Starting over, need your help again
Starting over, need your help again
Sorry, but I need your advice again. I was the one who originally asked about the Marvin and Milgard and then decided to go with the Marvin. I also asked about custom sized windows fitted with standard size windows. But with some of your personal views and after my husband took me to a house like my own that had done the standard sizes, I decided against it. The house my husband took me too had each window with different sizes of the aluminum clad, some wider, some thinner and from the exterior it really looked awful. That was when I new I was adamant about doing all custom sizes. So I went back to the Marvin dealer that I was leaning most towards which was also the dealer with the lowest bid, I wanted to make sure that his bid was for all custom windows? Come to find out not all were, so I am now looking at an even bigger financial commitment. Which is now starting to terrify me. I now feel I am stretching my finical well-being a little too far and that I should consider other wood windows. I have been looking into Weather Shield sliders with pine wood and aluminum clad and also the Norco wood aluminum clad sliders. I am very unsure about the Norco because Home Depot sells the Jeld-Wen products and I have never liked them, but Home Depot does not sell the Norco series by Jeld-Wen so perhaps they are better? Really the only thing I know about the Norco and the Weather Shield is that they are cheaper then Marvin. Can anyone tell me anything else they may know about these two windows. Any pros or cons would be helpful. Also if you know of any other window that is real wood, and has a great look, and is energy sufficient, and is cheaper then Marvin, I would also love info on that too. I cannot thank you enough for the help you have already given. It has meant so much to me.
If you search the old message board, you will find some Norco opinions:
(just use keyword Norco)
http://www.replacement-windows.com/wind ... hp?board=1
to my knowledge, I have seen very few positive comments RE Norco.
Or you might use this as a rough guide:
http://www.ebuild.com/guide/brandUseStu ... estCode=QR
RE the custom vs std. I believe the Marvin ordering system will automatically insert a std size when it falls close enough. I am not sure what the "close enough" tolerance is, but I assume they "know" what should be acceptable without overstretching. You might investigate this further before completely ruling it out.
(just use keyword Norco)
http://www.replacement-windows.com/wind ... hp?board=1
to my knowledge, I have seen very few positive comments RE Norco.
Or you might use this as a rough guide:
http://www.ebuild.com/guide/brandUseStu ... estCode=QR
RE the custom vs std. I believe the Marvin ordering system will automatically insert a std size when it falls close enough. I am not sure what the "close enough" tolerance is, but I assume they "know" what should be acceptable without overstretching. You might investigate this further before completely ruling it out.
Thank you Cheryl. I did find two places in Colorado that sell the Eagle windows. Although neither one installs, but one recommend someone to me that often does install his windows. He is coming out on Monday. I am a little weary although, I wish I new more about this person who is coming out. Which he is just a private contractor. I wish he was an authorized dealer. I worry if there is ever a problem with the window if Eagle would ever say it was the way they were installed and so their warranty may not cover it. But I will wait and see, I hope he is at least part of the BBB.
Thank you Marv for your info also. I tried to use the search in this room on these brands but I really did not get a whole lot of info. So your link to the old board helped me a lot. What I basically got out of it was that Norco and Weather Shield may be cheaper in cost but I may also be getting cheap windows. I was especially unsettled after hearing that some who had Norco had problems with leaking. I also got that when it comes to wood that Marvin and Milgard may be better. Although the bids where the same on both the Marvin and Milgard and after hearing views on this board and checking further into each window myself, I personally like the Marvin better. But that still does not help me much due to the high price. I heard Eagle mentioned in the old posts and in this post and nothing really bad was said about them, so as I said I am checking into them. I also heard in the old posts pretty good things about Loewen. Although I don't know why but I get the feeling they are going to be much more expensive then Marvin? Anyone know if my gut feeling is right? Do you feel if the Eagle window does not pan out, I am best holding off on my windows until I can save enough for Marvin? Or anybody.... Is there a window that is cheaper then Marvin but will hold up Like Marvin? I was surprised Milgard was not cheaper then Marvin. I heard a lot about the Milgard warranty. But doesn't that ever make you wonder if it is because their windows are really that superb? Or if they know that the average homeowner only lives in their house about seven years, and since the warranty is non transferable to the next owner maybe they can afford the few windows that need to be fixed from the few people who do not move. Not saying it is true but just a thought that maybe Milgard is making more money by having a lifetime warranty by saying look we have the best window or otherwise we would not have a lifetime warranty. They are the only ones that I have seen give the lifetime on the wood, but are they really the best? In my opinion I really don't see how they are so much better then Marvin? I personally think Marvin is better although Marvin's warranty is not. Not to say though Milgard is bad. Because if they would have been cheaper then the Marvin I would have gone with them.
Thank you Marv for your info also. I tried to use the search in this room on these brands but I really did not get a whole lot of info. So your link to the old board helped me a lot. What I basically got out of it was that Norco and Weather Shield may be cheaper in cost but I may also be getting cheap windows. I was especially unsettled after hearing that some who had Norco had problems with leaking. I also got that when it comes to wood that Marvin and Milgard may be better. Although the bids where the same on both the Marvin and Milgard and after hearing views on this board and checking further into each window myself, I personally like the Marvin better. But that still does not help me much due to the high price. I heard Eagle mentioned in the old posts and in this post and nothing really bad was said about them, so as I said I am checking into them. I also heard in the old posts pretty good things about Loewen. Although I don't know why but I get the feeling they are going to be much more expensive then Marvin? Anyone know if my gut feeling is right? Do you feel if the Eagle window does not pan out, I am best holding off on my windows until I can save enough for Marvin? Or anybody.... Is there a window that is cheaper then Marvin but will hold up Like Marvin? I was surprised Milgard was not cheaper then Marvin. I heard a lot about the Milgard warranty. But doesn't that ever make you wonder if it is because their windows are really that superb? Or if they know that the average homeowner only lives in their house about seven years, and since the warranty is non transferable to the next owner maybe they can afford the few windows that need to be fixed from the few people who do not move. Not saying it is true but just a thought that maybe Milgard is making more money by having a lifetime warranty by saying look we have the best window or otherwise we would not have a lifetime warranty. They are the only ones that I have seen give the lifetime on the wood, but are they really the best? In my opinion I really don't see how they are so much better then Marvin? I personally think Marvin is better although Marvin's warranty is not. Not to say though Milgard is bad. Because if they would have been cheaper then the Marvin I would have gone with them.
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90min_to_Vail
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2005 1:06 am
- Location: Golden, Co
Eagle in Colorado?
Hi Aundrea,
I'm in Golden, CO and have just visited one Eagle distributor in Centennial. Had previously looked at Pella Impervia (fiberglass) and Marvin Infinity (custom sizes, all fiberglass) and Marvin Integrity (standard sizes only, fiberglass outside, wood inside). For wood, the prestaining really gives you a price advantage. I've been quoted between $75 and (more typically) $150 for frame & sash painting per window. Eagle prefinishes for $25. Also, I wondered whether installation really had to be that expensive namely $350 for ground floor and $400 for upstairs openings. The centennial shop (who contracts out to just two reliable installers) charges $225! I don't know whether contractors expect to earns as much as lawyers but one install should not take more than 3 hours all told.
Also consider a little boldness with your exterior color choice. If you know someone who is skillfull with a photo editing program take a pic of your facade and let her replace the color of the sashes. You may find that a color transforms your house into something special. If in good taste it should do something for the resale value. Our old house had two tone trim and it made such a difference.
Lastly, have you made a decision? I'd be happy to hear your experiences, post or email me at martin-at-martinvoelker com
I'm in Golden, CO and have just visited one Eagle distributor in Centennial. Had previously looked at Pella Impervia (fiberglass) and Marvin Infinity (custom sizes, all fiberglass) and Marvin Integrity (standard sizes only, fiberglass outside, wood inside). For wood, the prestaining really gives you a price advantage. I've been quoted between $75 and (more typically) $150 for frame & sash painting per window. Eagle prefinishes for $25. Also, I wondered whether installation really had to be that expensive namely $350 for ground floor and $400 for upstairs openings. The centennial shop (who contracts out to just two reliable installers) charges $225! I don't know whether contractors expect to earns as much as lawyers but one install should not take more than 3 hours all told.
Also consider a little boldness with your exterior color choice. If you know someone who is skillfull with a photo editing program take a pic of your facade and let her replace the color of the sashes. You may find that a color transforms your house into something special. If in good taste it should do something for the resale value. Our old house had two tone trim and it made such a difference.
Lastly, have you made a decision? I'd be happy to hear your experiences, post or email me at martin-at-martinvoelker com
Eagle and Milgard
I am a dealer for both Eagle and Milgard. Milgard does have a lifetime warranty on their wood windows, but that is because they are not really wood, but simply a veneer over the fiberglass. It stains like wood, however many of my customers are not satisfied with the overall appearnace, compared to a real wood window.
As to the Eagle windows, you will love them. Eagle, in my opinion, is every bit as good as Marvin in construction. The only area in which Marvin is superior, is the paint, which is Kynar. However, Eagle offers a better warranty on their painted finish (20 years). Eagle should be less expensive than the Marvin windows.
One thing you will really love is the tilt latches which enable you to tilt the sashes in for easy cleaning. They are very impressive.
Good luck with your project, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.
randy@lonestarwindows.net
As to the Eagle windows, you will love them. Eagle, in my opinion, is every bit as good as Marvin in construction. The only area in which Marvin is superior, is the paint, which is Kynar. However, Eagle offers a better warranty on their painted finish (20 years). Eagle should be less expensive than the Marvin windows.
One thing you will really love is the tilt latches which enable you to tilt the sashes in for easy cleaning. They are very impressive.
Good luck with your project, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.
randy@lonestarwindows.net
Jeld-wen
To help reply to your inquiry concerning Norco and Home-Depot, Home Depot sells the Caradco series which is a builder grade DP35 unit. The Norco siteline casement is a DP40 while the Norco Teton series is a DP60. As a dealer of Milgard and Norco and others...Norco Teton series is a great window. Can't stand their double hungs. The Milgards will be @125 more per unit for the woodclad. Also you mentioned sliders- traditionally the worst air leakers are sliders of any given wood company. I would own a Norco Teton casement or awning over a Marvin wood or clad product any day of the week. ZHOWEVER-Take the Marvin double hung over the Norco and Milgard double hung. We use the Lincoln double hung generation IV that is DP40 as a lower cost alternative to the Marvins. If you get heavy winds/rain then get the DP50 upgrade kit.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.