Hello there,
I’ve seen this posted many times, and I did a search and read those postings. I’m considering installing either Jeld-Wen vinyl windows (which are from their United line – from Ontario), with vinyl cladding (actually entirely vinyl) and Pollard windows (from Burlington, Ontario) which is also an all vinyl product.
A couple questions – first, has anyone had any experience with either of these brands? In particular with Jeld-Wen’s United line? The local building supply place for Jeld-Wen said he’s never had any problems and the service guy is down once / week to check up on things, so the service is excellent. Second, should I be worried about vinyl cladding vs. aluminum? I have wood windows now with aluminum cladding, and I would assume that is better than vinyl, but I wanted to get your guys thoughts.
I’ve priced out the Anderson’s and they are double the price of both of these, so they are out of the question, although they would have been my first choice.’
Thanks again for your help!
Replies
You are comparing completely different products when you ask about the comparison between the all vinyl windows and the aluminum clad wood windows.
You have to decide which of these distinctly different products you desire. The wood windows will normally be superior, and more costly, and can be either aluminum or vinyl clad. The cladding has no effect on the performance, the vinyl is better about not scratching. My choice here would be Marvin or Hurd with vinyl cladding.
The all vinyl windows will be cheaper. I have not used the brands you mention, but I have installed many vinyl windows, some good, some gooder<g>. Vinyl windows have become the Builders/entry level standard in this area.
If you decide on all vinyl, consider the local recommendations as to quality and service. It would do little good to purchase great windows with no local service presence.
Edited 7/12/2007 11:49 am by Heck
You don't say where you're located , but solid vinyl conducts cold into the house, unless they have a thermal break, but even then there much less efficient than solid wood w/ a cladding. Your current windows sound like they are superior to the ones you want to replace them with!
Geoff
I think I left out some details. I am building a new house, and not replacing my old windows. Both products are all vinyl, so I was wondering if anyone had perspective on the brands. They are basically both from Ontario, Canada, so I didn't know which one to go with. Thanks.
I'm in NB, and we have DF vinyl windows, which is part of Jeld Wen. I'm happy with them; I'd get double hung instead of single hung if I did it again, but in 5 years we're happy. It's an R2000 house, and they seem fine to me.
grandchat27
In general vinyl windows (all vinyl windows) perform very poorly in cold weather. while installation technique actaully determine air leakage, the lack of wood to provide some measure of insulation transmits a great deal of cold into the house that Vinyl clad wood windows doesn't.
I like Jeld Wen vinyl windows, I put in a ton of them in the houses I frame.
I have had a few issues with them, but they were very minor.
1. I got the spec sheet from a supplier giving all the RO's and they were all wrong by 3/4". I had to reframe 15 openings. This was the worst problem. This happened on their aluiminum clad windows.
2. Sometimes the sash locks are loose. Just a screw driver to fix this problem and it's few and far between.
3. Their french doors are kind of a pain to get installed right. The center mullion strip gets in the way of a smooth closing operation. They do loosen up over time. The last few I installed had a fixed threshold which was also a pain, I had to put paste wax on it to smooth it out.
Matt
I would suggest that since you are looking at Canadian companies that you might include fiberglass windows in your research as well. There are several companies in Canada (and a bit south of the border) that make some very nice fiberglass units.
Vinyl windows are very comparable to wood in energy perfromance. Unlike aluminum, vinyl windows do not need a thermal break to reach acceptable performance levels.
There are a good many companies that manufacture wood windows with aluminum cladding. Some are very good - some are not very good - just as there are some very good vinyl windows and some that are not very good. Trying to directly compare aluminum clad wood windows with vinyl windows really is an apples to oranges comparison unless the specifics of both the wood clad and the vinyl are known - and then performance can be compared.
Pay attention to the glass package. In Canada, there is a big push to use solar gain as part of the overall energy performance criteria of a window. Depending on your application that may be good or bad. Different applications/products produce different results - one size does not fit all.
A LowE2 coating, for example, will block a significant amount of that solar gain from coming thru your windows - but a LowE (there is a difference) will allow the much of the solar gain thru the glass - but will block the return of heat to the outside. If you are interested I can get much more indepth in the explanation of the differences in performance of the different products.
Heck, neither Hurd nor Marvin offers a vinyl clad window. Hurd does have all vinyl window lines. Marvin has no vinyl windows at all. Marvin's Integrity and Infinity lines are fiberglass, however.
Edited 7/14/2007 9:55 am ET by Oberon
Edited 7/14/2007 9:58 am ET by Oberon
I am not up to date on the Marvins and Hurds, it seems. I have used plenty in the past, and have always been very pleased.
Lately, it seems all I install are the full vinyl. For several years it was the Better Built line, which have a lifetime warranty.
In the part of Colorado where I am now, Milguard is the window locally available, so far, they seem to be OK, which is the category I place all full vinyl windows in.
For my house, it would be Marvins or Hurds, with whatever cladding was available.
I would like to see Hurd's all-vinyl line, though.
Thanks for the heads-up.
No problem!
I agree that there are definitely preferences in different parts of the country over many products - including windows.
Have a great day!