Help with Austin TX Window Replacement Quotes /Suggestions

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onlybutterfly
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Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2020 9:13 pm

Help with Austin TX Window Replacement Quotes /Suggestions

#1 Post by onlybutterfly »

My wife and I recently bought our first house and are looking to replace ~ 11 single pane windows on the first floor of our 1974 home located in Austin TX. This is our first home and we are super anxious and excited. We plan to live in the house for at least the next decade or so. After all the sales rep today, we feel overwhelmed with information and any help is appreciated. I am not sure if I should continue my search or go with one of these below.

Here is what we experienced:
- Renewal By Anderson ~ 28k to replace windows. 20 year warranty.
- EnergyOne - ~9.5k. The are a reseller of Alside windows but is local to Austin. Life time warranty. The sales rep mentioned that the closest product officially listed from Alside was the 8000 series. I read mixed reviews about these from the forum, but the price seems quite reasonable. The triple pane w/ Climatech Elite for the "regency" line has U-Factor of .24 and a shgc .23. (they will do 2 casement windows, 1 awning window as well). A neighbor recommended them to me, but some of the older posts points to questionable sales tactic such as "model home"..etc.
- Home Depot ~ 8.5k for Simonton 6000 & Simonton 6200. (6x6000s, 2x6200. The rep mentioned that we can use picture windows for a few of these to save cost). "Double" Life time Warranty.
- Precision Siding & Construction (located in Grand Prairie) was ~15k - down to 12k with the "buy it today" price. U-factor of .26 for a triple pane. Life Time Warranty, transferable to next owner for 30 years. Stated they would like to do "model" home as well.
- Transform (Formerly Sears) - 11.5k. Life time warranty. Though sears is now bankrupt, I am not sure where I'd get warranty from.
Almost all of the above emphasized that they are top of the line, multiple layer of low E-coating, 97% argon fill. 100% virgin vinyl, guarantee 40+% energy savings from heating.

I have no idea what the typical cost of window replacements are for the Austin area or if any of these brands are recommended. After a day of looking at heat lamps & windows & testing, We honestly can't tell any difference among all the windows other than minor usability differences. (Is it an easier locking mechanism or anti-theft operation). But none of them gave really good information around whether the windows will stand up against Austin TX heat other than emphasizing that they replace the windows w/ life-time warranty.

Our budget are ~10k tops. We are trying to stay realistic with our expectations as we understand that we may not be able to get top of the line windows at our budget level. But we really want to get some expert opinions on whether we are spending our budget on the right products. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Reading in the other threads, it seems that the recommendations are usually : Sunrise, Okna, or NT windows. Are there any good distributors/contractors in Austin for these? (google searches return very limited results). Should I continue my search or go with one of the options I've got? (Randy, could really use some expert advice here. I am super-confused. Thanks in advance).

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Windows on Washington
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Location: DC Metropolitan Area-Maryland/Virginia/DC

Re: Help with Austin TX Window Replacement Quotes /Suggestions

#2 Post by Windows on Washington »

To be honest, I am not a huge fan of ANY of the folks or options you have met with. I realize that is probably frustrating, but you are kind of running the gamut without a clear winner.

NT is semi well regarded in your neck of the woods and there isn't much in the way of Okna and Soft-Lite out in those parts.

onlybutterfly
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Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2020 9:13 pm

Re: Help with Austin TX Window Replacement Quotes /Suggestions

#3 Post by onlybutterfly »

Thanks! I will try and look for an NT windows provider.
It looks like they have a lot of different series. Is the Presidential/Executive the only ones I should consider or are other (less expensive) series also decent?

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Help with Austin TX Window Replacement Quotes /Suggestions

#4 Post by Windows on Washington »

I will defer to Randy (i.e Ultra Windows) to see what he has to say. He knows the Texas and TN products better than anyone.

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Randy
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Re: Help with Austin TX Window Replacement Quotes /Suggestions

#5 Post by Randy »

NT’s Presidential, Energy Master or Executive lines - any of them will be better than what you’ve seen so far. I’d get two quotes from different contractors. Keep in mind, this is not a premium product, it’s a mid-grade IMO.

onlybutterfly
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Re: Help with Austin TX Window Replacement Quotes /Suggestions

#6 Post by onlybutterfly »

Hi, I am reviving an old post. I gave up last year after going through so many window sales pitches last year. Figure I would try this again.

I got a NT window quote today for 13 single NT Presidential windows. (One of which is a slider, 12 single hung). The salesman tried to quote me 18.5k based on "Cost & Value" report then drop to 13.2k. I disliked the sales tactic and the "buy it today" pricing and did not move forward. Is this roughly the range I should expect for 13 NT presidential windows?

One other question I had is whether I need to be asking for any specific installation oriented questions or what to look for in terms of installation. The salesman today mentioned that they would fix the windows to the wood & caulk the sides of the window and use expanding foam where there is gap. I am not sure if that is standard / normal. I have brick exterior.

I have a few more quotes lined up for Power by Pella & Window World & 1 more NT window distributor. Hopefully something good comes up. Thanks in advance for any advice.

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Randy
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Re: Help with Austin TX Window Replacement Quotes /Suggestions

#7 Post by Randy »

I try to avoid commenting too much on pricing, unless it’s outrageously high or low and in your case, it isn’t.

Foaming the entire perimeter is preferable IMO. I don’t recommend Pella products.

jesoonster
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Re: Help with Austin TX Window Replacement Quotes /Suggestions

#8 Post by jesoonster »

Hi onlybutterfly. Mind sharing the vendor name for NT windows? I'm exploring that option but i may want to avoid the vendor you contacted...

jesoonster
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Re: Help with Austin TX Window Replacement Quotes /Suggestions

#9 Post by jesoonster »

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