Estimate Help

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rowerms
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Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:40 am

Estimate Help

#1 Post by rowerms »

Hey All- looking for some help.

I am replacing 10 old steel casement windows. most of them are fairly standard sizes, 2 of them are 54" wide, so they will have to be sliders or casements.

I have 3 estimates so far, 1 more on the way. I'll break them down (these are all for sliders in the 2 larger openings):

A. Vinyl Kraft Dealer:
Vinyl Kraft UltraGard- ~$3700. Seems well made, but the AI #'s are extremely vague. Not good.

B: Softlite Dealer:
Softlite Elements- ~$6000 (w/ Free Triple pane upgrade)
Softlife Bainbridge- ~$5000

C: Alside Dealer:
Alside Mezzo- $4000

D. Polaris Dealer:
Polaris Ultraweld: TBD

All of the bids are for double pane, Argon Filled, E Shield Glass packages, Etc. The Vinyl Kraft includes a foam filled frame.

This is a bit of a starter house for me, with no real plans to be there longer than another 10 years. The Elements seems like overkill. The Vinyl Kraft seems like a waste. I have hesitations about the Mezzo, and the Bainbridge (lower level offering, but solid company).

Thanks Everyone

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HomeSealed
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Re: Estimate Help

#2 Post by HomeSealed »

If the Elements was priced twice that number (which is not out of the ordinary), it could be overkill. At $600 per window, WITH triple pane, and WITH steel casement removals (not easy), that is highway robbery in your favor. Assuming that this is a reputable company, the window gods have smiled upon you with that deal. I'd jump on it.... FWIW, the other windows are not worth considering IMO, except for possibly the Polaris once that comes in.

rowerms
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Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:40 am

Re: Estimate Help

#3 Post by rowerms »

That's what I was afraid of.

Fingers crossed for the Polaris estimate.

Is the mezzo that bad of an option given my likelihood to move within a decade?

masterext
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Re: Estimate Help

#4 Post by masterext »

rowerms wrote:That's what I was afraid of.

Fingers crossed for the Polaris estimate.

Is the mezzo that bad of an option given my likelihood to move within a decade?
HomeSealed is saying the pricing you recieved for the Soft Lite “ elements” is an absolute steal especially the fact that you have metal windows.
The elements is the best window of that group by an incredible margin. That pricing is crazy low.
I would jump all over that.

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Estimate Help

#5 Post by Windows on Washington »

+1 to the previous comment. That is a supremely low price for the Sofit-Lite Elements on that type of installation.

rowerms
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Re: Estimate Help

#6 Post by rowerms »

Not that its a huge difference, but I miss spoke. The Softlites that were quoted are the Element and the Barrington. NOT The Bainbridge.

Still waiting on that Polaris Bid.

Thanks for the feedback so far.

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HomeSealed
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Re: Estimate Help

#7 Post by HomeSealed »

Most pros prefer the Bainbridge to the Barrington, so that only strengthens the recommendation for the Elements...

Regarding your timing, you are in the EXACT situation where a quality product is imperative. If you were moving in a year or two, you could get away with low-end and likely have the buyer's not notice much. Not the most ethical way to go about it, but those are simply facts. At 10 years, you will likely have endured a number of service and warranty issues which will compound by that point, in addition to the fact that the lower end units will not offer nearly the same performance that they did on day one, and pretty much be close to their life expectancy. We replace 10-15 yr old, lower end vinyl windows on a daily basis. I would venture to guess that the other pros that comment have similar experience.

soooo... you could save $2k now, deal with headaches for the next 10 years, and be in a situation where the windows are a detriment to the marketability of your home,----OR---- spend the extra money now, get one of the top windows on the market at a ridiculously low price, and have a window that will look and perform on day 3650 as it does on day one.... You are literally considering a window with a 10 year service life expectancy versus one that will be 30+, and will only get replaced at that time due to advances in technology as opposed to being broken down.... I really can't stress that difference here enough. If cash on hand is the issue, explore financing options. A monthly payment difference will amount probably less than a couple of Starbucks coffees.

rowerms
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:40 am

Re: Estimate Help

#8 Post by rowerms »

So. Polaris Ultraweld came back at $5,500, frame and sash foam filled; but they have a 54" double hung and I don't have to deal with a slider.

Not the price difference I was hoping for. Also has a disclaimer that it doesn't include cost of any EPA lead safe practices.

masterext
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Re: Estimate Help

#9 Post by masterext »

rowerms wrote:So. Polaris Ultraweld came back at $5,500, frame and sash foam filled; but they have a 54" double hung and I don't have to deal with a slider.

Not the price difference I was hoping for. Also has a disclaimer that it doesn't include cost of any EPA lead safe practices.
Still, the Elements is the winner by far. The Bainbridge is a step above the Barrington. I guess what everyone is trying to say is that the pricing for the elements is so compelling, its hard to imagine not jumping in head first.

rowerms
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Re: Estimate Help

#10 Post by rowerms »

Yeah, I was hoping for something closer to 5k with the Polaris. Wonder if I can wiggle the Element down any more. :D

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HomeSealed
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Re: Estimate Help

#11 Post by HomeSealed »

I don't know where you are located, but the market in your area must either be very depressed, or you have a very low cost of doing business. The Ultraweld is priced very low here as well. That said, I agree with masterext that the Elements is still the winner for a small premium. Is the UW including triple pane?

As far as wiggling them down on price, I'd say that is unlikely given the deal, then again I find the deal pretty unbelievable to begin with, so who knows!... I'll say this, I'm sure that there will be many past, present, and future viewers of this post that are very envious of the deals that you have on the table.

rowerms
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Re: Estimate Help

#12 Post by rowerms »

The Ultra Weld is Double Pane, probably should have mentioned that. Double Pane is really all I need, but with that small of a difference between the 2....it feels kind of ridiculous to not take advantage of it. I'm in Cincy.

Also: my casements all have storm windows attached to the exterior. Added bonus.

Follow up Question. If I can get Polaris UW down closer to 5k, do you think that is enough of a gap to justify passing up the Elements?

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HomeSealed
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Re: Estimate Help

#13 Post by HomeSealed »

rowerms wrote:The Ultra Weld is Double Pane, ....it feels kind of ridiculous to not take advantage of it.
Agreed. Frankly, triple versus double on 10 windows you are actually paying a lower price for the Elements. TP upgrade costs more that $50 per window
rowerms wrote:Also: my casements all have storm windows attached to the exterior. Added bonus.
Don't expect that they can be retained. That can void the manufacturer warranty on the new window and cause a host of issues.
rowerms wrote:Follow up Question. If I can get Polaris UW down closer to 5k, do you think that is enough of a gap to justify passing up the Elements?
If there was a $1000 spread and the products were apples to apples I'd say that would be a consideration... Right now though you are still comparing double to triple. Get a triple pane UW quote and a DP Elements quote and then compare. The price difference should be much closer... and yes I realize that the triple pane is "free". If that is a rare instance of manufacturer subsidization, they may not be able to move much. More likely it is a dealer offered special, in which case they would be able to offer the dp for less

rowerms
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Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:40 am

Re: Estimate Help

#14 Post by rowerms »

HomeSealed wrote:
rowerms wrote:The Ultra Weld is Double Pane, ....it feels kind of ridiculous to not take advantage of it.
Agreed. Frankly, triple versus double on 10 windows you are actually paying a lower price for the Elements. TP upgrade costs more that $50 per window
rowerms wrote:Also: my casements all have storm windows attached to the exterior. Added bonus.
Don't expect that they can be retained. That can void the manufacturer warranty on the new window and cause a host of issues.
rowerms wrote:Follow up Question. If I can get Polaris UW down closer to 5k, do you think that is enough of a gap to justify passing up the Elements?
If there was a $1000 spread and the products were apples to apples I'd say that would be a consideration... Right now though you are still comparing double to triple. Get a triple pane UW quote and a DP Elements quote and then compare. The price difference should be much closer... and yes I realize that the triple pane is "free". If that is a rare instance of manufacturer subsidization, they may not be able to move much. More likely it is a dealer offered special, in which case they would be able to offer the dp for less
I think its a dealer promo, not positive though. I'll reach out regarding an apples to apples comparison each way.

The storm windows I had no intention of keeping. They are ancient, and not worth it. That was more of a indication of the work involved to replace these things, especially considering they are secured to the brick.

rowerms
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Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:40 am

Re: Estimate Help

#15 Post by rowerms »

$5800 ish. 8)

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