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I would have to interject that just because the company has been around for years in and of itself is not the prime factor in picking a good window.

For some eye-opening counterpoints look here:

http://www.bobvila.com/wwwboard/messages/112139.html

I certainly had my own mini-nightmare with the builder-grade Caradco's installed in my new house (after a few years) and the manuf. offered no help whatsoever. These were maintained on a regular basis, so it could have been a PILT-related problem. I got half-hearted interest from the vendor that had no follow through.

You have also mentioned Jeld-Wen warranties. Perhaps this varies between vinyl and wood windows, but as of Jeld-Wen wood window brochures picked up this summer (HD), I noticed that their insulated glass wty is/was NOT as good as other manuf's. I quote:

"...each insulating unit manufactured by Jeld-Wen shall be free from defect in materials or workmanshipt for a period of 20 years from date of manufacture.

HOWEVER....

(para-phrased). it's full coverage for the first 10 years. For the second 10 years, Jeld-Wen will "offer for purchase to the original puchaser replacement insulating galss at 40% off the current Jeld-Wen list price".

Unless I'm mistaken, Marvin and Andersen, for example, are full, non pro-rated 20 years. I believe many other manufs are as good or better. This assumes the Jeld-Wen wty has not been upgraded recently.

I would suggest that anyone considering Caradco Zap-Paks make sure they compare them with other vendors and see how they stack up. For my recent comparisons with Marvin's similiar product see:

http://www.replacement-windows.com/wind ... c.php?t=42

Bottom-line: do your homework.

AMEN

FYI
WARNING !

Buyer Beware!

Please Read This Before Purchasing

Andersen Replacement Windows



...The windows may look great, much better than the competitions, but read on...

In September of 2002 we, in good faith, had 14 Double-Hung Replacement Windows installed on our house by "Renewal by Andersen" of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (West Allis). We had these windows installed with the main purpose of saving money on our energy bills. In accordance with the Renewal by Andersen sales literature and the recommendation of the Renewal by Andersen salesperson we thought the Andersen replacement Windows would be our best choice. The Andersen sales staff stressed quality, energy efficiency, reliability and the fact that the Andersen Corporation has been established nearly 100 years ago. Compared to their competition, we also paid a premium price for these windows, thinking they were the best.

However we could not have made a worse choice. These "Fibrex" windows leak more than our 20 year old original windows. They leak tremendously between the sash and frames. The sashes move loosely in their frames for a sloppy fit. We do not believe the window weather stripping has much effect. We have had our Andersen dealer out here on two separate occasions to check out the windows. They installed a different style weather strip at the bottom of the window and added some caulk where it was missed. The fix did not correct the problem.

We were told by John Vondra, General Manager of the Milwaukee office, corporate would claim that the windows will probably meet industry and published standards if a test is performed by Andersen Corporate. The dealer said someone from the corporate office would come out but as of this date we have not heard from corporate.

We also have contacted the Andersen Corporate Office several times via their website by e-mail. They will not respond, let alone even acknowledge that they received our correspondence.

Also if you plan on having your windows done in Andersen's "Canvas" color and want a Patio Door of the same color, Good Luck! We were promised by Linda Luksan and Craig Blomker of Andersen Corporate that the patio door, in "Canvas" would be available by January of 2003. Here we are well into 2004 and it still is not available. So much for having your whole house or project match.

Originally we were very happy with the professionalism of the Milwaukee Renewal by Andersen salesperson and the crew that installed the windows. We even sent the Milwaukee office a testimonial letter dated 09/11/02 praising the installation and sales process.

If Andersen cares to dispute our claims and opinions, we welcome any independent testing agency to come over and do any heat loss testing at Andersen's expense. We are confident a infrared test will show a tremendous loss. We also invite any prospective "Renewal by Andersen" customers to our house, to judge, form their own opinion, about the quality of the Andersen product. We also would like to know if any other Andersen customers have experienced these problem and would like to compile a list of dissatisfied customers for possible future class action litigation.

Jim Galaszewski - dabeemer@execpc.com

Update: 03/08/2004

On March 3, 2004, a mild March day, John Vondra brought over Jeff Solsvig, a representative from the Andersen Corporate office. Jeff Solsvig stated that the windows would meet their published specifications. That's exactly what John Vondra claimed he would say on John's previous visit. Two days later while Jeff was still in town I invited him back over on a very windy day. This way he could feel and hear the wind blowing through the sashes. He declined. I am convinced if he came on that day he would have had no recourse except to agree with our claims. Jeff Solsvig also stated that no matter what they would do to try and fix the problem we would not be happy. They never gave us that opportunity.

WOW people! I go do some Deer Hunting in WI and come back to a good one. It's nice to be back though. We weren't far from the Deer Hunter Slayer!! Kind of scary around there for awhile.
I also have installed for RBA. I think in the lines of the others. Top notch program just an inflated price. I know many people at the Andersen Company and I've told them all the same thing. If they want to be more competitive lower the price. There are some other issues but not that big a deal. I have never read anything other than the pricing and that long post from Milwaukee about 1000 times. It's not the superior window by any means. SO good luck!!

Wood windows warranties vs. vinyl warranties

I do not know Jeld-Wen's wood warranty well enough to give expert advise. I know the Vinyl window has a lifetime warranty and they provide labor either from teh manufacturer or sub it out to local glass shops.

Everyone has horror stories with just about every company, the bigger they are the more stories ther are. Anderson has several stories, but I would recommend them to the average home owner, they are a good windows. Jeld-Wen has several brand, depending onthe price and quality. I really like the Pozzi line, little too pricey though.

RBA is a pretty good product, everyone can find problems with it too.

We have had the RBA for a year now and I love them. We only got half the windows replaced last year this year will will finish the job. I live in TX where the summers are brutal. In the evening I put my hand on the new window that faces west and it was cool. The old window was hot. I have had no problems at all with leaking or anything else. In fact this was the easiest company to deal with during last years remodel and I am a very picky person to deal with these days. Can't wait to finishe the job this year. Great product and a case where you get what you pay for.

IMO the RBA is over priced and AW has diluted its reputation by the over branding.
I do like that they do not close the majority of their leads and set a high price point for the rest of the pros.

Hmmmm, as an esteemed poster on this board once said, "holy thread resurrection Batman!", and I think that sums things up here. There has also been an odd surge in postings of RBA in our consumer reviews section, displaying perfect marks across the board for all of them.

Perhaps just coming on the board and participating in an open and honest fashion would be another approach to consider?

Ed's

I heard the new space shuttle will be made out of Fibrex...?

We got 11 new double hung and casement windows from Renewal by Anderson a couple of years ago and have no complaints. The workmen were very thorough and cleaned up every speck.

mawimb, since you apparently already have new windows, what brings you to a vinyl window discussion forum?

What caused you to dig up a post that was over a year old?

Any word on the RBA air infiltration numbers?

As a humble consumer, I cannot say for certain whether RBA is a top echelon product or not. What I can tell you about is my experience with them.

About 5 years ago, we showed some interest in replacing our windows. Before the salesman even came out we were very straightforward with him: We just bought our house. We have no extra money at this time because we are paying large sums for child care. We will consider in the future, but this showing will not result in a purchase no matter how good the price.

The salesman came out to show the product anyway. Over 2 hours later, he finally gave us a quote of $33,000 for 27 double-hung replacements (all pretty standard sizing). When we said, "no," we got all kinds of arguments. You can do one side of the house at a time (sorry, mixing grids with no grids looks ridiculous), you can go with no grids for now (sorry, that's not what I want),..... Long story, short: He left in a huff and would not leave the quote he gave us.

Speed up to 2009.... We finally CAN afford new windows now. Went to a home show to check out various products. Looked at RBA again and filled out a form there. Started getting phone calls about having "won" in a drawing from the home show. Also started getting e-mails, too. Except that the phone call people and the e-mail people don't seem to know anything about each other and the "prize" was really no prize at all, just a gimmick. Actually DID have one more salesperson (got a personal recommendation on my own) who was far nicer and more willing to work with us, but the quote was still about $31,000 if I remember correctly.

My point is this: RBA advertises like you wouldn't believe in my area. Full-page ads are seen on a daily basis. Web ads encroach everywhere. The money for all this advertising has to come from somewhere and it comes from some very overly tenacious salespeople trying to sell an overpriced product to uninformed consumers. There is no other explanation for it, and you'd have to be pretty dim not to realize these windows just cost too much money for what they are.

They just may be good, but if the technology has been in the works since the 70s, then there really is no reason to be pricing at over a grand an opening 40 years later. Sorry, RBA, that's just the way it is.

I don't think RBA is a bad window. It's average at best with some marketing niche's which really amount to smoke and mirrors. That said you can do worse but at over $1,000.00 a pop you can do much, much better

part of Renewals sales pitch is that fibrex which is vinyl and 30% wood flower/saw dust won't exapand and contract as much as all vinyl so therefore you will not get seal failures. Well, even if the cheapest quality vinyl window expanded so much that the glass separated from the sash and sat floated so to speak,how will that cause seal failure? an IG unit is signed sealed and delivered before it goes into the sash!!!! also,their is a weep system as well as set blocks so if water gets in,it will not degrade the sealants.
renewal is an average window. ask a renewal salesman to show you the dp rating as well as their air leakage number then look at their average u-factor and he can then tell you why they get $1500 per window.