I Need Windows for My House And I Know Nothing About Them

[Christine]

Do you have any experience with windows?

My house is 11 years old and the windows have never been great. Especially in the family room. One of the windows is VERY drafty. Probably not installed correctly. Anyway, with the natural gas prices being so high, it's probably a good idea to get new windows.

Now, where to begin. I don't have a lot of money. My DH thinks he can install himself, but I have my doubts. My windows are also odd sized and would need to be special ordered. They are not "double hung" but are horizontal "sliders." The current windows have a brown aluminum frame and I would like to go to white.

I know all the good names (Pella, Anderson) but can you get good mid-grade windows? What's a good brand? What about the windows sold at Home Depot or Lowe's?

I need some help and don't trust salesmen.

 

[Tantor]

We have Gentek windows in our house. I would make sure that any windows you put in have the International Energy Star Symbol on it for energy efficientcy. If you DH is going to do it himself make sure that yiou insulate well around the frame of the window as that is where most of the air comes through. Hubby did most of our windows with no problem.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Has your DH ever installed a window before? Are you just replacing the glass or the entire frame? What is the exterior of your house made of? Where are your wondows leaking from? It is possible that the problem could be fixed (to an extent) without new windows. You could add foam insulation between the window jamb and the wall. Installing a wondow on a wood wall before the siding or insulation is easy (DH and I did it) but once the J-Channel is or the brick, it is much trickier. Does the wondow not fit right in the window frame? You might want to consider casement windows instead of horizontal slide windows. Casement make a better seal thus they are more efficient. Considering the time of the year, time to pick out the window, time to order....it maybe to late to do them for this year. BTW you get what you pay for in window. The better the R value the more it will cost. Another thought would be to get some plexi-glass inserts built to install on the inside of the window to create a barrior to the outside. You can PM me if you want more information.

 

[Christine]

Has your DH ever installed a window before? Are you just replacing the glass or the entire frame? What is the exterior of your house made of? Where are your wondows leaking from? It is possible that the problem could be fixed (to an extent) without new windows. You could add foam insulation between the window jamb and the wall. Installing a wondow on a wood wall before the siding or insulation is easy (DH and I did it) but once the J-Channel is or the brick, it is much trickier. Does the wondow not fit right in the window frame? You might want to consider casement windows instead of horizontal slide windows. Casement make a better seal thus they are more efficient. Considering the time of the year, time to pick out the window, time to order....it maybe to late to do them for this year. BTW you get what you pay for in window. The better the R value the more it will cost. Another thought would be to get some plexi-glass inserts built to install on the inside of the window to create a barrior to the outside. You can PM me if you want more information.

Wow, Mickeyfan. Lot's of questions.

No, my husband has never installed a window before but he's getting ready to put in two new sliding glass doors. He's pretty handy. Well, come to think of it, he did install some small windows in the shed he built. He is an electrician and, of course, is resistant to hiring someone.

We are looking at replacing the entire frame. Our frames our aluminum, brown, and ugly.

The exterior of our house is siding.

Not sure where the window is leaking from. It is two windows in particular. They are in the family room, on the corner of the house and are caddy corner to each other. It is VERY cold when you sit in that area. Funny thing is, my neighbor has the exact house with the exact same problem. It may not be the windows, but something in the corner of the actual house. But for some reason, we believe the windows are the main culprit. The other windows in the house, seem okay but it could be because we don't use those rooms as much.

I don't know if the window doesn't fit right or not. I do know that the particular window frame in question is crookend. I had someone measure for plantation shutter and he told me that the window frame (inside) was very crooked. It's always been a challange to have blinds, shutters, etc. in that window.

The housing style in our neighborhood is contemporary and all the windows are sliders. Not sure if I could get a different type of window past the HOA, nor am I sure it would work with the way the house looks.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Yes there were a lot of questions, but without knowing, it was hard to give you a good answer.

If he can do a slider, then he can do a window. If you have a HOA, then you might have to put in the same type of window. Casement windows are actually for contemporary houses. Double hungs are more traditional.

If the window is crooked, it maybe possible to remove it and reinstall it correctly. When working with siding, if it gets cold (~50 degrees) it can get brittle and break. Siding is easier to work with when it is warm. If the corner is cold, it could be more than the window. Contact your gas company and have them do an energy audit for you. Most are free. Are the walls cold to the touch or is it just a draft? Maybe they never insulated the wall. If you are only changing a few windows, then keep the same style. Good luck with whatever you do.

A way to find a draft easily is to light a match and blow it out, put it by the window and watch how the smoke moves. Might help to find the cause. You could us anything that creates smoke.

 

[golfgal]

Another thing to consider is that one window might be just fine for say Alabama, it is not going to work for my house in Minnesota. I know of a few people that just replaced windows and a couple of them had odd sized windows. They went with Marvin Windows because all of their windows are custom made I guess, where as Andersen makes mostly standard size windows and if you have to get custom sizes it is more expensive. This is second hand knowledge so I can't vouch for the total accuracy, but it is something to look into.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Another thing to consider is that one window might be just fine for say Alabama, it is not going to work for my house in Minnesota. I know of a few people that just replaced windows and a couple of them had odd sized windows. They went with Marvin Windows because all of their windows are custom made I guess, where as Andersen makes mostly standard size windows and if you have to get custom sizes it is more expensive. This is second hand knowledge so I can't vouch for the total accuracy, but it is something to look into.

Marvin window are custom made and beautiful, but they are very expensive. With Marvin you can get low-E glass and tinting. We have them on our home and love them.

 

[Christine]

Thanks for that info.

While our windows are "odd" sizes, I don't believe they will need to be custome made. But, they are non-standard enough that typical hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowe's do not carry them in the store. But I believe they can be ordered easily enough.

 

[doxdogy]

Can you contact the builder and find out what brand of windows are already in the home? For example our window are odd sized too. The front windows are like 24x56. Luckily our neighbor (a contractor) was able to tell us what company installed the original windows in our home and we were able to order replacement through them. Our neighbor ordered windows from Lowe's and the contractor neighbor had to make modifications to install them.

 

[Christine]

Can you contact the builder and find out what brand of windows are already in the home? For example our window are odd sized too. The front windows are like 24x56. Luckily our neighbor (a contractor) was able to tell us what company installed the original windows in our home and we were able to order replacement through them. Our neighbor ordered windows from Lowe's and the contractor neighbor had to make modifications to install them.

Well, I would never order these windows again. They are ugly. Also, some of our neighbors have had problems with the windows filming/fogging up between the glass. We have been lucky that it has not happened to us, but there is just no way I would buy the same window.