I would expect less than 15k total material/labor.

2 bathroom windows that are about 18x30 (aprox), 2 that are aprox 30x36 and a picture window.

We did 21 windows at our last house for 11k.
Granted that was about 10 years ago but they are still as good as the day they were installed.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

2 bathroom windows that are about 18x30 (aprox), 2 that are aprox 30x36 and a picture window.

We did 21 windows at our last house for 11k.
Granted that was about 10 years ago but they are still as good as the day they were installed.

That is pricey.

EDIT: Another post mentioned them. Lansing. Pretty sure that we have the 80's series windows.

I continually get moisture on the interior pane of the glass on some windows in the winter. Some overspray of the exterior color shows through on the interior. Some of the weather stripping wasn't done correctly by them - they shipped two different products for their regional rep to help fix it.

We had 3 HUGE customs, 2 decent size, and 1 small awning window installed. I THINK it was about $7k.

When I say HUGE - I'm talking one of them was about a 5' x 3' 4-light bow window with 2 crank-outs on the ends, and the 2 others were like 4' x 4.5' 3-light windows where the end windows slide inward to open.

The factory made the bow window like a foot too narrow at first. DWC wanted to offer us a free exterior door replacement if we'd accept the window. DWC's measurements were correct - this was a factory mistake. Anyhow - we declined the offer just so we wouldn't have awful looking trim to compensate for the too-small window.

Dang. I've helped install quite a few lansing windows, and never had complaints like that. We did have one job where there we're 8 windows the same size and on each one, the top sash was something like 1/4-1/3" too short. Contacted them and they had replacements out in less than a week.

Only had the ones in my house in for one winter, but didn't notice any moisture on the inside of them. But depending on the outside temp, wind, and just how humid your house is will effect that.

 

[JTScribe]

I used Pellas when we remodeled our house. I was tearing off and replacing the siding at the same time, so I opted for new construction rather than replacement windows. I've been very happy with them, and I think i replaced around 10 windows for maybe $1500 bucks. I don't understand the markup these contracting companies charge.

 

[Tactically Fat]

That is pricey.

Dang. I've helped install quite a few lansing windows, and never had complaints like that. We did have one job where there we're 8 windows the same size and on each one, the top sash was something like 1/4-1/3" too short. Contacted them and they had replacements out in less than a week.

Only had the ones in my house in for one winter, but didn't notice any moisture on the inside of them. But depending on the outside temp, wind, and just how humid your house is will effect that.

The re-make of our huge bow window took a month. Apparently that factory makes a few things for the company and the Lansing brand windows are allotted a week, another product a week, etc etc. Anyhow - that's what we were told.

And, yes, interior humidity levels do play a part. We run humidifiers in all bedrooms in the late fall and through the winter. That'll definitely have an effect. But when that water freezes on the interior panes - that leads me to believe something ain't quite right. No fogging between panes, though, that I've noticed. And no condensation in there either.