I'm thinking about replacing my ~30 y/o wood windows with some vinyl replacement windows.

So far the brands I've been looking at are American Craftsman (1200 series, sold by Home Depot), and Pella (200 series, sold by Lowes). Both are not the cheapest of the cheap, but far from the nicest...they qualify for the tax credit but I won't be getting it since I'll be getting the max on my HVAC system replacement.

I had some guy quote me $3200 for some nicer Simonton windows installed, but it looks like I can do either of the above for ~$2000 installed, and I'm thinking there's no way I'll waste $1200 in energy costs before I sell this house (5-7 years) if I go with the cheaper ones.

Who has replaced their windows? What brand/series did you use? Who did the work? Did you notice any savings on your heating and cooling bills?

12/6/2010 8:21:29 PM

jeld wen is where it's at

[Edited on December 6, 2010 at 8:39 PM. Reason : not really]

12/6/2010 8:37:38 PM

I replaced all the windows in my house with Simonton. High quality and have been very impressed. We ordered ours through Eastern Aluminum...they ran ~200/window.

How many windows are you looking to replace?

12/7/2010 7:21:43 AM

^ interesting...was that $200 a window without installation?

did you pay someone to put them in, and if so how much, or did you do it yourself?

I have 10 windows to replace...

12/7/2010 9:35:32 AM

Oh, yeah, left that part out. I did the install along with my FIL. Where is your house located? I could ask him what a good price would be on installation, if you want. Installing new or replacement windows is really not that difficult.

12/7/2010 9:48:24 AM

^ in North Raleigh. I would appreciate that, thanks.

12/7/2010 9:53:33 AM

Talked to him...said it varies widely in terms of what you're looking for, size, wrapped on the outside or not, etc. etc. He said a good rule of thumb is to figure about $300 or so per window (including the window). So you're looking at around 80-100 per window for installation.

12/8/2010 12:40:36 PM

I used Ubuntu for a while

12/22/2010 3:38:21 PM

We got a great quote through window world.

12/29/2010 8:13:41 PM

Sounds like Synapse is on a home energy efficiency home improvement kick

12/30/2010 11:36:29 AM

Quote :

"We got a great quote through window world. "

Be careful with WW. The quality is okay but expect to have issues after 5 years. Yes, they have a lifetime warranty but it's still a hassle to have windows replaced if you can convince WW it's actually a defect. Plus, with WW, by the time you get the windows to have the same features and efficiency ratings as a higher-quality, brand-name window the cost is about the same.
I had Pioneer Exteriors replace 21 windows in my house with Gorrell 5100 series. I did extensive research before my purchase and found Gorrell, Sunrise, and Simonton to be the top-ranked manufacturers. Gorrell manufacturing process impressed me as well as the window construction. Comparing summer of '09 with '10 I found my energy savings to consistently average ~$75/month cheaper. Other than the cost savings the nicest part about the new windows is the fact my 3 year old can open them with ease.
One last note, be sure to read, read, read. A lot of people recommended Pella and Andersen windows because of how nice they are but I also took in stride the folks who were making the recommendation and knew they didn't know much about quality and liked to make opinions based on what's popular and "in style". Low and behold it didn't take long into my research the pros recommend to stay away from these two especially Pella and that these windows are primarily sold based on their name and not their quality.

12/30/2010 8:50:36 PM

We live in a townhome and our HOA and the contractor/property manager recommended them. Apparently when vinyl siding was put up, they offered a deal on window replacement through WW at the same time. Many opted for it, some didn't including the former owner of our place. Now we need new windows and they still recommend them, and most of the townhome owners use them to keep the places uniform. We went them based on that and the quote.

12/30/2010 10:52:12 PM

dont do it, u die of radon and carbon monoxide and voc's: better to spend on solar thermal system, then maybe some PV panels.

1/1/2011 6:29:07 PM

^what in the crazy fuck are you talking about?

Are you really trying to say that vinyl windows are dangerous? And you really recommend someone buy a PV system that will basically pay for itself sometime after your 2nd or 3rd mortgage is up instead of windows?

1/3/2011 9:04:12 PM