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I am seeking information on all vinyl windows for new construction. I am comparing them to more traditional vinyl clad wood windows. I would like to hear from anyone who has had long term experience with them or can offer any other related comments. thank you!
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I,m not sure "Vinyl Windows" and "Long Term" can properly appear in the same sentence. I think they can be made well, but instead they are made cheaply.
Vinyl clad wood seems to hold up well, but all I have seen are chalky.
-Rob
*Quit shopping at 84 lumber for windows.We try to always use vinyl windows instead of clads. Over time the clads seem to leak and the wood starts to rot. After having a few rep's stop by we stopped using clads unless the client signs us off on them for long term. I think that the clad cover will leak after time as wood and vinyl( or metal) move at differant rates Have had good results using West Windows
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For what it's worth here's what I like and why. I prefer a solid vinyl sash in a wood box that is vinyl clad. I like the vinyl sash because in my experience, wood windows are almost never painted or "finished" properly. To do it right is to take the sash out, remove all harware and weatherstripping, apply the primer and two coats of finish blah blah blah. It seldom gets done and the result is swolen wood, warpage, rot, etc. Vinyl it at least reasonably stable. The wood box allows for stability for the vinyl sash, and incredible flexibility durung instalation. Sort of the best of both worlds.
*I disagree with Rob that vinyl windows are made cheaply. All vinyl windows are not made the same. I think it comes down to you get what you pay for.I sell and install Care-free vinyl windows, a division of RBP out of Dallas. Their K-2 series new construction window is one of if not the best on the market. Check one out and I'm sure you'll see there is nothing cheap about these windows.
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Joe I have followed your post's and have a lot of respect for you as a builder, but with regards to vinyl windows I think that you are missing the mark. I to, at one time couldn't think of using vinyl windows. For just the same reasons that you list.However welcome to the 90's. As time has passed I have had to rethink about how I use a lot of building materials. When I was first introduced to West windows and found that they were all vinyl I hit the roof. I just knew that they would "unseal" in just a few years. We have one house that has had vinyl windows in it for six years now and they are holding up fine. I priced out some low income housing a few years and looked at low cost double hung windows and was shocked at the construction. It all goes to say that you get what you pay for. Some guy's here make a good living re-doing windows that were installed using metal clad or vinyl clad back in the early 80's. Stop and take a monment to check out some of the newer windows on the market today. If you want e-mail me and I will send you the info for west windows. No I'm not a salesman for them but I feel that these guy's do a great job on windows and there support is above and beyond
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I was about to order some windows at HD to remodel a home I just bought. It seems they had everything from Anderson to a store brand equivalent in a variety of materials. Is there a particular material that works best in my climate? My primary concern is heat and humidity in Southwest FL. I have read all these postings and you all have given me reason to pause. I look forward to more responses. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
*I agree with Joe. Vinyl windows are not a better way to build, just a cheaper way. And they can also keep those awful fake muntins between the glass. Not to mention all the additional labor of extending the jambs - why can't they make them to fit a standard wall thickness?It seems to me that too many people today think that "better quality" means "you don't have to paint it". As a result, the landscape where I live (northern VA) is littered with subdivisions featuring acres and acres of plastic (siding, windows, soffits, columns, shutters, etc.) for as far as the eye can see. I do alot of restoration on houses 100-180 years old that still have original windows, clapboard siding, shutters, and columns - well maintained and in excellent shape. I wonder what today's plastic tract homes will look like in 150 years.I recently re-sided a 10 year old house that had vinyl on it. The original pebblestone clay color (as seen beneath the shutters) was completely gone - faded to a greyish white. There were chalked streaks running down the foundation. All the caulk was cracked and the house had multiple leaks. The owner paid me $8700 for the job. The same house in a quality wood siding could have been painted once or twice in 10 years for far less money. Of course, when he bought it, the builder told him it was maintenance free.
*Do the new fiberglass windows solve all the problems, real or imagined, with vinyl windows? They are supposed to expand and contract nearer the rate of glass. Do fiberglass windows chalk with time or become brittle? We are building a large demonstration building and want to use the longest lived, most energy efficient windows available. Is fiberglass the right place to look?Thanks for the help.
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I am seeking information on all vinyl windows for new construction. I am comparing them to more traditional vinyl clad wood windows. I would like to hear from anyone who has had long term experience with them or can offer any other related comments. thank you!
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I don't think any resin-based product is the right place to look for longevity. Why? Because the base material if not chemically enhanced in some way degrades rapidly with UV exposure. So they add retarders to slow the rate of decomposition to a "Maintenance Free" lifespan. You decide how long that is. If the resin was filled with carbon-black and then painted over or co-extruded over then maybe they would last. I am sorry, maybe someone makes good windows, but they can only blame their predecessors. Is it my fault someone made crappy vinyl windows ten years ago, no not hardly. But I know if I never buy them I'll never have trouble with them. The 130 year old windows in my house are wood and are finally getting a little punky. I wish Marvin would sell me the clad sash with the wood casing, especially now that the SDL looks so good!
Scott - Doesn't the remaining vegetation look so colorful in these areas after a day of sustained wind? How dare you criticize.
-Rob