Vinyl Windows Replacement
We are looking to replace the windows in our house. Anyone have any recommendation as far as what is a good vinyl replacement window? or good windows company. Our budget is around the $300-$400 per window installed range. What is your take on Alslide windows? We are also trying to take advantage of the Energy…
We are looking to replace the windows in our house. Anyone have any recommendation as far as what is a good vinyl replacement window? or good windows company. Our budget is around the $300-$400 per window installed range. What is your take on Alslide windows? We are also trying to take advantage of the Energy Star tax reimbursement program so the windows would have to be energy efficient. Thanks in advance.
We’re back…have been away.
I guess I have to chime in here. I do understand when cost is an issue. Restoring old wood windows in an landmarked district can be costly, at least when compared with cheap alternatives.
Is there any way though to have the sash runs redone/relined to make the current sashes work better? Are your current windows wood? If so, they could be old…and if “single pane” (i.e. single glazed), I guess you could try storm windows. What’s nice about the old wood windows is that if you have time on your hands, once you get storm windows installed, you can more leisurely work on the wood windows yourself. If you can manage to remove the sash stops (find the painted over screws), the sashes will come out very easily. I got a lesson in all the terminology years ago when we had our windows done (either restored or made new to look like the old…yes…expensive).
But to be honest, we went through sticker shock too, but I think it is best to bite the bullet even if it means doing some of the windows now and some a bunch of years from now. I’m glad we went the wood-window route.
for a cheaper alternative to custom work, maybe look at Anderson windows. They have double glazed wood windows with a vinyl exterior surface (looks and seems like a thick coating of paint over the wood but is much easier to deal with than painting the windows periodically). The Anderson windows come in lots of dimensions. Good luck.
Spending money like this is irritating, isn’t it?!
If the window sash have chains or a cord attached to a pulley on the frames, then the windows are original or close to original. Historic window frames were always hollow to allow for the lead counter-weights that made lifting and lowering the sash so effortless. It is a beautiful little piece of low-tech. Replacement windows are just jambed into the old frame (reducing the size of the glass panes) and operate on springs that make opening and closing the sash a pain.
If your old (not necessarily original) windows leak air, have them tightened. Buy storm windows that fit almost invisibly on the inside. Don’t buy mobile home quality sash. They will break in no time and it will diminish the quality of your historic house assuming it has any quality to begin with.
If the place is a dump then vinyl windows are A-OK.
I second Mopar and Minard’s comments about original windows. There are several things that can be done to make single pane wood windows more energy efficient.
Namahs are your windows made of wood or some other material?
I highly doubt the windows in my house are the original. They do not look like 85+ yrs old windows.
It seems like Windows We Are is the favorite.
Presume the posters here are talking about replacing existing replacement windows with more replacement windows.
If the windows are truly original to the house, they can be repaired and made energy efficient at much lower cost than vinyl and will last for hundreds of years and look fantastic. And they will give you more light since they are the right size.
The key is to repair them correctly and add storm windows. Studies have shown old windows plus storm windows are actually MORE energy efficient than any other type of window.
I have been using Crystal windows for over 10 yrs they are great.
You would have to install yourself.
Recently purchased some alluminum for my brownstone w/ size about70x30.
They were $162 each.
Hate to see beautiful old windows that were built as part of the house taken out and replaced with very inferior-quality product in terms of material and workmanship. No other historic city I know has the replacement-window mania that New York has. It is just something in the water here that seems unstoppable. So if you want to replace rather than repair your sash, consider wooden replacement windows that will at least match the house in some measure. Windows are not a “show-off” feature like fancy appliances or exquisite counter tops so most people tend to treat them like nasty necessities rather than important elements of an historic house like a cornice or a stoop or a front door. Keep in mind that cheap windows cheapen the house.
we went with windows we are this past decemeber. they were prompt and efficient. the new windows are noticably better with sound and heat. They cost $600 each, were small brownstone windows, and i think they look kind of shitty. They did not really give us options. Plus, for some cockamamy reason, they had to put smaller windows than were there before, and i think its noticeably smaller, when i already get precious little light (garden level). So I don’t know whether WWA was good or not. We were in a hurry because it was my infant’s bedroom and it was FREEZING at night.
I’m replacing my old drafty beyond-repair windows with Alside. On the one floor of my house that is completely done, the difference in comfort and temperature over the Winter was amazing.
Highly recommend Windows We Are. If you search you’ll see numerous recommendations for them here.
I am continuing to work with WWA for the rest of my windows this year.They carry Alside plus other energy star windows that meet the rebate (Silverline I think) and you can see samples in their showroom in Bay Ridge. For my house, the Alsides run around $400 per depending on the size.
Windows We Are
718 836 8083