Home Window Quotes and Warranty

[SilentBirdHunter]

Window limited warranty:

The glass is warranted to be free from defects in manufacturing, materials, and workmanship for a period of twenty (20) years from
the original installation date. It is also warranted not to develop, under normal conditions, any material obstruction of vision or broken glass resulting from manufacturing defects or as a result of premature failure of the glass or organic seal for a period of twenty (20) years from
the original installation date.

Installed after January 1, 2022 is warranted for a period of two (2) years from the date of original installation. During this period, should your
window or door fail to perform according to our specifications due to improper original installation

In addition to any other limitations or exclusions in this Limited Warranty, no obligation for product failure, damage, or costs due to or related
to the following:
Condensation
The performance of the low-maintenance exterior glass coating on products with Low-E4® glass

When warranty coverage is unclear, may charge an inspection fee for any on-site product inspection.

So imagine the argon leaks from a faulty seal or the window performs poorly in terms of insulation.
The company might charge to come out to investigate the problem.
The company could say condensation between the 2 panes is not covered by warranty,
and performance is not covered by warranty.
Or 2 years is past and the problem was due to the installation.

Thoughts on what to look for in quotes and warranty for home window installation?

Anyone in the Kalispell or Missoula area have a recommendation? Thanks.

 

[Bulldog0156]

Go to Pella and order windows and do it yourself. I was quoted $5k for 5 small windows by Home Depot. Did it myself for $1500. Window replacement is easy.

 

[Nick87]

Go to Pella and order windows and do it yourself. I was quoted $5k for 5 small windows by Home Depot. Did it myself for $1500. Window replacement is easy.

Yah, didn't go pella but used Andersen and it was expensive but nothing like what most places will quote you. They mark those windows WAY up. Iirc two quotes around $70k, priced the new Andersens for around $20k.

 

[Keep on]

Our home has all Andersen windows and doors from original construction, windows have been great, rear slider had the outer plastic separate from the wood core and rot.
Just about every year an Andersen rep will stop by the house and bother me about replacement windows, tells me all about the awesome lifetime warranty, then I tell him about the rear slider and he informs me that the door isn't really covered under warranty and quickly moves on. It's a game I like to play with them.
I switched the slider out to an all vinyl unit already, funny how none of them even want to take a look at the door. I'm pretty sure they are all like that, warranties amount to about squat. I'm cheap, I just go to my big construction supply store of choice and buy the window or door I prefer and install myself.

 

[Nick87]

Our home has all Andersen windows and doors from original construction, windows have been great, rear slider had the outer plastic separate from the wood core and rot.
Just about every year an Andersen rep will stop by the house and bother me about replacement windows, tells me all about the awesome lifetime warranty, then I tell him about the rear slider and he informs me that the door isn't really covered under warranty and quickly moves on. It's a game I like to play with them.
I switched the slider out to an all vinyl unit already, funny how none of them even want to take a look at the door. I'm pretty sure they are all like that, warranties amount to about squat. I'm cheap, I just go to my big construction supply store of choice and buy the window or door I prefer and install myself.

I'm glad to hear your new construction Andersons have held up. I did half the house last year hopefully doing the other half next year. Our house isn't all that big but we have 5 bay windows. One of which is 10' wide. They sting a little.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Our home has all Andersen windows and doors from original construction, windows have been great, rear slider had the outer plastic separate from the wood core and rot.
Just about every year an Andersen rep will stop by the house and bother me about replacement windows, tells me all about the awesome lifetime warranty, then I tell him about the rear slider and he informs me that the door isn't really covered under warranty and quickly moves on. It's a game I like to play with them.
I switched the slider out to an all vinyl unit already, funny how none of them even want to take a look at the door. I'm pretty sure they are all like that, warranties amount to about squat. I'm cheap, I just go to my big construction supply store of choice and buy the window or door I prefer and install myself.

The ratio of fine print to gaurantees means a lot.

Im getting new andersen windows from insurance. Hope its worth what they charge....

 

[Keep on]

I'm glad to hear your new construction Andersons have held up. I did half the house last year hopefully doing the other half next year. Our house isn't all that big but we have 5 bay windows. One of which is 10' wide. They sting a little.

I've been very happy with the windows, house is 24 years old and get no condensation on any of the windows, argon seems to be holding up well. The slider was a triple door, and when getting quotes for a replacement blew my mind. I tore the old triple slider out, framed in for a 30'X60" window and a standard 72"X80 slider and went with an Andersen window for the replacement. Didn't use an Andersen door though, when looking at reviews online, everyone mentioned the separation and rot issues.

 

[noharleyyet]

Good windows are a great value, as is good wall/roof composition, proper ventilation, & balanced hvac. Around here everyone thinks they can build a house, until they find out too late they can't.

 

[Fire_9]

Our house isn't all that big but we have 5 bay windows. One of which is 10' wide. They sting a little.

I feel your pain. We have been looking at doing windows for a few years and just got an anderson quote. One of the big windows is almost $1900. And that's just their 100 series, nothing special. Definitely stings a little...

 

[Nick87]

I feel your pain. We have been looking at doing windows for a few years and just got an anderson quote. One of the big windows is almost $1900. And that's just their 100 series, nothing special. Definitely stings a little...

The 100 series are pretty low quality imo. My .02 is do it them yourself or find a contractor who will install them after you purchase otherwise your paying for them to buy them and mark them up on you again. Don't go to a lowes or home depot but a contractor supplier. Like ABC supply or RP lumber and buy them yourself. Our biggest window I haven't dome yet. For 400 series it's $2900 that's befire they had a price increase last year. God only knows what it is now. You can definitely do it for way less than what a window company will quote you for window and install.

 

[ashersdad]

Our house was built in 2004 and has alot of windows. All Pella. Turns out they all had problems and there was a class action lawsuit several years ago. I think our payout was $1,800. We've been quoted over 100k to replace all of them. We did all of the big ones on the front of the house last year. Pella warranty is pretty much worthless as far as I'm concerned.

 

[more_cowbell]

Part of Andersen's rep/quote to me was that anything like water damage they may find while replacing windows is "on them". Unsure if still true or not, but may suggest they build that risk into the price.

 

[Nick87]

Our house was built in 2004 and has alot of windows. All Pella. Turns out they all had problems and there was a class action lawsuit several years ago. I think our payout was $1,800. We've been quoted over 100k to replace all of them. We did all of the big ones on the front of the house last year. Pella warranty is pretty much worthless as far as I'm concerned.

They all are imo. Snake oil salesman.

 

[Fire_9]

The 100 series are pretty low quality imo. My .02 is do it them yourself or find a contractor who will install them after you purchase otherwise your paying for them to buy them and mark them up on you again. Don't go to a lowes or home depot but a contractor supplier. Like ABC supply or RP lumber and buy them yourself. Our biggest window I haven't dome yet. For 400 series it's $2900 that's befire they had a price increase last year. God only knows what it is now. You can definitely do it for way less than what a window company will quote you for window and install.

Our quote was from a contractor that came highly recommended and we have had comparable quotes from the lumber yards around us. Quotes have ranged anywhere from 10k-25k just for the windows depending on brand/model. We have original windows from the 50's so anything would be a huge improvement.

 

[noharleyyet]

The back has even more & they've pretty much all lost their insulated pane void integrity. Built in 1994, I'm almost afraid to get a quote...

https://flic.kr/p/2jSeEUA

 

[Nick87]

The back has even more & they've pretty much all lost their insulated pane void integrity. Built in 1994, I'm almost afraid to get a quote...

https://flic.kr/p/2jSeEUA

Make sure your sitting down.

 

[Nick87]

Our quote was from a contractor that came highly recommended and we have had comparable quotes from the lumber yards around us. Quotes have ranged anywhere from 10k-25k just for the windows depending on brand/model. We have original windows from the 50's so anything would be a huge improvement.

Mine were original from early 60's I get it.

 

[LuketheDog]

I installed 4 Marvin fiberglass windows and a door last fall, very happy with them so far, they're a vast improvement over vinyl frames. Now just have to order some more...

 

[blueridge]

The reno I am doing now was built in 1960 and had all single pane throughout, including a 20’ wall that was almost all glazed. Had a heat pump, boiler fired baseboard heaters, and propane stove, and could still barely keep up when it got into the teens.

Replaced everything with custom sized Pella 150s with insulated frames for just over 5k for the entire house (six 44x69, ten 44x46, one 44x38). That price included my contractor discount (18%), which you can usually get at Lowes even if you’re not a contractor, just sign up for a MVP account and ask them to run it through VSP. If it’s standard size windows, you can usually get VSP pricing on top of the sales price. Just fyi.

I did two comparable sunrooms, one with triple pane Pella’s, the other with double pane Anderson 400s. The triple pane Pella’s were about the same price, much better R-value obviously, and I honestly couldn’t tell that much of a difference in quality.

Having said all the above, I have not had to pursue warranty claims on either. I would love to hear from those that have.

 

[buckbull]

The back has even more & they've pretty much all lost their insulated pane void integrity. Built in 1994, I'm almost afraid to get a quote...

https://flic.kr/p/2jSeEUA

We had those half circle windows on the house I built in 2007. Every single one failed. I've had people tell me that this shape of window is prone to fail.