Ordering Soft-lite Elements

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evamor
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Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2021 4:13 pm

Ordering Soft-lite Elements

#1 Post by evamor »

I've decided on soft-lite elements however i'm in the DFW area and the only authorized dealer is an unbelievably sleazy slimy contracting company statewide remodeling with OUTRAGEOUS unrealistic prices i.e. $37,200 for 12 windows a mix of SH arch tops and DH square all with a UI of 116. There is another very reputable dealer who I'd really like to give the business to but isnt authorized to sell elements, only the imperial elite. Is there other dealers in the country I could order the elements from that can have the windows delivered to my house and I can just hire the more reputable dealer to install? Will the dealer portal allow an elements authorized dealer to ship outside their "zone"? If im spending tens of thousands on new windows I want the most efficient long lasting so really prefer the elements over imperial elite.

This limitation of dealers authorized to sell specific lines is complete BS and does nothing but screw the consumer. Very sad to see.

Delaware Mike
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Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 10:44 am
Location: South Jersey, Delaware, Philadelphia area

Re: Ordering Soft-lite Elements

#2 Post by Delaware Mike »

May I ask, why can't you just go with the Imperial Elite? It can be optioned up with almost everything to the Elements series but the locks.

evamor
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Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2021 4:13 pm

Re: Ordering Soft-lite Elements

#3 Post by evamor »

Delaware Mike wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:36 pm May I ask, why can't you just go with the Imperial Elite? It can be optioned up with almost everything to the Elements series but the locks.
The air infiltration rate is my biggest concern. I'm the most interested in performance. 0.01 with elements vs 0.02 with imperial elite. Is there some sort of option that can be added to imperial elite to get it to achieve the better performance of the elements?

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Randy
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Re: Ordering Soft-lite Elements

#4 Post by Randy »

Go with the Imperial LS. The difference between .01 and .02 is negligible, and in all likelihood, attributable primarily to rounding.

Delaware Mike
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Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 10:44 am
Location: South Jersey, Delaware, Philadelphia area

Re: Ordering Soft-lite Elements

#5 Post by Delaware Mike »

.01 to .02 is like splitting frog hairs in air leakage. Imagine getting a new hybrid car and it gets 58.8 MPG but that's with the premium package which was 50lbs. lighter than the standard model. The standard gets 58.2 MPG. See where I'm going with this. I ditched SL a few years ago and was an Elements and LS dealer, thus I have a lot of experience with their platforms. SL has some newer changes like the Elite version of the LS.

I bet if I was in the AAMA testing room seeing both of the platforms being tested over and over again knowing both windows well, I'd find that different number would actually be the same. The sashes share the same weatherstripping profile.

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HomeSealed
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Location: Milwaukee, Madison, SE Wisconsin

Re: Ordering Soft-lite Elements

#6 Post by HomeSealed »

Good info above. You aren't going to see any measurable difference in performance, its essentially the same window with some minor bells and whistles.

As far as the pricey company, are a lot of those doubles, triples, etc? Even for a higher priced company, $37k for 12 windows sounds extreme, often that means 12 openings but several more mainframes.

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toddinmn
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Re: Ordering Soft-lite Elements

#7 Post by toddinmn »

They are basically the same window, unless you are hung up on the tilt mechanism just go with the Elite.
It is highly unlikely anyone will sell the Element or the Elite not installed.

evamor
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Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2021 4:13 pm

Re: Ordering Soft-lite Elements

#8 Post by evamor »

Thanks so much for everybody's reply it is greatly appreciated. Based on the feedback looks like the imperial elite is still a top of the line most efficient window so i'll proceed with those. The price was alot more fair on them as well at 27k installed for 15 windows 2 of which are large casements with a UI of 177 and 212.
HomeSealed wrote: Mon Sep 13, 2021 1:13 pm Good info above. You aren't going to see any measurable difference in performance, its essentially the same window with some minor bells and whistles.

As far as the pricey company, are a lot of those doubles, triples, etc? Even for a higher priced company, $37k for 12 windows sounds extreme, often that means 12 openings but several more mainframes.
All double pane and nothing crazy with them. Statewide remodeling has hundreds of 1 star yelp reviews for all of their texas locations many of which mentioning their grossly excessive unrealistic pricing. It's also been a fight to get a quote via email from them as they completely lost interest when I didn't sign the day he showed up and after 7 phone calls I got a cell phone photo of a hand written paper with numbers scratched on it. Very disappointing to see that this is the type of company soft-lite wants representing their premium line instead of a small business that actually deserves it.

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