Wondering if I could get some feedback on vinyl clad replacement windows (Anderson) and aluminum clad (Marvin,Pella Peachtree). We want to replace the double hung windows in our 1860’s era farmhouse and are gathering as much info as we can. Marvin, Pella and Peachtree are all in the same ballpark price wise. Anderson is the least expensive by quite a bit but only offers vinyl clad.
I know some of you will swear by renovating the old windows but it is an option we have ruled out. The sashes are light, they rattle in thier frames and it seems like there are miles of muntins that need glazing compound replaced and paint kept up. There are alway things that need to be done around this farm and keeping all these windows nicely maintained is not high on my list of things to do. They have 1950’s era aluminum storm/screen combos that need to be replaced as well. We did buy one high quality storm window to try a few years ago. Thermally it is pretty good but it looks kind of funky and it was not cheap. We are planning to save the panes of wavey glass there are left and do something with them inside.
So, with that said, what do you think about the various replacement windows and especially vinyl vs alumnum cladding.
Thanks
Replies
The only one on your list that I haven't put in..........
would be the Peachtree.
And, the only window name on your list I don't like anything about, is Peachtree once again.
Most of that comes from their products in the past-patio doors (both slider and swinging), single entry doors and maybe windows (that might be from my aversion to their other products.
Don't know anything about Anderson or Peachtree, but Andersen, Marvin, and Pella all have pretty good reputations. Andersen is generally cheaper (for a reason) but still good "value". (And of course you can no doubt find horror stories on the internet about all of them, but that's true of any product with such wide distribution.)
I like Loewen
aluminum clad wood windows quite a bit. You might want to get a price on their product also.
In a general sense, I think aluminum clad hold up better than vinyl. From what I've seen, the vinyl windows take stains and scratches more visibly than aluminum.
I've installed a lot of Pella with only one problem unit, which the manufacturer promptly dealt with ... I could tell you an internet horror story about the Peachtree / Weathershield product ... Good waterproofing between your building and the window is key. See great FHB article here: https://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/articles/flashing-replacement-windows.aspx There's also a more recent article in the last few months I couldn't find.
You've not mentioned any all vinyl or all aluminum so I'm asuming you want the wood on the interior. That said, the aluminum clad does have joints that could leak, but don't usually, the nice thing about the Andersen product is that the vinyl is continuous and sort of "heat shrinked" to the wood making a really good seal. The vinyl product is much softer than the Aluminum.
Pros and cons to both ... Good luck
Ron