Pella Equivalent to Anderson 400 series?
will35
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
I am looking to install a couple windows and would like to get a few quotes to compare prices. How close are Pella and Anderson in quality and price?<!—-><!—-> <!—->
I believe I am looking for Anderson 400 series or equivalent quality. I am in Michigan and therefore want the premium glass (E4 etc).
Any strong opinions one way or the other?
Thanks,<!—-><!—->
Will <!—-><!—->
Replies
How about Marvin?
I do not like Pella's service. I believe that Piffen and I have simular resevations about Pella.
I have no opinion about Anderson, one way or the other.
I have more than 'reservations' about Pella. Twice screwed means never again with a capital NEVERI also have strong positive on Andersen. Have repaced some of theors that were 30-40 years old - some free frrom them even after all this time. good product line and good service.but I sell more Integrity windows because of more options and I like the composite.
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speak of the devil...here's one of the whiners...or cheerleaders now^^^^^^^^I think he's the captain of the anti Pella squad
Barry E-Remodeler
You are right to point out record of local service. service after sale and during the process is 40% of the value of a window purchase IMO.But since Pella makes an inferior product to begin with...
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Come on Piffin ..that's your opinion, though not the only one. But others on this bb have pointed out the other side.You say no service, but at least in your next post you point out that it's regional. I think that's a step forward :)I may have bias being from Iowa, but I get great service from my rep and many clients asking for the product.i also know my Anderson rep and use them at times. Like them also..though I sometimes think you pay more for the name. We have another local window company, Eagle, that was bought out by Anderson.I think all of the window companies went through some bad times and I think that Pella made a HUGE mistake when they came out with the Pro-Line series to cater to the big boxes. It diluted their product and nameBut they do have some good lines
Barry E-Remodeler
The only Pella's I have used were their top of the line architectural for historic fit.The problems I had originated at the factory but were complicated by lousy service in this area.I agreed on the local service thing because of having learned that here at BT, but over the years, I have seen a couple Pella fans realize that all the service in the world cannot make up for a poor product.
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"that's your opinion, though not the only one."
Here's another one. Pella is inferior in sales, installation and product quality to all prominent competitive manufacturers of these types of products.
I remodeled and added on to my home, using the best products Pella sold. This was 5 years ago. My total cost for Pella was over $60k. Every single exterior window and door, over 100 units.
Aside from the mistakes in the order, pricing and sizes being wrong, scheduling and installation damage and just plain indifference, which all made the overall experience unacceptable, the products are not holding up.
The finishes are wearing away. The cladding is coming off. The hardware is wobbly and cheap. The quality is what I would have expected for a product at half the cost. We didn't go cheap by any means.
"Viewed to be the Best"? I was scammed. My mistake. Pella is the cheapest #### I have ever seen, and will tell my story at ever chance I get.
you're from Illinois, your opinion doesn't count
Barry E-Remodeler
Congratulations!
BarryE receives the TimMooney 'Now That's Funny Right There' award.
Saaalute!!!View ImageView Image
<G>beats feet
Barry E-Remodeler
"you're from Illinois, your opinion doesn't count"I thought at in Il they counted twice, or 3 times, or more..
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
I think number of votes = amount of money
Barry E-Remodeler
I was just at the Eagle plant for a tour a few weeks ago. I'm amazed at all of the options and customization available with Eagle windows. Good product IMHO.
You toured the plant here in Iowa? or do they have others now that Anderson owns them?They are involved in our local Home Builders Assoc and I've been to a couple of their presentations. Their strength is the ability to customize what you need. That was one of the big reasons Anderson acquired them from what we were told
Barry E-Remodeler
Yup, took a long day trip to good old Dubuque last week Wednesday. Their plant is pretty impressive.
Like I said, that customization ability is definitely one of the things that impressed me working as an Architect. After touring the plant and seeing their manufacturing process, I'm even more impressed.
Jen
Edited 8/12/2009 8:06 am by Jen
When I lived in NE Indiana, it seemed as if Pella dominated the market, and I believe it was due to the quality of the service delivered by their local distributor/dealer, named Irmscher.
Here, we see a lot of Pellas being used by builders, the few that are still building, and I'm told that the level of service is high.
In windows and doors, service is 75 percent of the business equation, at least.
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
Is your distributor the new one in Sommerset NH, or is your region a separate one?
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In NE IN, Irmscher's operation was one-step. Here, the local Pella store is in Plattsburgh, NY, and I'm sure they get their product from a two-step jobber.
I don't know their source.
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
I know your attiytude and it parralles mine. I just wasn't going to be that strong and scare the guy too bad!
All other things being equal pricepoint wise, I worry more about the window beig installed correctly then the window nameIt's scary how many people can't install a window correctly in this day and age
Barry E-Remodeler
What is amazing to me is the insistence by peela around here, that unless you have been trained by them, automatically you have installed it incorrectly. When the franchisee was reported to Pella, they backed him up?
Training consisted of reading the instructions. Oh yeah, the franchisee didn't make any money because the customer bought from Lowes, who wouldn't even interfeer for the customer.
Strange company policy!
Oh, one other thing, I and the company I worked for framing instaled 1000's of windows a year without problems. This is not to mention the 1000's of windows I personally installed when I ran my own business.
Yes, I have reason to distrust what Pella says. Yes, I will tell people not to do business with them. One other thing, my boss refused to even frame for people whta wanted us to install Pella's. They cost him on the one installation in excess of 10K.
I would go on, but the whole mess left me with a very bad taste in my mouth!
And that's why i say Pella made a huge mistake catering to the big boxes. Pella rolscreen had a great name before they bought in the cheap lineHere we have a Pella store which is a franchisee of Pella Windows. My salesman there is the bosses son. I recently did a job where in came in and opened up the store for my clients at 7 pm. He got out of there after 10. And that was only for 2 doors and 2 windows. The door was their fiberglass series and my installer had a couple of issues. They had their repairman out the next day. If my clients want Pella or I'm matching Pella on a job, I don't go to the big boxes, I head straight to the Pella store. Any difference in price is more than made up by the serviceLike I said it seems to be a regional issue, and I would never expect after sale service from a big box ...in any region
Barry E-Remodeler
We just had a house full of Eagles put in, and I installed 3 Eagle doors. Very nice.I have had exactly the opposite experience from Piffin with Integrity... poorly assembled product, and even poorer serviceFor the OP, I don't see any comparison in quality between Andersen 400s and anything Pellahttp://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
I have occasionally seen minor assembly items in Integrity that could have been better. I love the composite though because of our climate.
The Ingrity rep has been to the island here twice with no prompting. Glad handing and giving tips. But when I needed a particular screw missing from a door unit, they could not seem to get me the right one for seven weeks.So I have mixed reviews on their service. Nothing at all like Andersen which has superb service followups factory on down the line.
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Weve had particular problems with integrity doors, and long sliders with fixed center units.Most of their doors have needed some modification on latches, strikes, or hardware bores.The big sliders have a more than an occasional bowed sill, and the frames are rarely square.Reps take forever to show, and usually have to come back.And parts... 3 months for sliding window bumpers, and they were the wrong style LOLBut yeah, that fiberglass frame is really nice<G>http://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
I have seen Eagles on just one house. Don't even know who to buy them from here, tho I suppose the Andersen folks would have them available.What is their exterior treatment? My recall is that they are solid wood with AL clad, but maybe I'm wrong.My general impression was that they are a step up from Andersen but not as good as Marvin.Where do they fir cost-wise?And how 'bout historic architectrual options?
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Eagles are beutiful windows, Paul. They tend around here to be the top of the line. Installed 60 in my old bosses house and are great looking to this day.
You seem to have a lot more constraints than I usually do when it comes to windows...weather, salt resistance, and histerical correctness come to mind.I've only used Eagles once, and they've only been in since Friday, they could fall apart tomorrow<G>They are more expensive than the Hurds we usually use. They are aluminum clad, and the corners and meeting places are a little strange... little gnawed out places that aren't painted. Primed wood interiors have a bit of checking, but nothing serious. No obvious finger joints.This house has all casements or fixed. The hardware is very smooth, and the window frames stay pretty square through install.Three point locking doors. Sill is lower on the inside than out, but seals nicely... but it has been dry... a nor'easter, I dunno how it would fare. Hinges are very nice. 2 machine screws into jamb tee kind of nuts, 2 beefy 2 1/2" added to each hinge later, both in the center of the hinge.We did one double door, both slabs were hung at the same reveal in the jamb... didn't take a lot of cajoling to get it working nicely.I've been under-impressed with Marvins lately... still think Hurds are the best value for a good window.http://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
I'm with you on the Marvins. Maybe grew to fast? They were in big demand here a few years ago when they were branding themselves on TOH and other home shows
Barry E-Remodeler
My higher end customers have been way more than happy with Marvins. I had some problems with them 20 years ago that they mostly made good on, and they've done nothing but improve since then. Marvins double hngs will open easily with one finger. Try THAT with your Pells, Mister!;)
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Excellent windows for a good price. I've had experience recently with them on two of my projects. Eagle is wood interior and extruded metal exteriors. Fixed units that are mulled to operating units can have matching frames so they look like they'd operate as opposed to look like they are a direct set/picture unit.
Just worked on a project where I served as owner's rep for a Church that was replacing all of their non-stained glass windows. Eagle, Pella, Marvin, and Kolbe (WI company) were all bidding. Eagle came in with a comparable price for comparable products. Or atleast as apples to apples as you can get with different manufacturers.
What sold that project, in my opinion, was how much Eagle could customize the window order. The fact that you can select an interior wood species was a big selling point for the church where they were looking to keep the windows looking as if they belong amongst original stained wood trim. In addition, Eagle is customizing the construction of the windows to make installation a bit easier. For example, the extension jambs and head are being installed in the factory while the extension sill is being shipped loose for installation in the field due to some funky sill configurations onsite. The other companies weren't willing to discuss little details like that.
BTW, after being laid off, I was offered a position with the company selling the Eagle windows for the Church project. So...I am now slightly biased in my recommendation. But the company I work for sells other manufacturers as well so perhaps the bias isn't too strong. But seriously, in my experience having worked within an Architecture firm, Eagle quickly became my favorite company.
If you'd like more info or would like to talk details a bit more, let me know.
Jen
P.S. And now you know who to contact if you want to buy Eagle windows!
Edited 8/12/2009 12:53 am by Jen
Thanks for that. I think I will be checking for who handles Eagle windows in this area for more info.
You might have to inside scoop on that - area code 04848
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Like I said, after two projects from the architecture side of things, I was pretty darn impressed with their products.
I'll check into who your rep would be and get back to you.
Here's the contact information for your Eagle dealer:
Royal Window & Door210 West Rd Unit 6Portsmouth, NH 03801USA603-433-3075
Wow - not really local here.
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We ship Eagle products pretty far from our physical location so don't let that deter you. Might not be the greatest if you were wanting to visit a showroom though.
We will pretty much service the entire state. We typically ship all of our orders to our company to ensure everything is correct before delivering to the jobsite. I'm too new to know what we do when we get an order which isn't "local".
Where can I get the dealer list? Coastal Window and Doors of Raleigh only delivers on Thursday... don't know if it's a sign of the times, or what, but it's danged inconvenient.http://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
There's a spot on their site to plug in your zip code and get the info. Like to hear more about these since I was looking at some Andersen frenchwoods.'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb
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If you have any specific questions, that I can answer, I'll certainly do my best. If I don't know the answer, I'll find it out.
As FatRoman mentioned, take a look at their website to find out your local dealer.
I did a quick search and Coastal is a rep (atleast for the zip code I enterd for Raleigh). It might be possible that Coastal only gets a truck from Eagle once a week, I don't know. Maybe another zip code might yield another dealer.
Jen
Edited 8/13/2009 8:21 pm by Jen
It is Coastal's delivery schedule, not Eagle's.As I said, they seem like very nice windows and doors... I'm hoping the dealer service is the same, if we need it<G>http://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
I would consider Eagle to be the top window manufacturer here in central IowaProbably where Pella was 40 yrs ago
Barry E-Remodeler
Frammer what perimeter sealent did you prefer when installing windows?
We used a lot of silicone, or what the window man. wanted us to use. They got picky at times.
That is true too!Too true.One of the houses my wife works at has all Pella windows. The ones facing east leak every time there is a noreaster.I know the crew who did the work and they don't believe in wraps and flashings, only caulk.The poor owner suffers while they blame pella and pella reps blame the install. I keep my mouth shut as I have not yet been asked.
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i'm looking at a house now that was built 8 yrs ago. 1 year in 90% of the windows were leaking. The windows were Norco or similiar that were bought out by Jeld Wen a few yrs agoTo their credit Jeld Wen came in and replaced all of the windows even though they weren't theirs when installedToday those windows are still leaking and it looks like poor installation is the cause.Jeld Wen will give 40% off materials this time around
Barry E-Remodeler
I've installed Norcos on two new homes and bothj holding up fine. I think they are a decent product. Only had one issue - a seal fail in glass immediately and a new sash was on the way to me the next day.
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I've always thought of Norco as a mid range window. These windows seem fine which is why I suspect the install. Mildly surprising since Jeld Wen supposedly had their own guys do the install the 2nd timeTo compound the issue, I've since found this is one of those builders who still don't believe house wrap has a long enough track record
Barry E-Remodeler
Right - Norco is a decent mid-range product. Nothing to brag about, but far better than some other AL clad things I've seen called windows
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<Any strong opinions one way or the other?>
haha.... you must be new here
Which Pella line are you looking at? just like Anderson there's more than one. If you are looking at any Pella above the Pro-Line I think they are comparable. That leaves service in your area for either one. that can be a big factor. In my area i get great service from both reps
Now some whiners will be along to tell you how they hate Pella
PPPPPPSTTTTTTTTTTTTt, I was already here!!!>G<
<G>
Barry E-Remodeler
"...some whiners will be along...."Why , I ourter...!Whiners, you say!@&#$$ my %$$!!!!!;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
compare the Marvin Integrity line with Andersen, but forget Pella. Once they have your money, you are sh!toutaluck.
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
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Excellence is its own reward!