Edumacate me on replacement windows for my home

A bathroom window that opens is a must for me. Even if it's just 1/4" open, it helps a lot with venting out steam and other "vapors".

Vinyl windows are fine in my experience. Low-e seems pretty standard these days. Unless you live where there's extremes of hot and/or cold, triple-pane is probably overkill.

And that's everything I think I know about windows.

 

Where I live single pane windows are terrible in the fall and winter. Most people don't use them any more.

I have double-pane now....house was built with them. But even in our climate I wouldn't thumb my nose at triple-pane.

You lose lots of heat from window glass.

Single-panes always had condensation on them in the winter.....and even the condensate would freeze up on certain nights.

 

double pane vinyl clad
aluminum on its own is a great conductor of heat, meaning it's not a good insulator

 

I just replaced all my 70ish year old single pane, double hung wood frame windows with some Silver-Line from Anderson. They were cheap enough, bought a couple at a time, installed them a room at a time. It is amazing how much different the house feels between the windows and upgrading the old failed 'rock wool' insulation with modern fiberglass.

Silver Line® V1 Series

did a gliding window for my 4 foot x 5 foot picture window, the other large window I did a pair of standard width separated by a pair of bound 2x4's

 

Speaking as a former pro vinyl replacement window/door installer I might have a couple tips for you.

Bathroom window: Don't put a dead-lite in there. Get a double-hung with obscure glass. Even if you never open it, it adds a bit of equity to your house and any future buyer will expect a bath window that opens.

Triple pane glass: You live in Washington State? I doubt it gets cold enough there to justify added expense.

Low-e: You should be able to get your contractor to throw that in for free. It's a nice feature.

Color: Vinyl windows come in different colors. What color is your house exterior? Be careful with white windows, if they don't go well with the color of your house they'll look like crap. When that happens the better choice is almost always Almond. If for some reason you consider Bronze, know that it will make your house darker inside.

For the other windows you can save a lot of money by going with sliders instead of casement (crank-out) windows. And depending on the style of house, sliders often look better than casements, anyway.

Can't help with current brand names re quality, been out of it for years. But there is everything from flimsy junk to high quality stuff out there. You'll feel the difference when you snap a double-hung sash back into place from drop-down position. If you can, go to a showroom and operate the display units. Happy hunting.

 

Actually, rock wool or Roxul is better than fiberglass in almost every respect.

 

As someone who does purchasing for a construction company for a living (sad, I know) Plygem is our go-to vinyl replacement window. They are well made and reasonably priced. You should have no issues with them. As with all windows just make sure they are properly installed.

 

Actually, circa 1948 Rock wool had an R3 rating at best if it hadn't decayed to the point that it was laying in the bottom 1/3rd of the walls

The new stuff I put in is R13 except for some stuff I had left over from some work I did at my other house a few years back that is R11

 

Contractor grade is fine but it depends what you are looking for in a window. The better grades will have a higher R value (argon, low E, etc.) and usually the cost to upgrade per window is minimal. But if you are not looking to spend a lot the contractor series will perform well on a day-to-day basis.

Personally, I do not care for single hungs and would go with double hungs but that's just me.

 

Simply a matter of personal preference. Double hungs (DH) allow the top sash to operate so you can only open the top if you wish. They also tilt so they are easier to clean. But there is nothing wrong with singles.

 

Unless you're just doing the windows to flip the house, you might want to avoid single-hungs and contractor grade units altogether. Regardless of brand there is always a quality compromise involved, not just a lower R value. That's why they cost less. Often the internal workings are not as robust and/or the vinyl may be a thinner gauge. You want the frames and sashes to be as "stiff" as possible. That's a quality that all the better lines of vinyl windows have in common. You'll feel the difference when you operate a normal size unit, as opposed to a tiny salesman's sample.

I'm sure you know this, but the replacement window business is riddled with BS artists and high pressure sales people. These guys are the direct descendants of the infamous aluminum siding contractors of yore. Generally, the bigger the company, the higher the mark up at the retail end. Big overhead and salesman's commissions to pay.

Here's a way to save big bucks on your windows, once you know which brand and model you want: Contact an experienced subcontractor/installer about doing a "side job". They love side jobs and can offer an unbeatable price for the same job, literally hundreds less per window (yes, per window) than what the big retail outfits are looking for. Just don't expect any financing plans from them.

 

I just noticed by your use of the word edumacate that we may have went to the same high skool ... or you missed a lot of it, too Good luck with the windows ... I'm just a renter, so gots no practical advice.

 

Someone using the word edumacate results in me saying find something you like and pay someone to install it.