ISO window replacement/repair company
We are looking at having our windows repaired or replaced. So far we’ve spoken with Power and Andersen. Would love to find a smaller local company that specializes in windows. It is possible (likely?) that we will need to have the frames that the windows sit in redone (not the moulding but the actual frames) so this is more than just buying replacement windows from home depot and installing them. We want someone who will do a thorough job of weatherizing our house but can’t afford the price of Renewal by Andersen. Any recommendations?
irinamikhail1
in General Discussion 1 year and 2 months ago
14
Please log in, in order to post replies!
14 replies
workisfun | 1 year and 2 months ago
workisfun | 1 year and 2 months ago
Next time we need to replace windows, we’ll consider energy efficiency, cost, and supporting local business, etc. However, we will also call Marvin. As a company, I remember reading that when the economy tanked, the company made sure to keep all their employees and helped them and their families hold on. It was admirable
justinromeu26 | 1 year and 2 months ago
there will be a whole bunch of people who can install windows. when you are dealing with expensive products, you will want to go with a certified installer. sometimes the only way the manufacturer will allow the warranty to kick in is when you use a certified installer. Marvin i believe requires this. i am not sure andersen does but they do have a certified installer program. this is why it is best to start this sort of research by calling the manufacturers and asking them for installers of their product in your area.
be careful. there are a lot of people doing things who are not who they say they are and i am investigating leaking windows on a house right now. Every window that was replaced leaks (like 6 on the front of the house). someone did something wrong and if my suspicions are correct, what they did wrong was a very basic thing covered in windows 101.
cate | 1 year and 2 months ago
I see. Yes there are a number of outfits in Brooklyn that specialized in installing replacement aluminum windows, and you can visit their shop to see the profiles. Anderson is the most expensive they carry, and they mostly deal in less expensive options. They can rebuild the frames if needed. Be sure they flash and caulk everything as they should.
justinromeu26 | 1 year and 2 months ago
so now that i realize you have done a gut reno, i also know that you are experienced in dealing with contractors and you will also be realistic about what things cost. in so far as renewal by anderson, i cannot speak to the cost but i will tell you this (and you realize this): you cannot trust a salesperson selling anything new to tell you the truth about anything old and the potential for servicing it.
in so far as having your home inspector look at the windows. depending on his background and experience, he may or may not be able to give you a fair assessment. a lot of people working in this industry have little practical experience and are only running down the home inspection check list. and there is nothing wrong with that when buying a house but as consultants or problem solvers, they can’t always make a fair assessment.
i can tell you this: when a lot of people are told that their replacement windows are shot or can not be serviced or need all of the balances changed, all they need is adjustment (been there, done that with someone who found me on thi s site; i do not market myself for this service but this person had all the parts on hand and was ready to go to work, so i went. one afternoon, the entire house). also, the weather seals can be changed in them. and the leaks are probably occurring because the caulk joints on the caps have failed.
in so far as the wood frames. if those frames have been subject to leaks from the aluminum caps for years and water got in a failed to dry out, they could be in bad condition. BUT know this, i see wood window frames all the time that should be rotten but are not, why? they are old growth pine. so you might luck out on the frames.
i used to get paid to service these windows after they were installed and have serviced a few in brooklyn in the past two decades (i know exactly what has to be done the instant i look at them; i still have the needed tool in the tool bag from the 1980s). Take a look at my website and the reviews about me on this site and on the testimonials page on my website and if you think i can be of help, give me a call. I provide more consultation work for the owners of old homes than i do buyers home inspections.
Steve Cymbalsky
Brownstone Home Inspection LLC
www.brownstonehomeinspection.com
irinamikhail1 | 1 year and 2 months ago
Thanks! We have vinyl replacement windows, not original. We have no idea how old they are, but many don’t open well and they are certainly not energy efficient. We also think they may not be properly sealed on the outside and water could be leaking in, thus the wooden frames might need to be replaced once we pull the windows out. We did a gut renovation, so we know there are no structural issues because those were fixed, but the one thing we didn’t do was the windows. The quote for Renewal by Andersen was $76K for 15 oversized windows. I know that we can find someone else who can install Andersen windows. The windows themselves are not that expensive. I’ll see what I can find in the Pros section. I didn’t see anything useful in the forum on this topic. We have our home inspector coming this week to give us a neutral assessment of the windows and potential water damage.
cate | 1 year and 2 months ago
Also, a “brick to brick” replacement, if feasible, will give you more glass surface and fill in less of the frame with more frame so you will have more light coming in.
cate | 1 year and 2 months ago
What kind of windows are currently in your house? Are these original 19th century or early 20th century windows or are they vinyl or aluminum replacement windows? There is no company in NYC that repairs AND replaces both. They do one or the other. A replacement window is entirely different from an original window. If you have original windows, you would be well advised to repair them yourself or get someone who knows how to do it properly, and then get some interior storms that are easy to take on and off. If you already have vinyl or aluminum replacement windows, and they are no longer working, they tend not to be highly repairable, but you can call a window replacement company to see if they can be repaired and if not, such a company can replace them. If they no longer fit in the frames and no longer close, I can tell you from personal experience you probably have an underlying structural issue you should address first. After three engineers and many years, we finally discovered our last joist (the one at the rear of the house) was missing and needed to be replaced to stabilize the rear of our house, which has fallen several inches over the years and continued to move. Also if you have siding and any plans to redo it, do it at the same time as you replace the windows. A windows replacement company can put in new replacement vinyl or aluminum windows (avoid vinyl, they fail quickly) and rebuild frames. You can see the window options at their stores. Watch them carefully, make sure they caulk everything as they should, so you don’t have leaks, before they leave the job site. Whichever type of window you choose, be aware your wood paneling may also need caulking and the cavities around the window frame may need insulating to keep out drafts. In addition, your brick or brownstone could need repointing or your siding could need insulation too. Last but not least, be aware replacement windows are not always all they are cracked up to be, and in my experience they don’t totally close and they do allow little bits of air in, although it’s not terrible. Also, I can’t recommend contractors because I work for Brownstoner. If you search on this forum for “windows” and look in the Home Pros section under “Windows and Doors” you will find a number of companies who can do various aspects of this work. Good luck.
justinromeu26 | 1 year and 2 months ago
so i just got off the phone with my friend.
Before i get to what he said, i wish to say this, you have to somehow decide what you want to do. i know money will be a driving force but stoop sitter said it above: you are not doing the frames without the entire window. You also have to know that trying to restore the frames will be unrealistic.
So now you have to decide what you really want, wood or vinyl? (and andersen is vinyl clad wood in so far as i know).
this is how the conversation went this my friend. His first comment was andersen. his feeling was that the andersen is a reasonably priced quality product and the ones he put in his house 35 years ago look new today (i see them regularly; by comparison, 35 year old cheap vinyl windows look like 35 year old cheap vinyl windows) .
by the way, i see his windows a half a dozen times a year and i never realized they were andersen until today. i always assumed they were something a little better.
since you are stuck with doing the frames your choices become limited. he said what you need is a “prime” window with a frame. that is a new complete window (as in for new construction). there are some options out there, but again, he went to andersen.
I asked what he thought about Renewal by Andersen and he said he has not worked with them but has seen some quotes and he thought they were “expensive”. What this is telling me is that if he were still in business and were working in the city, he is the kind of contractor you would want. Competent and professional, but as an independent company, priced a little bit lower than people marketed by the bigger outfits.
there are a couple of problems you will have with sourcing people. The person i spoke to is in Eastern Suffolk County and they are just beginning to see this out there: the “middling” contractors are disappearing. this began here 3 decades ago here in NYC and what is left are super high-end contractors who do a lot of commercial work or high-end renovations (marvin) and low end contractors who cannot get the high-end jobs because they can not deliver the quality and have business issues and reputation issues.
Know that many of these companies running around doing replacement windows cannot do what you are looking for. they do not want to take the time to make sure something like you are looking for is put in correctly and trimmed out. They are not craftsman. They are not interested in becoming craftsman and they cannot carry a conversation like a craftsman can.
the people on this board have spoken of Marvin and Pella windows over the years. I suspect the reason you are not hearing from them about what to do here is that those contractors who install the marvin and pella windows are probably a notch above the Renewal by Andersen crowd and you have already let it be known that you consider the Andersen to be pricey. That comment set boundaries.
this is what i would suggest. Start looking at retail window companies on line or at retail locations if there are any around here. talk to them about product and ask if they have any installers they recommend in this area. and then call them and ask them about windows and costs. I mentioned above that a prime window is a new window with a frame; there is also a company called Prime Windows. take a look at their website; maybe their product is a little lower in price than andersen?
you mentioned that you are concerned with weatherization. Aside from having worked with doors and widows a lot (including weather stripping), i am currently in a program to become certified by the Building Performance Institute and hence by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to perform free (to homeowner) energy audits of homes. The state will pay me to do this (the reimbursement is not a lot of money: $200; i generally do not leave my couch for $200). I will be offering services as part of the free NYS program in conjunction with other building inspection services i offer (or perhaps stand-alone to past customers; depends on how busy i am). I am not ready to join this program yet but if i was, i might offer my services.
Steve
Brownstone Home Inspection LLC
justinromeu26 | 1 year and 2 months ago
I was trying to infer some things to you in my reply above by my parents’ situation in the 1970’s and the cheap no-name knock-off wood windows they put in our extension (the equivalent of today’s cheap, knock-off vinyl windows). they also put two giant anderson picture windows on the back of the house. Those anderson windows were a long shot for them.
I am a former restoration contractor. i have made door and window frames (and rebuilt the same). prior to going to college and for a year or so during college, i worked for home improvement contractors and a big part of what we did was install windows. While we did not install Anderson, we were working in a market where there were people like my parents (working class) who thought anderson was top shelf. here in the city, in the market i work in in Brooklyn I NEVER hear the name anderson used. I hear these: kolbe, Marvin, Pella. My sense is, compared to these, Anderson is a lower-priced product. Those anderson windows will also be less expensive than hiring a true, skilled craftsman to rebuild tho se old window frames. There are people in this city who can do all of this and i can get you the names of people who rebuild windows (method restoration) but let me make something very clear that a lot of people learn as they approach these projects: to get something like this done well by someone who really knows what they are doing is going to be very pricey and the renewal by anderson might look like the best option.
In my current job as a home inspector, i get calls from people who have problems (usually roof issues but other envelop issues and windows; if i saw your windows, i would be able to tell you a lot about them) and i listen to them and then i listen to some of the options that people have been given and the prices for those options and i sometimes try to see if there is another way. maybe not gold plated and maybe not garbage but something mid-range that will work. My sense is, anderson might be the answer. I know it sounds “old fashioned” but you might have to wait and save. My parents waited and saved to complete that extension in the 1970’s. In fact, it took half of the decade.(they got the foundation in, the exterior walls up and the roof on and the rest was done piecemeal over 4-5 years).
you have to be careful here. if you keep shopping until you find someone who says they can do what you want for the price you want, the price might be unrealistically low and you will get a crappy job. it happens over here where i live in queens and people shop and shop (to the bottom) and then they end up calling me to fix the screw-up and they will say this: “the contractor screwed us”. i will ask, “what did you pay for this?” and when they give me some unrealistic number, i say “No, he did not screw you. you got what you paid for. if he had charged you what i am about to charge you to fix it, then he would have ‘screwed you'”.
i did look online for window manufacturers other than those mentioned above and i did find one, but again, i suspect wood windows are a specialty item now. the mass market is not there for them.
know this about the restoration industry. People do not restore things because it is cheap. They restore things because they are living in a landmark district or they really, really, like their historic doors or windows. A well-done restoration is usually the most expensive option. It is often better to buy knew if you can.
I have been playing telephone tag with my buddy who really knows this industry. i will be sure to catch him today.
irinamikhail1 | 1 year and 2 months ago
Thanks for chiming in, but my main question as the subject line says, is that I’m looking for recommendations for a company that would do this work and do it well. Any recommendations for window companies. We’ve spoken with Renewal by Andersen and a few others, but I’m hoping for a few more recommendations to get quotes from.
justinromeu26 | 1 year and 2 months ago
You will not want someone who can make frames. If you are looking for wood, you will want complete, new, wood windows. If you wanted replacement windows, those can be had all over the place for nothing. But to get genuine wood windows, a smaller, local company is going to have little control over the cost of those and to install those will take a skilled crew – so they will be dear. And to hire someone to make custom frames will be half a fortune.
Years ago (early 70s) my parents put an addition on the house i grew up in. They sourced off the shelf no-name windows. I just do not think those kinds of wood windows exist any more. Since most people have gone to vinyl, the wood windows have become a specialty item with names like marvin and pella. Back when my parents did our house, about as specialized as they could get was anderson.
I have to call a window guy about some leak issues on a house in here. I will bring this up with him and report back.
stoopsitter | 1 year and 2 months ago
Your instinct to have the window frames checked is the right one. Buying new window inserts without repairing or replacing the old frames is a waste of money. If the frames have deteriorated, there will be drafts the inserts won’t address. Also, the inserts are unlikely to fit properly and will torque. Rebuilding the frames is a job for a skilled carpenter. Most window retailers don’t offer this service.
cate | 1 year and 2 months ago
I’m not sure I understand your question. If you need to repair and weatherize your windows, that is not the same thing as replacing them. You might want to speak to an experienced carpenter who knows old houses and has done windows. (Also, repairing old windows can be done by a homeowner although it’s time consuming.)