Whole Home Window Replacement in Virginia. Provia? Marvin? Other?

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5DH
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Whole Home Window Replacement in Virginia. Provia? Marvin? Other?

#1 Post by 5DH »

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Last edited by 5DH on Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:43 am, edited 2 times in total.

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TheWindowNerd
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Re: Whole Home Window Replacement in Virginia. Provia? Marvin? Other?

#2 Post by TheWindowNerd »

First thing, are you replacing the arch top picture window? If so you can not do in Elevate.
While on the subject of Elevate, I do not think they are worth the difference in your case. Add to that the Elevate is difficult to install unless you work with it enough.

Next I am going to share with you the most common concern from the group of pros who will read and answer this thread. Buying the windows from A and Having B do the install can end up being a costly mistake. Who is going to measure, who is going to order and confirm, who receives delivery and where.
Has this person ever done flanged vinyl prime removals before? Does he have a trim brake? A pro foam gun?
I sold a window to a friend once, product only, later was at a party in the house and saw the sliding window was installed upside down.
You have a risk none of would suggest you take.
Doing it twice will be cheaper?

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toddinmn
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Re: Whole Home Window Replacement in Virginia. Provia? Marvin? Other?

#3 Post by toddinmn »

I’ve replace a few double hungs put in as sliders , damn they open easy!

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HomeSealed
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Re: Whole Home Window Replacement in Virginia. Provia? Marvin? Other?

#4 Post by HomeSealed »

Good advice above.

1) $16k for 21 windows is a pretty decent price if that is from a reputable company. You may be able to find a better window in a similar range, but that's not a bad deal.

2) Your budget of $10-12k for 21 windows is not realistic these days. Can you find a way to make that happen? Probably. Are the odds of disaster exponentially increased? Yes.

Having been in this business for many years, your proposed plan is one of the most common that ends in a horror story.
-Windows come wrong? Nobody takes the blame
-Poor install that leaks? Installer's phone number is out of service
-Or worse yet, put some money down and the guy never shows (nor does the money that you paid).

Not a good idea.

5DH
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Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2021 10:35 am

Re: Whole Home Window Replacement in Virginia. Provia? Marvin? Other?

#5 Post by 5DH »

TheWindowNerd wrote: Sun Dec 05, 2021 3:51 pm First thing, are you replacing the arch top picture window? If so you can not do in Elevate.
While on the subject of Elevate, I do not think they are worth the difference in your case. Add to that the Elevate is difficult to install unless you work with it enough.
Thanks for the reply -- not replacing the picture window, only the double hungs (currently single hung). The more I think about the Marvin the more I wonder if I should just zero in on ProVia Aspect vs Endure.

5DH
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Re: Whole Home Window Replacement in Virginia. Provia? Marvin? Other?

#6 Post by 5DH »

HomeSealed wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 6:29 pm Good advice above.

1) $16k for 21 windows is a pretty decent price if that is from a reputable company. You may be able to find a better window in a similar range, but that's not a bad deal.

2) Your budget of $10-12k for 21 windows is not realistic these days. Can you find a way to make that happen? Probably. Are the odds of disaster exponentially increased? Yes.

Having been in this business for many years, your proposed plan is one of the most common that ends in a horror story.
-Windows come wrong? Nobody takes the blame
-Poor install that leaks? Installer's phone number is out of service
-Or worse yet, put some money down and the guy never shows (nor does the money that you paid).

Not a good idea.
I appreciate your words of caution, but they're not necessary in this case. I wasn't this clear in the OP, but I do know the installer and his work and am satisfied that he does good work (I also am not paying him anything up front). In fact, anyone else that I'd call I'd know much less about... I have the benefit of having seen/touch this guy's window installations. Any other company and I'm relying exclusively on Yelp reviews and the pitch of their sales team. Frankly if the bids were the same price, I'd probably go with this guy anyway.

Appreciate your contributions, if you have any thoughts on the Provia Aspect vs Endure lines I would welcome your expertise on if the Endure's additional cost really is a significant improvement... the U-Factors seem similar. I think this is the manufacturer I'm zeroing in on, because Softlite and Okna are unavailable.

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HomeSealed
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Re: Whole Home Window Replacement in Virginia. Provia? Marvin? Other?

#7 Post by HomeSealed »

I'm sorry, I was just going based off of your comment that your contractor friend knows "a guy". That said, even good installations need service from time to time... but it sounds like you've made your mind up on that so I digress.

As far as the window, I'm not a real fan of either of the Provia options. Great door company, but just getting started in windows and it remains to be seen how that will go. Lots of QC issues is the scuttlebutt. There are definitely worse windows I'll say that, but I wouldn't put them in my home.

Delaware Mike
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Re: Whole Home Window Replacement in Virginia. Provia? Marvin? Other?

#8 Post by Delaware Mike »

I personally try to put most of my homeowners into the OKNA lines, however there are some situations in which I wind up doing Endure or Aspect from ProVia. Most of the frustrations with ProVia seem to be really silly things like quality control and having to order parts and come back to a project in a few weeks. We see too many bowed sashes which can and is field fixed, but you don't want to be standing or hawking over the installers when they have to perform the fix and you will lose your mind.

The platform itself is confusing for me as I know the extruder of the vinyl and it seems like the product could have been put together part wise a little more logical. ProVia has great glass. I like their screens too. I think the locks and weatherstripping could be of higher quality. I don't care so much for their casements and awning.

If a homeowner was utilizing a contractor and they were defaulting to the typical supply house stuff like Alside, Simonton, ViWinco, Atrium, Jeld Wen, Wincore, MI, or any random contractor grade vinyl window, I'd say ProVia is step up.

5DH
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Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2021 10:35 am

Re: Whole Home Window Replacement in Virginia. Provia? Marvin? Other?

#9 Post by 5DH »

Delaware Mike wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 7:22 pm I personally try to put most of my homeowners into the OKNA lines, however there are some situations in which I wind up doing Endure or Aspect from ProVia. Most of the frustrations with ProVia seem to be really silly things like quality control and having to order parts and come back to a project in a few weeks. We see too many bowed sashes which can and is field fixed, but you don't want to be standing or hawking over the installers when they have to perform the fix and you will lose your mind.

The platform itself is confusing for me as I know the extruder of the vinyl and it seems like the product could have been put together part wise a little more logical. ProVia has great glass. I like their screens too. I think the locks and weatherstripping could be of higher quality. I don't care so much for their casements and awning.

If a homeowner was utilizing a contractor and they were defaulting to the typical supply house stuff like Alside, Simonton, ViWinco, Atrium, Jeld Wen, Wincore, MI, or any random contractor grade vinyl window, I'd say ProVia is step up.
Thank you! Some of the most recommended options are harder to find. I actually contacted Okna directly and they told me there was only one dealer in my entire area, who I called and they only do retail sales + installations. I’m sure Okna is good, but I just can’t get them unless I want to pay 100% more for the 500 line than the Provia.

That said I probably have access to other windows. Just some of the more niche brands like Okna and Softlite are harder to come by. Given I’m only looking for a solid mid-tier window, my thinking is the Provia is giving me a good price. But if there are any superior brands more widely available I’d love to hear about them. Since my GC is giving me the windows without a markup I’m trying to do the research work up front.

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