Well, I think the first question is, what is a good deal? You can buy/purchase bottom of the line windows and have them installed, that will probably make an improvement over the windows you currently have (depending on the type and age of the home), but there are many factors to consider. When upgrading windows you can spend just a bit more money, and have a huge impact on look and savings. Find a reputable installer and ask specific questions, then ask for references. There are different
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types of glass available along with different grades of tinting (in the glass itself) that will assist with energy costs. But, you can have a great "pane" of glass, and if the sashes themselves are not insulated, you have spent money that will not create the savings you would expect. You can even have your interior casings removed and have spray foam insulation (stop gap) installed that will create an ever larger energy savings impact. Our "average" window replacement with wood sashes is about 300 per window, depending on size and type. This does not include any additional insulation or painting if the sashes are wood.
We purchased replacement Andersen Windows from one of the home improvement stores. We've had problems with them right from the start. They're defective and Andersen told us that the warranty starts from the date of manufacture..the ones we bought were already out of warranty. I won't ever buy anything from Andersen again. We thought we were purchasing brand new windows. Who knew how long they were sitting in a warehouse.
I was quoted $15,000 for ten windows - imagine that - they should clean themselves and come with a lifetime warranty for the legnth of the time the house is standing.
windows are ridiculously priced. We got ours from home store and installed them ourselves-read how in a book and 6 years later only have issues with 1 out of 23. Still spent over $7G on windows and material.
I would also recommend buying the double hung-we only did for the upstairs and wish we had done them all around. We went with the tinted Pella windows and I do love them. Do a few each year and the shock isn't so bad.
I used to sell windows, don't anymore. However I've been researching for a while, and the best value I can find so far to get a decent window/installed is OKNA windows http://www.oknawindows.com
Now the key here is the people you hire to install them. I got quoted in November 2011, for
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22 windows for $11K, this includes wrapping the exterior frames, and 9 of those windows were quoted with exterior grids. This seems like a fair price for the windows and labor. Now I did also price several years ago Renewal by Andersen, but the installer wanted $24K for 22 windows, which was riduculous, sure they came with a lifetime warranty, but I would have paid for 44 windows in a sense, and only received 22 windows. So prices are all over the place, depends on what you want also. I'm going to get OKNA, because I wanted the external grids to preserve the historical look of the home from the street view, and the up-charge for the OKNA external grids was resonable.
WE had to special order Are windows, Let me tell you it's nice to have a son inlaw thats a carpenter. We order windows a few at a time from Lowes. We learned how to do the windows ourself. My husband and I can do a window now in under a half hour with caukling ,insulation. It's easy to do once you get someone to show you how to do the first one. We spent about 300.00 per window. When ever we had extra funds we go buy a window. Our energy bill alone has save us a ton of money. Good-Luck.
I only have a comment: Pell & Anderson windows are considered top of the line. All it takes to ruin that reputation is the installer. Make sure you know who installs. I found that out the hard way.
I shared your question on facebook as well so there is some more feedback there: http://www.facebook.com/Hometalk/posts/26965...
Now the key here is the people you hire to install them. I got quoted in November 2011, for ...»