Replacement Vinyl windows

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newguynj
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Joined: Sat May 05, 2012 7:50 pm

Replacement Vinyl windows

#1 Post by newguynj »

Looking to replace existing 25+ year old double hung vinyl windows in my home (N. NJ) with a decent window- not low end, but not top of line, either. Looking for plain white, double panes, good draft sealing and insulation, smooth operation, good warranty/ service. Checked out WindowRama dealer, they recommend United Window and Door (NJ based?) 4800 Series as comparable to Simonton ? Does anyone have any experience in dealing with WindowRama - installation, service, etc? What do you know about United's 4800 Series windows?

masterext
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Location: Window Pro-Serves All of Northern New Jersey. Bergen, Morris, Union, Essex, Passaic, Sussex Counties

Re: Replacement Vinyl windows

#2 Post by masterext »

United is not consided a premium brand at all ,especially the 4800. simonton is an ok mid grade window with average performance numbers as long as its the 5500 but basically average. there are better brands out there which are designed much better and certainly render better performance numbers. the price may be surprisingly similar. performance numbers to look for would be as follows:
Ufactor .28 or lower for double pane
air leakage rate of .08 or lower
DP rating of 50 or higher
windowrama does not carry the higher end brands. they are a retail outlet that basically caters to local contractors looking for best price.
Last edited by masterext on Sun May 06, 2012 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

Delaware Mike
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Location: South Jersey, Delaware, Philadelphia area

Re: Replacement Vinyl windows

#3 Post by Delaware Mike »

Windowrama seems to really focus on the Andersen, Marvin, and Pella products and not so much on vinyl. Virtually, their whole store is based upon wood/clad products. You may even be close to "masterext" as he is up in North Jersey. I would highly recommend clicking on his "get a quote" icon/button if you want to see what the better vinyl products look like.

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Replacement Vinyl windows

#4 Post by Windows on Washington »

+1

What I know of United does not place it in the "decent window- not low end, but not top of line" category.

I would expand your search to include HiMark, Okna, Soft-Lite, and Sunrise.

Window expenses are something you should spend one time and one time only. Don't skimp and get something that will be a problem down the road.

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HomeSealed
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Location: Milwaukee, Madison, SE Wisconsin

Re: Replacement Vinyl windows

#5 Post by HomeSealed »

+1 to the above choices. In fact, if you are located in NJ, you'd be well served to contact masterext who posted earlier in the thread.

newguynj
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Joined: Sat May 05, 2012 7:50 pm

Re: Replacement Vinyl windows

#6 Post by newguynj »

Thanks for the views on windowrama and United. Expanding my search into Gorell and Soft-Lite as a step up in quality. Have seen ads for "free triple glass" upgrades - is there really that much difference between double and triple panes? Would think any energy trade-off would be in dealing with a thicker, heavier frame and looking through an extra layer of glass...? Does another pane mean twice the chance of those seals failing in the future? Thanks

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TheWindowNerd
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Re: Replacement Vinyl windows

#7 Post by TheWindowNerd »

Most of the time triple pane does not mean thicker OD of the IG. So if a dual pane is 1" a triple pane is 1" also, there is another pane of glass added in the middle, this is true of the majority of windows.
The pella 350 has a thicker frame because of the thicker triple pane option, though they missed the boat with the pocket sill design.
As far as seal failure goes yes there is an increased risk of failure but the mfg is mostly responsible for that.
Last edited by TheWindowNerd on Tue May 15, 2012 6:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Replacement Vinyl windows

#8 Post by Windows on Washington »

+1

It was a great improvement for Pella but why they stuck with a pocket sill I will never know.

masterext
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Location: Window Pro-Serves All of Northern New Jersey. Bergen, Morris, Union, Essex, Passaic, Sussex Counties

Re: Replacement Vinyl windows

#9 Post by masterext »

i think alot of the higher end windows have triple pane promitions now. soft lite, okna, gorell,himark, and sunrise . probaby all the brands mentioned above. all are much better designed and perform much better than anything United has to offer.
for what its worth, some of the better brands have such good performance numbers with triple pane argon, the extra money for krypton is really not necessary in my opinion. for example, you can get triple pane argon with a total ufactor of .20 or .19 .

Window4U (IL)
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Re: Replacement Vinyl windows

#10 Post by Window4U (IL) »

Windows on Washington wrote:+1

It was a great improvement for Pella but why they stuck with a pocket sill I will never know.
And even worse, the pocket sill looks like it has no slope inside the extrusion. I would imagine the rain water just sits in the many chambers ...stagnant? :?


Image

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Replacement Vinyl windows

#11 Post by Windows on Washington »

Don't you know that pocket sills don't let water in.... :lol: :lol:

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