With my tax return money this year, I am going to start having my windows replaced. Starting the ones with broken seals, of coarse. <!—-><!—-><!—->
I have found installers of all of the popular brands (Portland Glass, Anderson, Marvin, Pella & Champion). I want to give each company the same criteria to quote against. What should I include? What is commonly missed or left out of a quote to make the price look better?<!—-><!—->
This is what I am thinking:<!—-><!—->
1. Exterior styling (to match current windows)<!—-> <!—->
2. Replacement of all trim, siding, molding.<!—-><!—->
3. removal of old windows.<!—-><!—->
4. Min. U-factor<!—-><!—->
5. Window style, size, operation.<!—-><!—->
Replies
The folks in this forum will overwhelmingly say forget the quotes and go with the marvin windows. I have never used them and will recommend Simonton for vinyl and I prefer peachtree windows for wood.
I'll say Marvin Infinity. They are fiberglass. Very nice operation and the U value is .32 I belive.
If you really want to send out an RFQ, I would use a proprietary spec rather than a performance spec. Even with the same spec's such as U factor, solar heat gain, air infiltration, etc. there are too many subtle variables that don't show up between the mfg's that make a big difference in window quality. Look at the recent Andersen/Marvin quality thread going on here to see what I mean.
Pick a window mfg. first or better yet, find a contractor that you trust and who does good work (based on references) to install your windows. The cost of the windows, is more or less pass through for the contractor, so find the guy who will install them properly and take good care of you.