CertainTeed Bryn Mawr II vs Alside Sheffield-Northeast Ohio

[corncobk]

Hello to all -

I have been in the market for vinyl replacement windows for my home for quite a while and am finally getting serious about the search. I have read a great deal of threads off the old discussion board and have come to the concensus that Schuco would be a great window choice. Unfortunately, I live in extreme Northeast Ohio (Ashtabula County) and the nearest Schuco dealer is located in Youngstown (over 1 1/2 hours from my house). I have access to CertainTeed Bryn Mawr II and Alside Sheffield (both seem to receive higher marks from the pros on the old discussion board). I have many questions:

1. Opinions about one versus the other?????

2. One contractor was pushing the Alside UltraMax. I mentioned info I
learned from this discussion board about the UltraMax's air test #'s
(not being so great). I was told by the contractor that a .18 (I believe
that is the # UltraMax received) is negligible in the grander scheme of
things and I shouldn't get too caught up in #'s. What opinion(s) does
anyone have on that comment????

3. I have downloaded information on the Bryn Mawr II window from
CertainTeed's website. There is no mention of what their spacer is
made of - just says it's "warm edge." Can anyone tell me anything
more specific???

4. What does Alside do for screens (rolled form, extruded, something
else)?? Information I obtained on their product from their website did
not mention screens.

And finally (for now . . . )

5. Should I be exploring other window brands. . . any recommendations?

6. What options should I order in a window (glazing, gas fill, spacer, etc.)?

I think this website and discussion board are a tremendous blessing to those of us who are home-improvement challanged. Thanks to all of you who make visiting this website worthwhile - your opinions/information are valuable!!!

[Win-admin]

T.T.T. (To the top)

this post was lost in the General Discussion Board posts. So in case anyone missed it.

Win-Admin
Happy Win-Boardin'

PS. Thanks to Mark for finding this lost post and telling us!

[johnmr12]

I am not familiar with Alside, so i will only comment on what i know. The Bryn Mawr II is a product that i am very familiar with. I have been a dealer of 6 different manufacturers, and the Bryn Mawr II was by far the best in its class when compared to the others. However, the Alside model that you are trying to compare was not one of them. But my point is that i feel you can't go wrong with the BM II. The spacer in the BMII made out west is an intercept spacer. Since the Certainteed brand is manufactured in several different factories across the country, i really can't be sure the factory in your area uses intercept, but i would guess that they do. I am in agreement with the contractor who said not to get too hung up on numbers. You know, if the u-factor of a window goes from about 1.0 for an aluminum single pane window to about .50 for a dual pane vinyl window, that's a significant improvement. And if you add LowE glass and a gas filling, you can go down to about .30. Again, that's an improvement. But, when you start talking about one company tweaking their window to improve from .30 to .26, frankly, i don't believe you will ever feel the difference or see the difference in energy savings. That's where you can get too caught up in numbers. You should definitely get lowE glass in your windows and either intercept or super spacer. If you don't have to pay more than $20 per window for the gas fill, it's probably worth it. I know out here in the west, i charge my customers my cost to include argon in the window. My cost is $15. That's my two cents worth. Good luck.

[windowshopper]

I hear very good things about the Bryn Mawr II window, Consumers Digest rates it a Best Buy also I don!t know if that accounts for much but the problem with them seems to be that the process they use to make the screen creates a poor end product.

[desmoface]

Wow, Im in Mentor and have just made the decision on new windows..I, like you, found that the nearest schuco dealer was too far away..and to be honest I didn't want to spend $800 per window..We got quotes from a local shop for the alside sheffields which are supposed to be a good window...$2200 for 5 windows..seemed ok..

Anyway, we went with the guys that did our roof a few years ago..a small place, a guy and his brother, called "Final Exteriors"..anyway, 5 bryn mawr single hung windows for around $1600..I like the idea that the guys that sold us the windows is the same guys installing them..

Anyway, I think you'd be happy with either window...Good luck..

Steve

[JFM]

Hello to all -

I have been in the market for vinyl replacement windows for my home for quite a while and am finally getting serious about the search. I have read a great deal of threads off the old discussion board and have come to the concensus that Schuco would be a great window choice. Unfortunately, I live in extreme Northeast Ohio (Ashtabula County) and the nearest Schuco dealer is located in Youngstown (over 1 1/2 hours from my house). I have access to CertainTeed Bryn Mawr II and Alside Sheffield (both seem to receive higher marks from the pros on the old discussion board). I have many questions:

I am also looking at the Bryn Mawr II, the Ultramax and the Sheffield. IN fact, I have samples of the BMII and the Ultramax in my living room and expect to see the Sheffield this weekend. My cousin owns a contracting company so I am thinking of keeping it in the family.

I have also received quotes for Schuco Corona 4000, Quantum 2, Simonton 6200 (through Home Depot), Accuweld Performa 2300 and Champion windows. Ironically the quotes for these five are within $1000 of each other (around $12000 for 20 high performance windows and 6 basements).

1. Opinions about one versus the other?????

The Bryn Mawr II is definitely nicer than the Ultramax. However the BMII has very wide sashes which reduce sight lines by an inch on each side, compared to other windows. In examining the Ultramax and Sheffield on Alside's web site, the Sheffield has a significantly beefier frame and sash with more/better weather stripping. I will know more once I'm able to examine them side-by-side. Furthermore, from the outside, the Alside products seem more aethetically pleasing and the screen seems to be constructed better than on the BMII.

2. One contractor was pushing the Alside UltraMax. I mentioned info I
learned from this discussion board about the UltraMax's air test #'s
(not being so great). I was told by the contractor that a .18 (I believe
that is the # UltraMax received) is negligible in the grander scheme of
things and I shouldn't get too caught up in #'s. What opinion(s) does
anyone have on that comment????

As I said above, based on an examination of the window cross sections on Alside's web site, the Sheffield is a better built window. I should know more soon.

3. I have downloaded information on the Bryn Mawr II window from
CertainTeed's website. There is no mention of what their spacer is
made of - just says it's "warm edge." Can anyone tell me anything
more specific???

It's a squiggle spacer. At least those built for the Northeast. Call Certainteed and they will tell you. To me, using a squiggle is a deal breaker.

4. What does Alside do for screens (rolled form, extruded, something
else)?? Information I obtained on their product from their website did
not mention screens.

The Alside screens are quite nice whereas the BMII pinch-roll that holds the screen to the frame is visible from the outside.

And finally (for now . . . )

5. Should I be exploring other window brands. . . any recommendations?

Don't discount the Schuco. The Corona 4000 is an excellent window and you shouldn't let the distance to the dealer dissuade you. After all, they should come to you. I would also recommend the Quantum 2. It is also a very nice product. All this said, the window is half the equation. The installation is equally important. Furthermore a solid reputable manufacturer, like Certainteed or Alside, is important to ensuring your warrantee doesn't end up worthless, should the manufacturer go bankrupt.

6. What options should I order in a window (glazing, gas fill, spacer, etc.)?

Go to www.efficientwindows.org and get a fact sheet that will help you select windows based on your geographic area. It will show you comparative savings for different glass technologies. Depending upon your heating and cooling loads, the savings of a super-high line window may never offset their increased cost.

IMO, the spacer rankings go squiggle<Intercept<SuperSpacer<TPS.

I think this website and discussion board are a tremendous blessing to those of us who are home-improvement challanged. Thanks to all of you who make visiting this website worthwhile - your opinions/information are valuable!!!

Ditto.