Window Replacement Rec & Advice

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

1 hour ago, deadshank said:

@William_Cannon 

Window World is a franchised operation.  The Austin franchisee may be better than the one in Houston that is actually based in Baton Rouge (so when they advertise that they are a local company they are actually not and the HQ is in NC...but I digress)

We had a decent remodel contract for a house in west Houston.  The property owner had already contracted with WW to replace the windows.  Normally we don’t like that but we decided to see if WW could bring in good people and if they would be a good source for us.  
 

I knew it was going to be a problem when the next door neighbor asked if we were going to use WW after having seen their salesman’s truck in front of the house.  WW had just die his windows and he wasn’t happy and showed me the damage to his windows openings. 

The contract was signed and we were moving forward, thanks for the input.  
 

WW showed up with a crew that demo’d the existing windows and took out chunks of brick & mortar and siding with it and plenty of drywall and sill trim on the inside of the widow openings.  
 

The install crew showed up and set  the windows off plumb and installed windows with the panes already broken from the trip to the job site.  
 

3 week wait for replacement replacement windows (it took 5)...BUT can you go ahead and pay us then deal with the warranty department?  
 

Uh, negatory.  
 

WW sent their punch out guy to “fix” the damage to the bricks, mortar, drywall, paint and sill trim.   He smeared some caulk and paint on everything and called it good.  Pay us!!

Up yours.   
 

We send our guys out to actually fix the tore up stuff and back charge WW. 

 

WW no happy, pale face.  WW says we will sue.  I say bring it.  
 

WW ate crow.  

 

I'm sorry pal, but I just don't see a movie here....

[Irish Wrist Watch 1,374]

Some friends built an amazing house a few years ago. the backside is all windows and a sliding glass door. The view overlooking the Hill Country is amazing. The window frames have some kind of baked on color coating on the outside. They chose a light blue which fit in with a white accent in the concrete. the colored frames looked a lot classier than the old metal frames. the coating looked to be weatherproof and fade proof. Made for very clean lines. Unfortunately, I can't tell you any more than that, but I'm sure you can find all you need to know on the web.

Edited January 27, 2021 by Irish Wrist Watch

[William_Cannon 86]

The Marvin Austin dealer you referenced...is that Amazing Exteriors on Burnet?  I was just thinking about contacting them based on the upstream recommendation about Marvin.  

I don’t recall the name, but there was only one in Austin when I looked at them.

[William_Cannon 86]

[mention=1402]William_Cannon[/mention] 
Window World is a franchised operation.  The Austin franchisee may be better than the one in Houston that is actually based in Baton Rouge (so when they advertise that they are a local company they are actually not and the HQ is in NC...but I digress)
We had a decent remodel contract for a house in west Houston.  The property owner had already contracted with WW to replace the windows.  Normally we don’t like that but we decided to see if WW could bring in good people and if they would be a good source for us.  
 
I knew it was going to be a problem when the next door neighbor asked if we were going to use WW after having seen their salesman’s truck in front of the house.  WW had just die his windows and he wasn’t happy and showed me the damage to his windows openings. 
The contract was signed and we were moving forward, thanks for the input.  
 
WW showed up with a crew that demo’d the existing windows and took out chunks of brick & mortar and siding with it and plenty of drywall and sill trim on the inside of the widow openings.  
 
The install crew showed up and set  the windows off plumb and installed windows with the panes already broken from the trip to the job site.  
 
3 week wait for replacement replacement windows (it took 5)...BUT can you go ahead and pay us then deal with the warranty department?  
 
Uh, negatory.  
 
WW sent their punch out guy to “fix” the damage to the bricks, mortar, drywall, paint and sill trim.   He smeared some caulk and paint on everything and called it good.  Pay us!!
Up yours.   
 
We send our guys out to actually fix the tore up stuff and back charge WW. 
 
WW no happy, pale face.  WW says we will sue.  I say bring it.  
 
WW ate crow.  
 

I see. Yea it totally depends on the franchise. WW of Austin did a great install for me.

My only gripe with WW is that they have a weep hole on the fixed side of a horizontal slider. It lets in a bit of cold air in.


I don’t see the point of the weep hole since it’s on the fixed side on the inside of the window. I guess if there was tropical storm sideways rain, we t could help the frame drain. However, that’s not likely for me and there is a weep hole in the slider side as well (under the pane)....so I put a little piece of tape over it.

[deadshank 24,653]

8 hours ago, William_Cannon said:

I see. Yea it totally depends on the franchise. WW of Austin did a great install for me.

My only gripe with WW is that they have a weep hole on the fixed side of a horizontal slider. It lets in a bit of cold air in.


I don’t see the point of the weep hole since it’s on the fixed side on the inside of the window. I guess if there was tropical storm sideways rain, we t could help the frame drain. However, that’s not likely for me and there is a weep hole in the slider side as well (under the pane)....so I put a little piece of tape over it.

Glad it worked out for you.   

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

14 hours ago, Irish Wrist Watch said:

Some friends built an amazing house a few years ago. the backside is all windows and a sliding glass door. The view overlooking the Hill Country is amazing. The window frames have some kind of baked on color coating on the outside. They chose a light blue which fit in with a white accent in the concrete. the colored frames looked a lot classier than the old metal frames. the coating looked to be weatherproof and fade proof. Made for very clean lines. Unfortunately, I can't tell you any more than that, but I'm sure you can find all you need to know on the web.

It's more than likely a baked on Kynar 500 finish, which has several levels of quality, and price points.

[Bevo 13,579]

Any strong feelings between wood, uPVC, aluminum and aluminum clad on the outside/wood inside? There is a big price difference from uPVC<wood<aluminum<aluminum clad. From my reading it sounds like uPVC is 1/3rd the price of aluminum clad with roughly equivalent quality and performance and probably a slightly inferior look.

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

39 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Any strong feelings between wood, uPVC, aluminum and aluminum clad on the outside/wood inside? There is a big price difference from uPVC<wood<aluminum<aluminum clad. From my reading it sounds like uPVC is 1/3rd the price of aluminum clad with roughly equivalent quality and performance and probably a slightly inferior look.

Vinyl quality depends on how it's constructed, especially the corner construction. Wood interiors always, simulate divided lites (SDL) if at all possible.

I'd skip munition bars in the windows if you have to consoler the between the glass riots. They're about as cheesy looking as you can get.

Make sure its a reputable brand.  Windows are about the mots important exterior finish item. Don't skimp on them.  Good ones are on the expensive side of construction costs.

[Bevo 13,579]

8 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Vinyl quality depends on how it's constructed, especially the corner construction. Wood interiors always, simulate divided lites (SDL) if at all possible.

I'd skip munition bars in the windows if you have to consoler the between the glass riots. They're about as cheesy looking as you can get.

Make sure its a reputable brand.  Windows are about the mots important exterior finish item. Don't skimp on them.  Good ones are on the expensive side of construction costs.

The wood on the inside seems to be my issue. I found a site which shows the relative pricing between products.

Triple glazed uPVC windows  from 125 EUR/m2

Meranti wood windows  from 197 EUR/m2

Triple glazed aluminium windows  from 279 EUR/m2

Alu-clad wood windows  from 359 EUR/m2

That means for wood on the inside (and assuming wood on the outside is bad), you are paying triple the cost compared to a uPVC window. So, if the inside window is going to be bronze or white (still trying to decide what would look better), then does it really matter if the inside is wood? It is going to be painted rather than stained anyway.

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

5 minutes ago, Bevo said:

The wood on the inside seems to be my issue. I found a site which shows the relative pricing between products.

Triple glazed uPVC windows  from 125 EUR/m2

Meranti wood windows  from 197 EUR/m2

Triple glazed aluminium windows  from 279 EUR/m2

Alu-clad wood windows  from 359 EUR/m2

That means for wood on the inside (and assuming wood on the outside is bad), you are paying triple the cost compared to a uPVC window. So, if the inside window is going to be bronze or white (still trying to decide what would look better), then does it really matter if the inside is wood? It is going to be painted rather than stained anyway.

Wood on the outside isn't bad IF they have a real wood rot warranty that isn't a sham. Still, more maintenance with a wood widow.  Jeld Wenn has a good wood rot warranty, but are having other in house, quality control issues right now.

My advice is to go to a reputable window co.  showroom, and compare an all vinyl window to a vinyl/wood or metal/ wood or wood/wood unit to see the differences.  That's what I always do with new clients. They need to see what they're paying for. typical window costs on homes I've worked on ranged from  $25-$70k or more, depending on the size of the home, size of the windows, types of windows, window features, etc.

Personally I dislike an all vinyl window. I'm not a plastics guy. There aren't as many quality all vinyl windows out there IMO, in America at least.

You're building in the mountains so triple glazing is a must, but it's gonna affect your price for damn sure.  I'd go with bronze over white, but that's just a snap opinion on my part, and doesn't take into account your surrounding, interior colors, design style, etc.

[Axle Hongsnort 208]

Beyond avoiding Window World and Andersen Renewal, anyone have recent experience with repair and/or replacement in Austin?

We’ve been in the house less than than a year and understand the upstairs windows are from 2016 but with the torrential monsoons last week found leaks in two. We need some immediate fixes plus some new windows down stairs.

Water leaks and damage are such a nut kick.

[deadshank 24,653]

11 minutes ago, Axle Hongsnort said:

Beyond avoiding Window World and Andersen Renewal, anyone have recent experience with repair and/or replacement in Austin?

We’ve been in the house less than than a year and understand the upstairs windows are from 2016 but with the torrential monsoons last week found leaks in two. We need some immediate fixes plus some new windows down stairs.

Water leaks and damage are such a nut kick.

Not in Austin.  
 

Are the windows themselves leaking or are the windows leaking due to bad cold joints at the rough opening?

What kind of windows?  Aluminum?  Wood?  Clad? Vinyl?  
 

Are the windows situated in brick, stucco, stone or siding?

Is the caulk at the cold joint in place, in disrepair or non-existent?

Are the window headers flashed?

Your windows may be fine but the water intrusion is due to something g else. 

I don’t know is an acceptable answer.  
 

 

[kmac30 416]

We just completed an order for replacing 19 windows in my house to match 5 I put in during remodel. Holy f. Expensive tastes I guess. Told me 12-14 weeks for them to come in. Their going to look great, but that’s a long time to wait.

Aluminum clad wood casement windows for majority, we are going vinyl sliders for a couple that are out of view. Size seems to be the biggest variable in costs for me. 72” windows do not come cheap.

[Axle Hongsnort 208]

The windows are Kolbe and are built into wooden siding. The material is tough to assess and may be their proprietary stuff. The downstairs window hadn’t leaked until we got CRAZY rain and seems to be a function of traditional run off streams getting overwhelmed and water streaming into abnormal outflows. My duct tape seems to have helped until we can get a pro here. The upstairs window is collecting / pooling at the bottom left (when looking out) but at a very slow rate.

Any guidance or recs are hugely appreciated.

[deadshank 24,653]

27 minutes ago, Axle Hongsnort said:

The windows are Kolbe and are built into wooden siding. The material is tough to assess and may be their proprietary stuff. The downstairs window hadn’t leaked until we got CRAZY rain and seems to be a function of traditional run off streams getting overwhelmed and water streaming into abnormal outflows. My duct tape seems to have helped until we can get a pro here. The upstairs window is collecting / pooling at the bottom left (when looking out) but at a very slow rate.

Any guidance or recs are hugely appreciated.

Metal windows set in wood rough opening.  Wood siding abutting the metal window at the cold joint. 

The cold joint is caulked which is good. There a few cracks showing in the caulk.  Who knows what kind they used?  Looks paintable due to paint on it.  Sonneborn NP-1 or Sikaflex are the top of the market and generally accessible caulks.  Hoping painter didn't caulk with paintable siliconized caulk as that won't last too long with the metal window expanding and contracting so much.

The top of the window is definitely not hard flashed with metal and a back tape wrap nor is the wood header above it.  One or both of those junctions should be hard flashed and turned at least 1" down the right and left sides.  I prefer flashing the window and leaving the wood window picture frame alone.

Since your Oklahome chrome tape  job worked I would be the problem is no window header flashing OR the rubberized seal weather strip on the operable window is no good.

 

 

[deadshank 24,653]

@Onboard 2.0 will give you an architect's opinion.  

He's not very good but at least he's slow.

And expensive.

[luke duke 6,413]

[mention=684]Onboard 2.0[/mention] will give you an architect's opinion.  
He's not very good but at least he's slow.
And expensive.

His hands also smell like cabbage.

[luke duke 6,413]

[mention=684]Onboard 2.0[/mention] will give you an architect's opinion.  
He's not very good but at least he's slow.
And expensive.

DP

[Axle Hongsnort 208]

I actually need an architect too. And I like cabbage. PM me.

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

10 hours ago, luke duke said:

 

His hands also smell like cabbage.

 

That was our little secret.

[Larry T. Spider 1,746]

Need new windows and a guy for Power was going door to door. Let him give me a quote and a sales pitch. It was 46k, which is quite a bit more than I was expecting. It’s a single story house in the burbs and that just seems like overkill relative to the value of the home. 

No idea what he paid but my neighbor had window world do his a while back and he was happy with them. I was planning on calling them but this thread has given me pause. Has anybody else had experience with them over the last few years?

Open to any other recs yall have.

[UTPhil2006 3,807]

9 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Need new windows and a guy for Power was going door to door. Let him give me a quote and a sales pitch. It was 46k, which is quite a bit more than I was expecting. It’s a single story house in the burbs and that just seems like overkill relative to the value of the home. 

No idea what he paid but my neighbor had window world do his a while back and he was happy with them. I was planning on calling them but this thread has given me pause. Has anybody else had experience with them over the last few years?

Open to any other recs yall have.

What city are you again?

[deadshank 24,653]

10 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Need new windows and a guy for Power was going door to door. Let him give me a quote and a sales pitch. It was 46k, which is quite a bit more than I was expecting. It’s a single story house in the burbs and that just seems like overkill relative to the value of the home. 

No idea what he paid but my neighbor had window world do his a while back and he was happy with them. I was planning on calling them but this thread has given me pause. Has anybody else had experience with them over the last few years?

Open to any other recs yall have.

Somebody on this thread had a good WW experience.   I did not.   It was a forced contract on a remodel job we did.   The pricing was not horrible but still too much.  The subcontract demo / install crew was really bad.  Rectifying the collateral damage with customer service was even worse.  
 

Your results may vary.  

[UTPhil2006 3,807]

10 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Need new windows and a guy for Power was going door to door. Let him give me a quote and a sales pitch. It was 46k, which is quite a bit more than I was expecting. It’s a single story house in the burbs and that just seems like overkill relative to the value of the home. 

No idea what he paid but my neighbor had window world do his a while back and he was happy with them. I was planning on calling them but this thread has given me pause. Has anybody else had experience with them over the last few years?

Open to any other recs yall have.

DM sent.  We can definitely help out in the Central Texas area.