OT - Replacement Windows, Wood vs. Vinyl

[gmay8]

This board has been great for many things over the years. I apologize for adding an OT thread, but time is of the essence and I was hoping for any input or experiences you guys have had regarding replacement windows.
I just recently closed on my first house, in Monmouth County. I've been living there for 4 months. The back half of the house had nice, Anderson windows, but the front half of the house had the original, single pane wood (OLD) windows. I knew I'd need to replace them eventually, but didn't think it would be after 4 months!
This past Friday, with that brutal rain storm we had, we had a ton of water come in through the window in my daughters bedroom. The window is officially shot, and the others on the front of the house have similar rot in the wooden sills and need to be replaced.

I have no experience with this stuff and had no clue what to expect. I've had several people come out and give estimates and for 8 windows the estimates have ranged from $25,000 (which was insane) to about $4500. I'm doing research on vinyl vs. wood and which is better, so wanted this board's opinion.

If you have any preference in vinyl vs. wood I'd love to hear about it, and if you have any specific contractors or window companies you recommend please let me know.

As always I appreciate any advice or insight. I'd love Anderson wood windows, but not sure I can swing the price, and I'm not sold on a cheaper $4500 replacement vinyl option.

Thanks

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

vinyl

 

[Knight Shift]

This board has been great for many things over the years. I apologize for adding an OT thread, but time is of the essence and I was hoping for any input or experiences you guys have had regarding replacement windows.
I just recently closed on my first house, in Monmouth County. I've been living there for 4 months. The back half of the house had nice, Anderson windows, but the front half of the house had the original, single pane wood (OLD) windows. I knew I'd need to replace them eventually, but didn't think it would be after 4 months!
This past Friday, with that brutal rain storm we had, we had a ton of water come in through the window in my daughters bedroom. The window is officially shot, and the others on the front of the house have similar rot in the wooden sills and need to be replaced.

I have no experience with this stuff and had no clue what to expect. I've had several people come out and give estimates and for 8 windows the estimates have ranged from $25,000 (which was insane) to about $4500. I'm doing research on vinyl vs. wood and which is better, so wanted this board's opinion.

If you have any preference in vinyl vs. wood I'd love to hear about it, and if you have any specific contractors or window companies you recommend please let me know.

As always I appreciate any advice or insight. I'd love Anderson wood windows, but not sure I can swing the price, and I'm not sold on a cheaper $4500 replacement vinyl option.

Thanks

gmay8, I think I recall that you are in Fair Haven. Hope you are enjoying the area.
We went through this on our 1906 house in the town next to you.
I have quite a bit of experience in renovating houses, and my brother is a carpenter/contractor.
DON'T do vinyl, especially on a house in Fair Haven. It will hurt resale. Plus, the vinyl installed by most of the companies that do vinyl windows slap them in without regard to whether the window sills are in good shape--if your windows are rotted, your sills and surrounding wood may be rotted too.

We used what I think was Andersen (not Anderson) Renewal. EDIT-ANDERSEN WOODWRIGHT 400 SERIES. They make a nice replacement window that is wood on the inside and vinyl clad on the outside.

I highly recommend the person who did our windows. If you are doing windows, you may have to do the trim around the windows, and the person we used was really meticulous and reasonable. It is not my brother. His name is Pete Foley. He is a carpenter/general contractor. If you want to check out what he did at my house, post a way to contact you, and you are welcome to come over and look.

You sound like you may be where we were 5 years ago with renovations. I can give you numbers of other contractors, including a great painter who also does meticulous work.

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

Front entry doors, fiberglass or wood?

 

[gmay8]

Front entry doors, fiberglass or wood?

gmay8, I think I recall that you are in Fair Haven. Hope you are enjoying the area.
We went through this on our 1906 house in the town next to you.
I have quite a bit of experience in renovating houses, and my brother is a carpenter/contractor.
DON'T do vinyl, especially on a house in Fair Haven. It will hurt resale. Plus, the vinyl installed by most of the companies that do vinyl windows slap them in without regard to whether the window sills are in good shape--if your windows are rotted, your sills and surrounding wood may be rotted too.

We used what I think was Andersen (not Anderson) Renewal. They make a nice replacement window that is wood on the inside and vinyl clad on the outside.

I highly recommend the person who did our windows. If you are doing windows, you may have to do the trim around the windows, and the person we used was really meticulous and reasonable. It is not my brother. His name is Pete Foley. He is a carpenter/general contractor. His number is 732-233-3582. If you want to check out what he did at my house, post a way to contact you, and you are welcome to come over and look.

You sound like you may be where we were 5 years ago with renovations. I can give you numbers of other contractors, including a great painter who also does meticulous work.

Knight Shift, thanks so much. That is exactly the type of response I was hoping for with this board. Anderson is what I'm hoping I can swing, but I guess it'll all come down to the estimates. I will give Pete Foley a call, and appreciate the recommendation.

 

[Knight Shift]

Knight Shift, thanks so much. That is exactly the type of response I was hoping for with this board. Anderson is what I'm hoping I can swing, but I guess it'll all come down to the estimates. I will give Pete Foley a call, and appreciate the recommendation.

I can also give you an idea on what we spent on our windows for materials and labor. IIRC, we went directly to Windowrama on Route 35 in Ocean Twp/Eatontown. That place is great, but the choices can be quite overwhelming.
As you probably have learned, a lot the cost depends on window opening size, and whether it is a double hung, casement, and if you have grills on the top/bottom of the window. It can be very confusing to sort out the differences in quotes.

Also, Pete basically works by himself and with a very small crew. He may not be quick to get out to give an estimate because of this, but he is worth waiting for. He also did my mother's house, which IIRC, they used vinyl, but this was for a small condo in a retirement community.

 

[Leonard23]

gmay8, I think I recall that you are in Fair Haven. Hope you are enjoying the area.
We went through this on our 1906 house in the town next to you.
I have quite a bit of experience in renovating houses, and my brother is a carpenter/contractor.
DON'T do vinyl, especially on a house in Fair Haven. It will hurt resale. Plus, the vinyl installed by most of the companies that do vinyl windows slap them in without regard to whether the window sills are in good shape--if your windows are rotted, your sills and surrounding wood may be rotted too.

We used what I think was Andersen (not Anderson) Renewal. They make a nice replacement window that is wood on the inside and vinyl clad on the outside.

I highly recommend the person who did our windows. If you are doing windows, you may have to do the trim around the windows, and the person we used was really meticulous and reasonable. It is not my brother. His name is Pete Foley. He is a carpenter/general contractor. His number is 732-233-3582. If you want to check out what he did at my house, post a way to contact you, and you are welcome to come over and look.

You sound like you may be where we were 5 years ago with renovations. I can give you numbers of other contractors, including a great painter who also does meticulous work.

Knight Shift, thanks so much. That is exactly the type of response I was hoping for with this board. Anderson is what I'm hoping I can swing, but I guess it'll all come down to the estimates. I will give Pete Foley a call, and appreciate the recommendation.

I'm not sure overpaying for Andersen windows is better than paying less for Okna vinyl windows which seemed to outperform Andersen.

 

[Knight Shift]

I'm not sure overpaying for Andersen windows is better than paying less for Okna vinyl windows which seemed to outperform Andersen.

Vinyl is fine if you want a white vinyl interior casing (or in some cases, some kind of brown or tan that some vinyl manufacturers offer).
However, for higher end houses, you will rarely find vinyl replacement windows. If a project that requires 10 new windows, and there is a $100/window different, $1000 is not a lot of money. The wood clad windows will also require painting, which adds to the cost.

 

[Scarlet4Shore]

I had Prown's in Red Bank replace all of my windows. I believe they were vinyl. Couldn't have higher praise for them. They were clean, prompt (gave me a 15 minute arrival window!).

 

[Knight Shift]

Knight Shift, thanks so much. That is exactly the type of response I was hoping for with this board. Anderson is what I'm hoping I can swing, but I guess it'll all come down to the estimates. I will give Pete Foley a call, and appreciate the recommendation.

Had my boss at home check, and on one project, we replaced 9 windows for $6500 including labor to remove the old double hung windows, the frames from the old storm windows that were caulked on with 20 layers of caulk, and if I recall correctly, there were a few minor rot/framing issues that were taken care of. They were Andersen windows with wood interiors that we had painted.

 

[gmay8]

Had my boss at home check, and on one project, we replaced 9 windows for $6500 including labor to remove the old double hung windows, the frames from the old storm windows that were caulked on with 20 layers of caulk, and if I recall correctly, there were a few minor rot/framing issues that were taken care of. They were Andersen windows with wood interiors that we had painted.

I have 8 windows that need to be replaced and will most likely have some rot/framing issues to address. That estimate sounds reasonable.

How long ago was your project?

 

[Knight Shift]

I have 8 windows that need to be replaced and will most likely have some rot/framing issues to address. That estimate sounds reasonable.

How long ago was your project?

Maybe 2 years ago? After we did those windows, we did another project where Pete took out a bunch of old iron (yes iron) windows from our third floor and did those, and that went really well.
If you work with Pete, and you need painting too, ask him for Tino's number. Tino is outstanding and very inexpensive.

 

[FanuSanu52]

I prefer glass. Guess wood would be a lot cheaper, but then you can't see outside. And it just looks so condemned building-ish. A much bigger fashion faux pas than cargo shorts, imho.

 

[BigLou]

My first home we used vinyl replacement. My current home we used Pella wood replacement. Huge difference in quality and appearance.
What were the $25K windows made out of - gold?

 

[Ole Cabbagehead]

Old windows are worth saving on old houses. Nothing kills character more quickly than replacement windows. More often than not, the old windows will work just fine with a little tuning up. Most people just assume they are shot because no one has paid any attention to them for many years, so they are broken or drafty. Easy fixes if you are willing to spend a little time on them.

Increased energy efficiency from new windows is a scam. Old windows with storm windows are something like 3% less efficient than a new double pane sealed window, making the replacement a guaranteed money loser. So if you are replacing, do it because the existing windows are ruined, not because you will "save money and they will pay for themselves." Gov't studies show you will never recoup the money spent on window upgrades through energy savings.

Moreover, it is literally impossible to buy windows that will last as long as the original ones on an old house. You cannot duplicate the quality with anything on the market today. If the windows you have are pre-war, they could easily last another 100 years. You will be very lucky if the windows you put in last 40 years.

Of course, due to neglect, sometimes old windows are just completely shot, and or the cost to renovate them is not worth it or is not in budget. If you absolutely must replace the windows, I fully agree with @Knight Shift. Don't even consider an all vinyl window on an old house. Those bargain windows will not only look wrong, but they have a very short lifespan. Go with Renewal by Andersen, and get a vinyl clad wooden window.

 

[Ole Cabbagehead]

My first home we used vinyl replacement. My current home we used Pella wood replacement. Huge difference in quality and appearance.
What were the $25K windows made out of - gold?

My guess... $25k was the cost for true replacement windows, or for full renovation of existing. If they have been really neglected and there is a lot of rot, the wood working required is not cheap to build all new double hung windows from scratch.

They are probably nice...that's why I would guess the previous owners only changed out the windows in the back of the house, and kept the old ones in the front.

 

[Knight Shift]

Old windows are worth saving on old houses. Nothing kills character more quickly than replacement windows. More often than not, the old windows will work just fine with a little tuning up. Most people just assume they are shot because no one has paid any attention to them for many years, so they are broken or drafty. Easy fixes if you are willing to spend a little time on them.

Increased energy efficiency from new windows is a scam. Old windows with storm windows are something like 3% less efficient than a new double pane sealed window, making the replacement a guaranteed money loser. So if you are replacing, do it because the existing windows are ruined, not because you will "save money and they will pay for themselves." Gov't studies show you will never recoup the money spent on window upgrades through energy savings.

Moreover, it is literally impossible to buy windows that will last as long as the original ones on an old house. You cannot duplicate the quality with anything on the market today. If the windows you have are pre-war, they could easily last another 100 years. You will be very lucky if the windows you put in last 40 years.

Of course, due to neglect, sometimes old windows are just completely shot, and or the cost to renovate them is not worth it or is not in budget. If you absolutely must replace the windows, I fully agree with @Knight Shift. Don't even consider an all vinyl window on an old house. Those bargain windows will not only look wrong, but they have a very short lifespan. Go with Renewal by Andersen, and get a vinyl clad wooden window.

I agree with most of what you said. A local contractor/carpenter on my fire company was adamant that the old windows should be rehabbed/refurbished. He did this for us, but the panes on the old windows were dirty beyond cleaning, pitted, and continuing to reglaze all of the windows was a pain in the ass. On top of that, raising and closing the storm windows seemed to vacillate between the guillotine storm wind that would fall and nearly cut your fingers/hand off without warning and the storm window that would be continually stuck.

We opted for Andersen Woodwrights 400 Series with a narrow profile that looked like the old windows. We had some casement windows with interesting dividers that we were able to match up with a Marvin window that was very pricey. We did not replace the windows to save energy dollars. We did it because we open and close our windows a lot. The last two weeks is the longest run we have run the AC in a lot of years.

The cast iron frame windows were a completely different story. They were useless, and we were glad to get rid of them.

 

[joshk ru03]

I am in the business and what ever you do, do not go with Renewal by Andersen. The installers and windows are way overpriced. There is no reason to not go with vinyl, you can get a quality vinyl window and not just cheap pieces of shit. As for wood, it is absolutely for aesthetics, especially with replacement windows. Since you already have Andersen in the other part of the house you can definitely go with Andersen Replacement windows, if you can swing the $$. Andersen windows are great and so is there warranty/service. I do not know anyone from Windowrama down that way, so I can not speak on how good they are. I sell building materials, many lines of windows, so if you have any questions I would have no problem talking to you about them, strictly for information as I do not sell that far south.

 

[Knight Shift]

I am in the business and what ever you do, do not go with Renewal by Andersen. The installers and windows are way overpriced. There is no reason to not go with vinyl, you can get a quality vinyl window and not just cheap pieces of shit. As for wood, it is absolutely for aesthetics, especially with replacement windows. Since you already have Andersen in the other part of the house you can definitely go with Andersen Replacement windows, if you can swing the $$. Andersen windows are great and so is there warranty/service. I do not know anyone from Windowrama down that way, so I can not speak on how good they are. I sell building materials, many lines of windows, so if you have any questions I would have no problem talking to you about them, strictly for information as I do not sell that far south.

I just double checked. We did not use Andersen Renewal. We used Andersen Woodwright 400 series windows. Enormous difference. They are great windows, and I was fairly soured on Andersen windows before having these installed. The outside wood is protected by a composite material called Fibrex (R), which is a fiberglass composite.
https://www.andersenwindows.com/products/400-series-woodwright-double-hung-window/

Hate to disagree with someone in the business, but a lot of realtors and a good number of prospective buyers in Fair Haven would NOT want vinyl windows in a higher end house.

 

[gmay8]

I just double checked. We did not use Andersen Renewal. We used Andersen Woodwright 400 series windows. Enormous difference. They are great windows, and I was fairly soured on Andersen windows before having these installed. The outside wood is protected by a composite material called Fibrex (R), which is a fiberglass composite.
https://www.andersenwindows.com/products/400-series-woodwright-double-hung-window/

Renewal by Anderson was the quote for 25k. Very pushy sales tactic and the guy wouldn't leave my house until I directly asked him to leave. He kept changing the price trying to get me to sign that day.
Anderson 400 series, which are different than renewal by. Anderson is what I'm looking for if I can get the pricing right. Renewal by Anderson is a subsidiary of Anderson but independently franchised and a rip off.

I appreciate all the responses.

 

[joshk ru03]

The woodwright line was their first replacement line and they now have a 400 series replacement which is a little less expensive. It also matches their most popular new constriction line, which is the 400 series.

 

[Knight Shift]

Renewal by Anderson was the quote for 25k. Very pushy sales tactic and the guy wouldn't leave my house until I directly asked him to leave. He kept changing the price trying to get me to sign that day.
Anderson 400 series, which are different than renewal by. Anderson is what I'm looking for if I can get the pricing right. Renewal by Anderson is a subsidiary of Anderson but independently franchised and a rip off.

I appreciate all the responses.

Sorry for the mixup. Huge difference. As noted above in my edited response, many realtor who sell higher end homes and buyers will not want vinyl windows, even if they are technically superior to Andersen or Marvin windows. Another window that is similar to Andersen Woodwright 400 series is the Marvin Integrity line of windows. Integrity was an independent company that pioneered the fiberglass composite cladding, and Marvin bought them out. They are not nearly as expensive as Marvin windows. We really wanted to use Marvin Integrity windows, and Pete directed us to the Andersen Woodright 400 series. We went to Windowrama and talked to the people there, and we were sold. We really like the way the Woodright 400 series operate, and as stated above, they have narrow sashes that closely matched the windows we were replacing--this was important to us to keep the classic look to our house.

 

[czxqa]

sheepskin or latex?