Window replacement recommendations?

[savoirfaire]

I found Lindsey’s post about this from a few months ago but there weren’t any replies. Has anyone had a good (or bad!) experience with window replacement, or know of anyone they can recommend? We’re looking to replace a number of windows (possibly a few at a time) in an older house. Lindsey, if you see this, I’d love to know who you chose and how it went! Thanks in advance for any help.

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[biminc]

I’d be interested in recommendations as well. We’re looking to replace two windows initially. Also, someone from Renewal by Anderson stopped by the other night trying to get us to sign up for a quote (we didn’t). They seem to have a special running until August 31st. Has anyone worked with them? Thanks for your input!

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[Mark32]

I had Anderson replace my old aluminum windows several years ago. I had bids from other companies but went with Anderson because they looked to be the best built and I could get them in colors other than white vinyl. I was surprised by the noise reduction and how much cooler the house is in the summer. In short, I’m a happy customer.

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[greydog]

Signature windows and doors. Greg is fantastic! We have used them several times.

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[homedk]

My recommendation would be to steer clear of any “window replacement companies” that specialize in a specific brand and give you a bid for the entire job. We saved boatloads of money when we had the windows in our former home replaced. We researched cost of goods, then purchased the windows separately. We then had our contractor/handyman install them. Although he made a very decent hourly rate, it turned out to be thousands of dollars cheaper to pay someone by the hour/day rather than a fixed rate for the entire job. Our guy was able to install several small-ish windows per day (which included enlarging some of the openings and reframing). Our very largest picture window took a full day with 2 people working on ladders. Still, our window replacement project literally cost less than 10% of the amount that a window company had bid & the results were better in that we had better quality windows and in some instances bigger windows than the originals.

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[B-squared]

I concur with homedk. Although I had my handyman measure all the windows and place the order. All went well. My only regret is that I didn’t chose a better window. Mine are CDI, and I chose them because they had a lower profile around the frame than most of the others and some of my windows are kind of small to begin with. However, the CDI windows are now fogging up. Although, to be honest, I don’t know how long a sealed window should remain so.

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[ocean]

I started looking into replacements windows (we had the original 1950s from when the house was built) several years ago. We have a sliding glass door and 10 windows, which range in size from 10 inches x 36 inches to the biggie at 5 feet by 7 feet. The 9 bids ranged from $3000 (a door-to-door person, who would not tell me if the price included hauling away old windows and warranty– or even manufacturer of window!) to $24,000. I quit looking when job our job went away, but started looking again a year later when employed again. Several of the companies were no longer in business. Glad I didn’t go with any of them! I finally chose Valley Glass, they had been a middle bid originally, they were nice both times they came out, they had a decent product, they finished in one day, and when one of the sliders on a window failed later, they came and fixed it –for free! It was about $4500 for all the windows and the slider door, but this was 3 years ago.

It has made a HUGE difference in the temperature of the house, with most happily it being 15+ degrees cooler inside in the summer.

http://www.valleyglass.net/

-Ocean

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[miws]

Just came across a notification on my Facebook Feed, that McLendons offers window installs.

Went to their site, to get the link to the specific info page, since not all folks are FB’ers:

http://www.mclendons.com/what-we-install

Mike

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[anonyme]

homedk, B-squared, are you willing to share the names of the handymen you used? Good ones are hard to find. I need help with both windows and doors.

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[savoirfaire]

Wow, thanks so much for the information and suggestions, everybody. I’m very new at this and the guidance is much appreciated. Just one more reason to love the blog :)

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[Lindsey]

I’m interested in these replies also! I haven’t replaced the windows yet. We did recently get a quote from Home Depot, although we’d really like to go with a local shop or handyman. The quote we got from Home Depot was basically $700 a window. We want to replace at least two before the winter comes and we shudder through another expensive heat bill. We plan on calling our old landlord to see who he uses. That’s where I am at in the process. Good luck!

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[I Wonder]

Has anyone used Cherry Creek? We are looking at storm windows for an older house that has original leaded windows. They have offered to replace cracked glass, repair/replace rotted sills, restring the single hung windows, and repair the lead work in broken windows. Thanks!

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[biminc]

Thanks for all the insights and recommendations! Hadn’t thought about buying the windows and hiring someone to install them. I’d much rather work with a good handyman over a big company. On a side note, we did get a quote from Home Depot and I was so unimpressed by the person who came out to give the quote, I decided right then and there not to use them. As he described it, he was sent out from “corporate in Atlanta” and is not affiliated with the West Seattle Home Depot. If anyone has a recommendation for a great handyman (for windows and other things, I’d be very grateful!)

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[B-squared]

Anonyme – my contractor sadly changed directions and no longer does that kind of work. I would start a separate thread on here to inquire about handyman contractors with specific tasks I am looking to accomplish outlined. I had a bad experience with one guy who just wasn’t up to what I expected quality wise and then i had to pay a second guy to complete it, and he too did shotty work. Good handyman is like gold!

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[SeekingEuros]

I used Renewal by Anderson to do my whole house about 5 years ago. They were fantastic and truly one of the best contractors who really honored their commitment. They were the neatest and cleaned up of hands down any contractor I have ever used. After 5 years, the windows look brand new, whereas a friend of mine used another brand, and they look awful. Every time I see them at a street fair, I go up and complement them.

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[homedk]

Anonyme – Sorry to say that our handyman also changed directions and is no longer in the business. Our remodel was done in 2005 at a home we owned in north Seattle. Sometime after that, he injured a knee and no longer works at such a physical job. This was a mid-century house, so we purchased vinyl windows “off the shelf” at the big box stores. We ordered the non-standard custom-sized windows from Windorco. As I recall, the “professional” window company bids had estimated approximately $15,000 & we ended up spending less than $2000 to replace all of our windows… so even if you find a handyman who is not quite as good or fast as ours was, you’ll still probably come out ahead.

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I Wonder – we would have liked to have used Cherry Creek for a remodel on our next house in West Seattle, but at the time (2007) that just wouldn’t work with our budget. One of our neighbors did use them and was very happy with their results. The Cherry Creek windows looked nice (from our point of view) and seemed to be a good solution for a vintage 1920’s home that had originally had single-pane leaded glass windows. The neighbor’s Cherry Creek windows looked much better than the other new window alternatives that we see on vintage homes around the area; however, they do not look as authentic as vintage windows.

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For our own remodel on our vintage house, we looked for a more affordable alternative and more authentic-looking alternative. We ended up taking classes and learning to repair or recreate our single-pane leaded glass windows. It may sound (kind of) crazy, but it turned out great and was a lot of fun! [We took the classes at Seattle Stained Glass in Wallingford on N. 45th Street; Glass Expressions in Burien offered classes as well.] Both places would be good resources for finding folks who could repair/rebuild single-pane leaded glass windows.

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[homedk]

Just realized I made a mistake in my last post; I meant to say that we spent less than $3000 (rather than $2000) to replace our windows in 2005. This included the cost of the windows, lumber for reframing and other supplies, and the labor. We replaced a total of 12 windows, 11 of which were off the shelf, plus 1 custom size that was approx. 10 feet wide. The OTS windows ranged in size, the largest was 60 x 60 as I recall.

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One other thing that I neglected to mention is that you can often find great deals on all types of windows at the places that sell used building materials (ReStore, Second Use and Earthwise were the ones we used most often).

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[Michael Isip]

We’ve loved working with Procraft. Family run and quality work. Brad and Stacy are the best. They do all sorts of unique projects, everything from new installs to old wood window replacement to egress windows.

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