Hi my name is Jay
Our house is post and beam construction with 11 large fixed glass windows that we want to replace with low E glass, vinyl exterior and wood interior. We have looked at Jeld-Wen and Anderson windows. Jeld-Wen has a life time warranty and Anderson has a 20 year warranty. I would like to know what your experiences have been with these products good and bad and any recommendations you might have.
Thanks
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Replies
I have had terrible luck with a number of Jeld Wen products in the past couple of years. It is my understanding that the company has grown by acquisition and their quality across the company is inconsistent at best due to the number of companies that have been bought up and are now members of the Jeld Wen family. There's no question, I'd take Andersen over Jeld Wen anyday.
Why vinyl-clad?
An aluminum-clad window will last much longer. Check out Pella Proline.
If you can afford it check out Pella Architect Series, you'll like the jamb liners sp? a lot better than the proline.
Chuck
after you check it out , find out about service. They want to sell without service
find out about service
That's what I like about Pella. You're buying direct from a factory outlet or a factory representative, not a middle man lumberyard or home center.
Around here, central NY, if you don't hire there installers they will claim improper instalation, no matter what, and refuse to honor their warrenty. watch out. As a framing carpenter, I have been in on approx. 20,000 window installations. It is funny that they are the first window man. who has claimed improper instal,.
Frammer52 you may be a great installer, I have nothing to prove otherwise. But being in the window repair biz and doing warrenty work for several window manufacturers I can say this with the utmost confidence. 3 out of 4 windows are not installed per manufacturers instructions. Some problems have nothing to do with the initial installation but poor brick laying, insulation, drywall installation or a hundred other things. Pretty much... if a window works out of the box there is no reason it shouldn't continue to work as designed for it's useful life.
Oh and I have a local builder that uses a couple of different windows. Granted he has only put in an estimated 8,000 windows.... but he has yet to put in one correctly.
Edited 2/6/2008 8:18 pm ET by sledgehammer
We like Andersen -- have used in several houses and they are responsive to our needs -- one house was 'windowed' in 1970 and we have not had one bit of trouble
What's your location?
The quality of a window manufacturer's service and followup to warranty issues can vary greatly with location, and has to do with their distribution networks and dealer chains.
In one location, Andersen might be the tops, but in another, they could be well down below, say, Pella.
Wawbeek, huh? Lemme guess. Upper Saranac Lake?
Melvin Village New Hampshire on Lake Winnipesaukee. So how do I find out the service there?
Find all the principal lines of product sold nearby, and discuss the matter with two of three of the best builders there.
That is the only way. The opinions you get here only work for the locales from which they come.
One thing to consider is the type of window you are getting, that being fixed lite "picture" windows in various polygonal shapes, if I recall correctly. You need to make sure your inquiries specify that.
The prob with asking "who is good?" in windows is that someone may make the best patio door, someone else may make the best casement, and someone else entirely makes the best double hung.
Again, find those local builders with the best reputations, and who have been there a while. They will have the answers for you.
Try Wickes Lumber in Meredith (if you're on the north/west side of the lake).
I've never had any unresolvable issues with Andersen.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
wawbeek,
My home's a timberframe Pictures at 94941.1&85891.1 but I used Andersen. My sister who built her house about the same time used Pella/Andersen and swears at Pella and praises her Andersen..
Just for those Pella defenders she and her husband installed all of the windows and had great success with the Andersens and lousy, windy, leaky, experiance with the Pella.. ..
Jay, be careful with the warranties, Andersen windows warranty in the past was 20/10, 20 years on the glass, 10 years on other components. So basically the glass is warranted against seal failure and stress cracking. A number of years ago I worked as a service rep for Andersen and a few other companies. Andersen's warranty department was very good IMO. They would take care of some problems that were clearly out of the warranty period.
I'm not familiar with the Jeld Wen warranty, so check it out thoroughly by getting a copy of the current warranty. Recently a Jeld Wen rep told me they no longer warranty their wood ( Morgan brand)exterior doors if they don't have some kind of protection such as a roof or storm door.
Look at Fiberglass Windows with wood veneer on the inside. I have installed one fiberglass window and was impressed. Seems much better than all other choices. It also seems the best products are out of Canada. Jay
Who makes them and where are they sold?
Jay
Try
Fibertec http://www.fibertec.com
Thermotech http://www.thermotechfiberglass.com
Hope this helps
The entire line of Integrity Windows by Marvin have an outer frame and outer sash members made of pultruded fiberglass, which is the same material used for the exterior frame components of probably the best hinged patio door in the field, the Frenchwood by Andersen.
That said, Andersen is only using pultruded glass in that one product. Marvin puts it into the entire Integrity line, and in certain products in its core lines.
You could not go wrong doing your polygonal windows with fixed glass, in Integrity by Marvin.