Cost of new Windows? Recommend brands?

[3boymthr]

DH and I just bought a "new" house. We also own some woodlands and will be selling our trees for stumpage in the next month and a half (yes, definitely selling, we have a signed contract they start cutting this week) which means we will be coming into a little extra money. First priority is taxes then new Windows then if there is money left over a new fridge then if there is money after that a vacation. I've got a handle on the cost of three of the four items but no idea of the cost of Windows. I tried searching the internet but all I got was input your info and we'll come out and do an estimate pages. Don't want to do that yet as I don't have a defined by timeline for this work. We need 16 Windows 6 singles 3 doubles and one triple. They will be vinyl and have the internal grids and probably Argon gas. I say this because my parents are offering to pay to replace 1 double and 2 singles and this is what they are offering to get us. Yeah, I know they are dictating but they will only go high end and I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. They are going to pay to replace these because they are broken (literally, pieces of glass are missing the cardboard covering the holes is lovely). DH wants the rest of the Windows to match. I know prices will vary due to sizes and options but I'm looking for ballpark figures. Also any recommendations on brands to buy or brands to avoid?

 

[Southernmiss]

I wonder if it depends on the installation company you use. We are getting a new roof next week and the contractor had a few preferred shingle brands he uses. We chose a style from those.

 

[PatMcDuck]

Do to feel bad getting estimates "too early". You can ask the contractors how long their price will be honored. I would start with recommendations from neighbors or friends, Anglie's list providers with many good reviews, or Costco.

We used Costco for our hardwood floors a few months ago (1100 square feet). They contract out, but they are really strict with their subs. And if you have a problem, they will get involved. We got one price quoted, but pushed for even a better deal (same price but more expensive hardwood, a little wider plank).

 

[MillauFr]

I got 23 new wood cladded windows installed about 10 years ago. It was about $32k. They replaced all of the interior trim as well.

 

[tvguy]

Depends on the size of the windows. Single, double and triple doesn't really mean anything to me. Is that panes? I have a double that is 30 inches by 20 inches, and a single that is 10 feet by 5 feet. What you need is to measure your windows, then you can do to the home improvement store and see what those size windows retail for.
We remodeled last year and the estimates all came in at about $1,000 per window for a standard 40 by 50 window for vinyl. MillauFr's price seems in line with wood windows.

Milgard is very popular here, as is Anderson. We had one of the Milgard windows we put in 20 years ago get cloudy. Milgard came out, determine if was a defect and replace it for free. Their windows are warrantied for life. That advantage they have here is they have a factory here, so the replacement custom window was ready and installed a week later.

 

[Hook326]

About 5ish years ago, we bought 10 vinyl, double hung Windows, a patio door and a picture window for ~$6600. They had the gas in between panes. This was window world. We were very happy with them but don't live in that house anymore so can't tell you the sizes. Good luck! I would get some free quotes from several businesses.

 

[Chaoster]

Simonton windows

 

[daughtersrus]

About 10 years ago we replaced our sliders with double hung. We now have 10 with grids (front/side of the house ) 5 without grids. We also replaced a picture window and a patio door. All have argon gas. The cost was about $10,000 installed. They were custom size to fit the current opening. They were replaced from the outside (we were having our siding done at the same time ) so the interior trim was not damaged.

 

[pryncess527]

You might see if your power company has a program related to this -- we replaced ours a few years ago and we qualified for a special program through our power company as long as we got Energy Star rated windows. They provided us with a list of approved contractors, 0% financing, and made sure we were aware of any rebates we qualified for. I think we spent 6-8k, but it was well worth the upgrade!

 

[pittsburghmom]

We paid $300 per window...Argon gas double hung with grids...old house, so they came and measured for custom sizes. We did the upstairs last year and will do the downstairs soon. He says lots of homeowners go that route to help spread out costs..

 

[Golf4food]

Don't go more expensive than the market would dictate for the house - you won't get anything back in resale value just for windows, even really nice ones. (Nobody will suddenly pay $300K for a $250K house just because you overspent on windows.) If it's a high end market, get high end. If middle class, go for middle cost windows. If lower end, get cheaper.

 

[GaryDis]

Don't go more expensive than the market would dictate for the house - you won't get anything back in resale value just for windows, even really nice ones. (Nobody will suddenly pay $300K for a $250K house just because you overspent on windows.) If it's a high end market, get high end. If middle class, go for middle cost windows. If lower end, get cheaper.

I definitely agree with that. We got a quote over $50K for Pella, and looking at what we paid for the house, it just didn't make sense. We decided to forego the wood frame and stick with vinyl, and then switched to Harvey because we didn't like the Pella vinyls. It still came in around $29K, but we were very happy with the work and service.

But you'll really want to get someone in for a quote, preferably several. Our original windows were low quality, builder-grade vinyl clad. All of the contractors we saw agreed that we couldn't do replacement windows, and had to use new construction.

EDIT: I haven't done my tax update yet, but I'm pretty sure the tax credit for energy star windows is still there. It's a very small credit, but every little bit helps.

 

[ilovevacation]

We just did our windows this summer. We got quotes from Andersen for nearly 40k but they did include placing 2 doors. We got generic vinyl for 17 windows and 2 doors (the same doors from the Anderson quote ) and we paid 20k.

 

[3boymthr]

The windows are original to the house (approx 1945-1950) and probably all custom sizes but when buying blinds etc I find them all to be a fairly standard width as in I can buy blinds/shades right off the shelf with no cutting needed for them to fit. I believe they are all @ 30 inches wide and about thirty tall except our front window which is the one I described as a triple. It's a very large picture window with two sides Windows of 18 inches. My mom got hers replaced with a single window that was three Windows together. She called it a triple window which is what her contractor called it. I'm expecting this one may have to wait as the cost may be prohibitive. the total width of this window is about 100 inches. The doubles are two thirty inch Windows with no wall at all in between them just a single three inch strip of window frame.

We did the mass save energy program last year for insulation I will have to see if that's per person or address or energy cause.

We have vinyl siding that's in good shape outside that I don't want to mess with but the inside framing probably will need to be replaced. It's got dry rot on a couple of the Windows and one of the Frames has a problem with paint flaking. Of course I say not doing anything to the outside but all the Windows have aluminum storm Windows which are also original to the house so repairs may be necessary once they are removed. The

 

[GusGus77]

We just bought Sunrise Windows. Very good brand excellent glass package. It cost $500 per window to replace. Another window brand that is good quality but not break the bank is Okna. We researched window types after our first estimate and found these to be the best higher end of the middle range windows (the top being Pella or Anderson.) The ratings on the windows are SHGC of 0.21 and U-factor of 0.24. We received an estimate on Vista Windows (which are not as good but still ok, and that estimate was $3k more than the one we got for the better Windows!) So definitely get several estimates. (One we just did random, but for the others we searched out who had the Windows we wanted in the area and called places based on that.)

 

[agavegirl1]

There are a lot of possibilities and it kind of depends on where you live. The double pane with argon gas can be pricey if they are windows that actually open. We were able to replace a number of windows with fixed glass (facing the lake) that didn't open for a very reasonable price and strategically placed windows that actually open with screen (twice the price) in areas to create a cross breeze with the prevailing winds for much less than the price for all opening windows. We used a Canadian company that specialized in a high R value for the fixed glass and Andersen and Window World for the others. We used a contractor who had a lot of options and made our wishes known. The contractor actually built the interior trim. We stained and varnished it ourselves to save even more money.

 

[tinatark]

Window world makes it simple. We moved into our new (to us) home a few years ago and used them. In our previous home, we paid a small fortune for Pella - while they looked nice, they didn't really affect our energy usage. I Love the WW windows we have now. Base is $189, add extra for Argon gas, extra for double hung. I think they will end up $250 ish installed.

 

[teller80]

The people who owned our house before us got replacement windows with a "lifetime guarantee". I put that in quotes because the company is now out of business, so it did us no good. I found out later that many companies do this - they'll offer the lifetime guarantee, then change hands so they don't have to honor it.

We got ours from Lowe's and are happy with them. We were able to get a tax credit too, I remember when we bought them the deduction had expired the previous year but in October or November the IRS decided to continue it.

 

[xlxo]

Single, double and triple doesn't really mean anything to me. Is that panes?

I had double pane windows installed. In addition to insulation for winter..... NOISE reduction was a huge benefit. When neighbours fire up their gas mowers, I can still watch TV without raising the volume. Triple and Quad panes would reduce the noise further (especially near noisy roads and airports), but the cost goes up big time.

 

[LJSquishy]

I would ask this question over at Houzz.com -- a lot of folks there are pretty knowledgeable and would be willing to help you find the best windows for your budget.