Replacement Windows Discussion Board Forum

Silly question..... Is it reasonable to caulk around the fixed panel of a sliding patio door? It's a new Sunrise vinyl door I had put in last fall, and the installers did not do that (although they did a nice job on the install otherwise with neat caulking around the frame). I've noticed that in per...

OK, I had the Restorations put in a couple weeks ago. Installation was very different from in my Boston house, where they pulled the wood exterior casings, installed new-construction-type windows with a nailing fin, and put up new casings. Here my house has a stucco exterior and no casings, so they ...

Just to update: I have decided to order the Sunrise Restorations windows. Two things tipped the balance. First, after I got my initial set of estimates, I had some crises at work I had to deal with so I had to put the window decision aside for a while, and meanwhile the Infinity dealer started getti...

When I was window-shopping in MA a couple of years ago, I concluded that the Harvey Classic was a decent mid-grade window, but I don't think the Slimline is intended for anything other than small/narrow openings. If you're concerned about glass loss, take a look at Sunrise. I got their Restorations ...

I've been thinking about how I can get at least one window that opens in my living room, which currently only has picture windows. The three openings are 60x30, 48x90, and 72x90 (all width x height). This room has 11.5' ceilings, so the latter two are a regular height off the floor, not floor-to-cei...

I'd be really wary of those low-end bids; windows from the big-box stores are not known for their high quality, and you'll probably get what you pay for on the install, too. OTOH, what kind of window was Pella quoting you $1000 a pop for? :o BTW, you can read about my two top choices in the "Su...

Verrrry interesting. I've now got a much more aggressive price quote on the Restorations window, so the price difference is now more like 25%. I'm thinking that tips the balance back in the other direction..... :? It's hard to justify spending almost $200/opening more for fiberglass when I know firs...

I'm actually trying to decide between the same two brands of windows. :? A couple years ago I had the Sunrise Restorations put in my house in Boston, and was quite pleased with them. I had to rule out the Infinity at that time because of local dealer issues. Now I've moved to Colorado and, guess wha...

Some of you may remember me from my "brown windows in Boston" thread from about a year and a half ago.... to make a long story short, I've relocated to Colorado Springs and my new house badly needs replacement windows, too. :( The good news is that plain ol' white windows will work fine in...

You seem to be reaching for some wrong conclusions here. There's nothing "wrong" with vinyl windows, per se. But, for instance, take Pella's. It's a low-end product, compared to other vinyl windows as well as Pella's other lines of windows. Pella put their name on it because it gives them ...

IIRC, Consumer Reports only rated windows that you could buy retail and install yourself. Many of the better-quality vinyl windows are only available from an installer who gets them from a wholesale building supply house or from the manufacturer's distributor network. So, the CR ratings are not wort...

Yes and yes.

FWIW, last year I had a mix of Sunrise Restorations and Pella Impervia windows installed in my house -- the Sunrises on the front, and the Impervias on the back. The Sunrise is a much nicer-looking and more "featureful" window than the Impervia, and I would have been happy to put them on t...

Another thing you can might do is check and see whether your heating system has a maintenance issue. I also found that my new windows made less of a difference in energy savings once the cold weather hit than they did during the fall. OTOH, I definitely have noticed that my whole house feels warmer ...

The Harvey is very popular here in the Boston area as it's a local company. I think one of its advantages here is that it's carried by so many installers that you can really shop around for good pricing and/or an installer who knows their stuff; you aren't locked into a single local dealer.