Suggestion for replacement windows

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Any favorites?
I'm leaning towards Pella.
Normally, I'm all Anderson, but, I've heard/read some things about their replacement windows that make me wonder if they are worth it.

They will be going into a 50 year old house that's presently a rental.
We plan on keeping the house for 20 years or longer, so I'm interested in decent quality.

[Bruce Page]

We changed out all of our windows and a patio door to Pella’s Designer Series about 10 years ago.
We've been very happy with the Pella’s.

[Leigh Costello]

We had replaced our windows with Pellas in our old house. They are a very good window. On our new house we used Marvin windows. So far, so good. I think Pella is a great choice.

[Joel Goodman]

What have you heard about Andersen recently? I'm about to replace a bunch of lousy aluminum slider windows with Andersen awnings. I've had the Andersen casements in another building for 20 years and they work well. I would like to know of any problems you have heard about before I pull the trigger. Thanks!

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Joel,
Don't get me wrong. Anderson makes a great window.
My house - no question about it, I'd lean heavily towards Anderson.

Anderson doesn't offer a "plain vanialla" no frills replacement window though.
They do have the HD American Craftsman line, but, I have to wonder how much of that line is HD and how much is Anderson?

I can't see putting 3 to 4 times the price into windows, for a rental, for features that I really don't want - such as all the features of the 400 series.
W/Anderson, I'm either looking at the 400 series (lots of $$), the HD private label or the renewal.
The renewal is pretty much out. I have 14 windows and from what I can see, renewal charges are pretty much $1k a window, so that rules that out.

[Jerome Hanby]

I'm interested in the same subject. I was interested in the Pella Designer series because we would like to have the blinds inside the Window. But, when I talked to Lowes, they gave me a price on a 32 x 72 Pella Designer with blinds of $821+. The price drops to about half that for the same style window that wont accept the blinds. The Thermalstar Pella windows at Lowes run more like $200.

Anyone that has the Designer series, is that $821+ the legitimate price? Are they available someplace else (or window w/ built in blinds from another manufacturer) for substantially less?

[Jim German]

I recently replaced 5 of my windows with Pella Designer windows, and 4 of them with Anderson 400 series. They were new construction windows though, not replacement so its not exactly the same, but I was much happier with the Pella than the Anderson. They are both good, but the Pella seemed to be of a higher quality. The joints seemed to be a bit tighter, the finish a bit nicer, the packaging a bit better. I don't think either one is really a bad choice, and if one was significantly cheaper I get that one, but if they're the same price I'd go with the Pella.

[J D Thomas]

I just replaced all 11 windows and sliding patio door last April with Andersen Renewal windows. I researched the purchase to death, including Pella (which I didn't like) and settled on Andersen for these reasons: I really wanted oak clad interiors since my plan was to retrim all the windows in oak, milled custom myself. We got sliders on all openings except two small ones (those were casement) and I really liked that both sashes operate, instead of the usual configuration of only one. But the kicker was the tax credit. Andersen was the only higher end window that could meet the numbers the federal energy dudes set. All the vinyl window met those numbers, but I didn't like the look of them.

I spent a lot of money on them but I'm more than happy. The company that installed them was first rate, and I've never looked back, once.

[Tom Godley]

Since you have been looking I am sure you understand that each manufacturer sells multi lines with different price points and quality.

I have installed Pella, Andersen, and Marvin - and IMO nothing comes close to the Pella windows and doors. I am speaking of the original Pella line sold only through the dealers. The double hung are particularly nice.

That said, for a rental property almost any clad window should give you twenty years.

[Larry Frank]

One more for the Pella. We did some remodeling a year ago and had a couple of Pella window and a Pella Fiberglass door with sidelight installed. I am absolutely pleased with the Pella. I have a mix of windows in the house including Anderson and would take the Pella any day.

[Ben Franz]

I've done several whole house jobs and many partial replacements over the last 18 years. I don't care for replacement style windows - prefer new construction type. This means more work to break back stucco or siding but I think it's a better way to avoid exposed caulk joints as a weather barrier.

That said, I'm a big Andersen fan - very few problems and good customer service when needed. Marvin was an option when custom sizing was needed. Pella makes a good product but my impression is that they are higher cost than the other two. Any of the three manufacturers can provide a quality product so it comes down to features and appearance vs. budget.

One BIG point is the quality of the installation crew that the dealer uses. One of the local Renewal by Andersen dealers around here caused many problems on a large renovation I worked on last year with a friend. It was a complete fiasco, to the point that I would have fired them if it was my job. Check lots of references, BBB, contractor license board, etc. - this area seems to draw lots of flaky operators and crooks. Good luck.

[Lee Schierer]

We have replaced all our Anderson windows with Great Lakes windows and couldn't be happier. We had one window lose its seal after 3 years and they sent a replacement pane at no cost along with instrucions on how to replace it. Replacement took less than 1/2 hour.

The windows stay put when opened and require finger tip pressure to move them, yet they seal tight in the winter. We have Low E thermopanes with grids inside. These windows are 100% insulated vinyl so there is no maintainance and little heat loss.

[Dan Mages]

Andersen does make a custom replacement line called Renewal by Andersen. I had them installed in my last house and I give them very high marks for quality. Another bonus is that they are "factory installed" so there are no warranty fights in the future if they claim it was not installed properly.

Dan

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Anderson stands behind their windows and will replace them if you have problems. Pella doesn't want to know ya once the sale is made.

[Bruce Page]

Anderson stands behind their windows and will replace them if you have problems. Pella doesn't want to know ya once the sale is made.

That hasn’t been my experience. On the few occasions that I needed service, Pella was always prompt, courteous, and thorough.
I had to call them recently when our puppy decided to make a meal out of the patio door weather stripping seal. I was stunned when I went down to pick it up and there was no charge.
Maybe it makes a difference if you spend 16K with them but if I ever need to replace windows again, they’ll be Pella’s.