Another window question

Replacing our old windows, rotten vinyl clad wood Andersons. We have casement. But cost prohibitive and contractor said the Chinese hardware in new casement windows is not holding up well. Our house has about 30 windows. He doesn’t encourage people to buy them. Pellas are better, but 37 weeks out and would be over a fourth the cost of our house. Contractor is recommending Simonton windows, not familiar with the name. But see them rated in the top 5. Good for colder climates and good quality. Not rated as high as windows costing considerably more obviously. He said they are more popular in Wisconsen where he used to sell windows.
We looked at double hung. But found the configuration does not meet code for large enough egress in bedrooms. So, we are considering sliding {horizontally} windows. Anyone have these, and like or dislike them. They fit the opening and look like they belong far more than the double hungs. They will be new construction. Most windows in our house get opened a dozen times a year. We are late 60’s and will probably live here 10 or 15 more years. Thanks for any input.

Since you are the age you are do you have to do all the windows? I doubt you use all the rooms / windows in your house. Do what you have to do and let the next guy worry about the rest.

Yeah, Can’t really go from Casement to DH’s and in some instances you may not be able to go from Casement’s to Sliders.
Your Contractor is correct when it comes to the Egress issue. I could explain, but it’s kind of a long explanation.

What does “new construction” mean?

Remember –
New construction
Build the opening to fit the window.

Retrofit
Build the window to fit the opening

Can’t help you out with Simonton.
Most windows on the market today will get you the 15 years installed correctly.

Closing the current windows in most cases involves 2 people. One inside cranking and one outside pushing the screw in and unbinding the hinges. The house is getting new roof, siding facia and gutters, garage entrance and patio doors. Due to hail damage and garage addition. Can’t match the aluminum siding. Also added stone on the front of the house. Overall remodel crowding $100k. Can’t leave the rotten windows. If I croak, would leave my wife a house to sell that wouldn’t pass a home inspection. Think it has to have the windows replaced to recoup other investments. By your definition we are retrofitting. Old windows and frames will be completely removed. If I was younger. I would rebuild the opening to fit new windows.

Were your windows damaged in the storm?

Just roof and aluminum siding and trim got hail. But started the ongoing can of worms. Along with the garage addition led to new overhead doors and entrance doors. With new windows the entire outside of the house will be new and updated on a 1995 frame. New granite etc inside. In the current market I think the house would sell for enough to break even. We would be good with that when the time comes. Insurance will cover about 20%.

Do you have General Contractor that Inspected for window damage?
There’s a good chance that if you need a roof and siding you probably have damage to your windows also.

Dutchboy wrote:

Since you are the age you are do you have to do all the windows? I doubt you use all the rooms / windows in your house. Do what you have to do and let the next guy worry about the rest.

Closing windows is a giant PIA. And will affect ability to sell when we get put out to pasture. Wife and I sleep in separate bedrooms. She lives in the bedroom I built into a quilting room. One b.r. for my gun, fishing, tinker room.
So, between the 2 of us. We pretty much use every room in a 4 b.r., 3.5 bath house. Except the half bath

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Do you have General Contractor that Inspected for window damage?
There’s a good chance that if you need a roof and siding you probably have damage to your windows also.

Yes. The damage to the aluminum was slight. I was surprised how much the figured to replace. But no damage to the windows. Contractor got me more than I expected.

Anderson windows have a lifetime warranty…. that NOBODY in the history of time, has ever has been able to claim.

I’m a big fan of Marvin windows…and Anderson windows a close second

big_g wrote:

Anderson windows have a lifetime warranty…. that NOBODY in the history of time, has ever has been able to claim.

That must mean that they get replaced before they fail

I have some Andersen, some Pella and some I don’t remember who made and haven’t had any issues with the double hung and most I put in 21 years ago but they are all aluminum clad. The glass and low E coating is all the same and I don’t really want to replace anything after seeing the price has increased a lot since I put these in. I paid about $200/each for double hung 33×65 and now they are about $800 for a similar window.

I don’t know if I would pay $800 for a window with the extra coating that makes a double pane window perform as well as a triple pane. My house is really old so I could probably get away with removing them and put OSB and siding on the outside and drywall on the inside

IMHO, triple pain are a waste on money.
They do have a better STC rating than a double pane so if you lived on a railroad track I would consider them.
3 panes are way oversold by high pressure window sales companies.

Marvins are #1!!! and the price will tell you why.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

IMHO, triple pain are a waste on money.
They do have a better STC rating than a double pane so if you lived on a railroad track I would consider them.
3 panes are way oversold by high pressure window sales companies.

I agree there! You can look at the “U” and “R” rating all you want but if the curtains still move around then the “Air Infiltration” rating will be my test. This test for me will include the installation!

All of the other tests are done in a lab with a small window unit that is standard within the industry, the actual size dimension escapes me.

I agree that Marvin is a good quality window and it comes at a rather large price! Look at your alternatives, chose wisely for the best quality that you are wanting to afford!!!

I’ve never been a fan of vinyl windows. At least fiberglass is better for long term endurance. Wood clad is my preference. But installation and wood finish is key! I strip all weatherstrip and counterbalance systems off and finish all wood from the clad exterior through the interior, sash and jambs! No lacquer, spar varnish at least. I use a conversion varnish called “Sher-Wood Kemvar Conversion Varnish” Conversion Varnish I’ve not had a replacement window unit fail yet that I’ve done this way in over 35 years.

Again the complete Installation is KEY!

I went from wood casements to retrofit Heartland vinyl sliders in 2019. They’re decent windows but the casements were for sure more efficient. I couldn’t justify the cost at the time, they were over 15K more to go casement.

Would I do it over again now that I’m in a financial position to afford casements? No.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

IMHO, triple pain are a waste on money.
They do have a better STC rating than a double pane so if you lived on a railroad track I would consider them.
3 panes are way oversold by high pressure window sales companies.

Marvins are #1!!! and the price will tell you why.

On our build the Marvins were definitely the most expensive option we looked at. They were what our builder recommended with Andersons his second choice.

The local lumber yard brought the Marvin guy in who they deal with and sat him down next to me, my wife, our contractor, and the quoted Anderson price we had for very similar Anderson windows. I said that I wanted Marvins, but not at the original quoted price. Within 20 minutes we walked out with about $2100 off the quote and a decreased lead time from the original quote by 2 weeks. We had one window shipped without the contrasting jamb extension we asked for. We received another $600 off our tab for the “mistake” and the extension was on the jobsite in 11 days when window lead times were ~16-18 weeks.

Every story/situation is different, but we were pleased with the product and customer service we received.

big_g wrote:

Anderson windows have a lifetime warranty…. that NOBODY in the history of time, has ever has been able to claim.

I wish the folks we bought our house from had opened the Anderson casement windows occasionally. Since we bought the house and open the windows often. The screws are coming loose in the lower pivot hinges. Because the wood is rotted away behind the vinyl cladding. Maybe they could have used the warranty. The house I grew up in ad 2 sets. One set lasted less than 15 years.