Has anyone bought replacement windows for their home?

[sncbird]

We're looking into replacing the windows in our 11 year old home. The windows the builder put in are terrible. We had a window company out and they recommened Anderson, Pella, & Marvin. Is there a big difference between these brands with quality and cost? Thanks for your input

 

[Boots]

We did about two years ago. Did the whole house. DH bought them at Home Depot and they aren't Anderson but the equivalent according to the Home Depot people. I don't remember the brand. We had to have over half of them special made because of the windows being an unusual size. Our old windows used to sweat all the time and so far these don't. I also believe our utility bill went down some. DH and my dad put them in without us having to hire anyone.

 

[Melrosgirl]

We got all new windows 2 years ago. We purchased Anderson windows. Love them. Got the ones that flip open, so you can clean the outside while you are inside. Our utility bills def. went down and the coldest room in our house (our office) is not so cold anymore. hth (Anderson were pretty pricey, but since we don't plan on moving within the next 10 years, it was worth it. If you plan on moving within a few years, get something more affordable.)

 

[The LK 4]

My BIL is a contractor, and they use Pella windows exclusively. He is a perfectionist, and he just loves Pella. He is installing some in our house right now.

 

[judi]

You can always check consumer reports and see what they say. We have the equivalent of the Anderson also, they were easy to put in. I helped my husband with them. Saved a lot of money that way also.

 

[sammi]

We also had Home Depot install our new windows (just 2 weeks ago) and the company that makes the windows for Home Depot is called Farley windows. We were told that they are a USA based company and so far we're really happy with them and boy new windows have come in really handy lately as it's been below 0-F for the past 3 weeks.

 

[zulaya]

Just had new windows installed last week. We had and got Marvins. I only ordered them at this time because we were part of a class action lawsuit that gave us a price break if we ordered at a certain time. DH wanted the windows before the deep freeze.

I have to say in the week we have had them, the furnace hasn't come on nearly as much. I don't feel the drafts that I used to and I have the satisfaction of knowing that none of these windows are rotting, like the other ones were.

Personally, I would have liked Anderson's, but we have gliders and I would have wanted the up and down version. Our openings are too big for that.

All 3 that you mentioned have great reps. Anderson of course will be the priciest for the name recognition. Make sure you get low-e glass on whatever you get as that will help with the utilities.

 

[janette]

I've wondered how much replacements would help in some of our windows. We can sometimes hear wind in my DD's room upstairs. Would better windows resolve it?

 

[Dan Murphy]

We did the whole front of the house last year with windows from http://www.gilkey.com/ We are extremely pleased with the results. We did opt for heat mirror, argon gas and low-e glass. We will be doing several more this year.

 

[catsrule]

yes, a local company called gilkey. same as dan, it seems. great minds think alike.

 

[RNMOM]

We replaced our whole house in 2000 with Pellas. I love them. We also had a 10 ft. patio door replaced with a one sided french door and two side lights. Love it too. They are pricey but nice. We had aluminum sliders that whistled with the wind. We put two double hung in each opening except for a couple so we had nearly double the windows to purchase.

We went with a contractor recommended by the Pella store near us. I was very pleased with all of it.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

We had replacement vinyl windows from Champion installed last year. We looked at Champion and the Renewal by Andersen windows and went with the Champion.

Not only can we tell a difference temperature-wise, but there's also a noticeable difference with sound. There's a train track within a mile and it's not as loud as it used to be, and the dogs barking from inside when we pull up is muffled outside.

I think one big strike against the Andersen salesman was his tactic in presenting a comparison of vinyl windows versus his product. He had this sample of a vinyl window frame that was hollow and flimsy, almost falling apart. The Champion salesman showed up a frame cross-section that showed the insulation inside the frame.