Have a customer with a 12 year old addition. Has a couple of windows with very bad rot… sash and sill. He called the retired builder who said they are Marvin.
How does one confirm this? There is nothing I can find with a name anywhere.
Edited 7/10/2009 9:31 pm ET by sledgehammer
Replies
should be markings on the alum spacer between the glass... call your marvin dealer and they'll tell you what to look for and where
Marvin does not use their own glass anymore. They use Cardinal glass. I expect that the spacer might just say "Cardinal" unless it was before they started outsourcing glass.
Don't believe the builder?
Or was he uncertain in his answer?
I'm sure I can tell you what windows I used in every house for the last 15 years or so.
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Marvin spacers don't have a name on them.
Tilt out sash and post a photo of the latching mechanism and jamb liner (if double hung).
Marvin puts paper stickers on the frame that rarely get removed - should have date, order # etc. but those would be hard to get at unless you're pulling the frame (possible if the rot is that bad). Conceiveably you might be able to get at one by removing the casing and sliding a putty knife under the sticker thus removing it.
Marvin had a serious problem with the preservative ('PILT') treatment that they used from another manufacturer (PPG) some years ago, but most of those windows are from IIRC, about 1985 or so - 12 years ago should not be a problem so something's wrong.
Also check out this link on how to identify - http://www.marvin.com/default.aspx?page=Warranty#Identify
Marvin does acid-etch 'Marvin Windows' onto the glass in an upper corner of the sash - but I don't know how long they have been doing that.
Here - http://www.contractortalk.com/f33/question-window-guys-45835/ is a series of photos of the Marvin double-hung hardware (fairly recent) and what it looks like when you remove the latch. Marvin uses 'Truth' hardware - although they have more expensive options.
Jeff
Edited 7/11/2009 9:30 pm ET by Jeff_Clarke
I just figured Marvin are so good they would be proud to display their name somewhere on the window.
Apparently I was wrong.
I have some similar aged Marvin's. No apparent marks, but I see that the thumb latch has "open" cast into one end of the latch, and "lock" cast onto the opposite side. I don't recall ever seeing that on any other hardware, though I could be wrong.