Replacement windows for house?

[fireman32]

I know there is a shortage of window availability, but I’m gonna need some before long.
My question is, what is the best mid range window to get. Name brand and series. Vinyl, metal, double pain? It’s not a million dollar home, but I want it better than the cheapest windows I can find.

 

[The Original Rooster]

Whatever it is, I like that porch. Reminds me of my grandparents house on the farm kinda. I think @jiminbogart could probably give some good advice on windows.

 

[jaybirdius]

We used Pella on our new home. Vinyl in the color we wanted. There is a Pella dealer in Bogart that we met with, he was very helpful and guided us to windows we are very happy with. The pricing wasn't much more than the junk HD sells.

 

[jiminbogart]

I like the PlyGem 1500 single hung series vinyl. They are double glazed/Low E, ect.

They are 16 or so weeks out from order date ATM.

The have basically doubled in price in the past year.

I was paying $158 for a 3060(3' wide/6' tall). I ordered 10 of them for my shop and they are now $308 each.


A more common size is a 3050 or a 28(2'-8")50. They are a little cheaper.

The rough opening on a PLYGem 1500 is the call size.

A 3060 has a 36"x72" rough opening.

Get prices from at least 3 supply houses/lumber companies. They will vary by $10-$20 per window.

 

[fireman32]

Thanks

 

[Duff]

I like the PlyGem 1500 single hung series vinyl. They are double glazed/Low E, ect.

They are 16 or so weeks out from order date ATM.

The have basically doubled in price in the past year.

I was paying $158 for a 3060(3' wide/6' tall). I ordered 10 of them for my shop and they are now $308 each.


A more common size is a 3050 or a 28(2'-8")50. They are a little cheaper.

The rough opening on a PLYGem 1500 is the call size.

A 3060 has a 36"x72" rough opening.

Get prices from at least 3 supply houses/lumber companies. They will vary by $10-$20 per window.

^^^^. Pella won’t touch that price

 

[jiminbogart]

^^^^. Pella won’t touch that price

I love those PlyGem windows. I put them in my new house I'm building and hundreds of house we built for sale.

They do everything a window is supposed to do.

 

[Spotlite]

I used Plygem all vinyl. Home Depot had the lowest price when I bought. I special ordered 34 x 60. $165 a few years ago. Don’t know today on special orders but those in stock are still holding under $200.

 

[Oldstick]

No idea on the current situation, but my comment is look for the best quality locking mechanisms you can afford. I have the all vinyl windows in a 20+ year old house and at least three of them have broken either the locks or the tilt out latching mechanism over the years. I have these fixed in place with metal brackets screwed into the wood as a temporary fix, but I really don't like the cheapness of the plastic coated latches, especially after baking in the sun for years.

 

[DannyW]

Don't know if you have a ReStore close, but they get leftover new windows from builders all the time. Or at least, used to. Don't know the brands, and if there is a shortage (what isn't in short supply) they may not have them either.

I told a friend about this a few years ago. Weeks later he called me and said thanks, you saved me $3,000 bucks.

 

[Waddams]

We redid our windows a few years ago. Used an outfit out of Roswell called Greenview. We priced Pella, HD, Power, and these guys weren't the cheapest but they weren't the most expensive. I think they were #2. I can't for the life of me remember what brand window they used, but they were double paned, argon filled, low E coated, single hung, vinyl windows. They did a great job on the install, 34 windows over 2 days. Lifetime warranty on the windows.

House has been much warmer/cooler depending on season. Much quieter, much less ambient noise from outside comes in as the frames are full of insulation and not hollow. Frames are also fusion welded, not screwed together. Helps with airtightness in the frame. Seals were some special design, not aluminum. Made to expand and contract with the glass more consistently. The metal ones don't do that, they expand and contract differently, and the seals pop more readily when their used.

Cost around $18k for the whole job, 34 windows total in the house. Our heating and AC bills were cut by around 45% after work was done. We've done a ton of upgrades since buying the house, the windows are one of the best investments we've made so far.

 

[dwhee87]

Keep hearing 'factory-direct' commercials on the radio for Midsouth windows. Don't know anything about them. They make and install the windows.

 

[Flash]

When you decide (or they might help) you might want to look at Yoder's in the edge of SC not far off I85.
I'm told they have good pricing on compared to other building places on a lot of things and pretty sure they carry a few brands of windows. When my house was built the builder bought things here and there, windows came from Yoders.