Getting New Windows!

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JessBlount617

JessBlount617

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Jun 2, 2024
419
Lebanon, IN
Pool Size
5000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
It’s been 5 years in the making and I am FINALLLLLLLYYYYY getting new windows for the house! Of COURSE it means taking down all the curtain rods, blinds, etc.

Don’t you love when the previous owner is dumb and uses dry wall screws for EVERYTHING? They hung our blinds with drywall screws. Hung curtain rods with drywall screws. Hung literally every piece of hardware with drywall screws.

Overkill, much! Anyway - new windows means I won’t be dealing with drafts and I will finally have a front window that opens instead of just some pretty window to look out of!image.jpg

Excitement is an understatement!!!
 
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We just replaced ours over the winter. A couple of frames were shot 22 years later with builder grade Andersons and we weren't waiting for the rest to crud out. It didn't cost much more for a full rip out. It cost less than 10% for a full rip out versus new inserts ('renewal windows') and it was arguable the best money I ever spent.
 
It’s been 10 years since we replaced our windows and it was one of the best investments in our home that we’ve made. I was shocked at how much our energy bills declined, especially during the summer.
 
I am blown away by how much brighter the interior already is. Some of the windows had the blinds between the panes - and just having that minor change made a substantial difference!

I had Anderson, Pella, Universal and a 4th company all come to the house. I was the "least sold to" by the Anderson team. And as someone who works in Sales, that speaks volumes to me. The Anderson team was also the only team to talk about tempered glass in the bathrooms - and measured for safety codes. Just all around a better experience.

The Universal team told me I was a Star Client and they were going to send me on a 7 day cruise and magically kept finding discount after discount - which was STILL double what Anderson charged.
 
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I presume all of you reaping rewards with your new windows are replacing single pane with double pane? We have 22 year old double panes now and were thinking of doing all the windows because of the few that had fogging between the panes. After a lot of thinking, no quotes yet and research we are going to simply replace the faulty dual pane sections so that we don't disturb any of the stucco and drywall. This is primarily because of the near 40 year return on investment based on projected energy savings and the fact that we have good sound deadening already from the dual panes.
 
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TinFoilHat said:
I presume all of you reaping rewards with your new windows are replacing single pane with double pane? We have 22 year old double panes now and were thinking of doing all the windows because of the few that had fogging between the panes. After a lot of thinking, no quotes yet and research we are going to simply replace the faulty dual pane sections so that we don't disturb any of the stucco and drywall. This is primarily because of the near 40 year return on investment based on projected energy savings and the fact that we have good sound deadening already from the dual panes.
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Yep! We’re upgrading a lot of things - single to double, removing the bow window to a window series that opens, removing crank out windows to sliding windows.
 
I did my own over the course of about 2 years. Full replacement. Took out the old 1970's era wood double hung single panes, with storms that were added on at some point, and replaced them with Andersen 400 series.

Swapped out two of the mulled double units with three panel bows.

Everything was new construction windows. Down to the rough opening, cut back the siding, weather shield and flashing all around, new exterior (and interior) trim.

The only thing I contracted out was replacing the 7' picture window with side double hung units with a 5 pane bow. (My wife made me promise not to do that one by myself)

One of the best investments I ever made was two stages of scaffolding (on Craigslist). Being able to work on a stable platform for the second story units made it a lot easier.

Replacing the windows is not THAT difficult, except for reaching the top floor. It really is something that is within a DIYer's grasp, provided you go slow, and do it during good weather.

And the house has been totally repainted from that ugly color as well. :)


window.jpg
 

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TinFoilHat said:
Just like the story seen on the interwebs where vinyl siding gets melted from the reflection off the neighbor's windows.
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This feels like a lie...

The only window glass upgrade I did was putting in the tempered glass with a design on the window in my hallway bathroom. I hated having blinds in that bathroom - and this window is (in my opinion) longer than it should be for a bathroom. You can't see out or in but plenty of light comes through!

I've had these in for two weeks now - and having a solid breeze in all directions of my home is worth every freaking penny I put into these!
 
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My new windows have the reflective coating. We have a 'picture window' over the front door that doesn't open, so there is no screen on it, and it sticks out like a sore thumb with a slight greenish tint to it. The other windows don't show it with the screens.

On top of the draft no longer sucking warm air in, it's not as hot when the sun shines through. We saw a decent reduction in the AC bill this summer, but it'll probably be a wash because that was free heat all winter. 🤷‍♂️. In the end the drafts hurt in both seasons so that part is a huge win.
 
JessBlount617 said:
This feels like a lie...
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That does happen. I don't know about a neighbors house reflecting onto a other, but if a house has an exterior inside corner with a window in it in the right orientation (south facing) the reflecting sun can warp vinyl siding on the other side of the corner. It is not like it is some giant heat beam raging across the neighborhood. But within 10 - 15 feet or so it can raise the temp of the siding enough to make it warp.
 
+1. I never open one package of the mamby pamby anchors or screws anything comes with. Not only are the anchors too small, the screws strip too easily. Straight to the trash, everytime.

Ironically, sheetrock screws are my go-to. :ROFLMAO:

If the thing that needs hanging is heavy, I use the screw in plastic anchors that hold up much better. The box of 50 or 100 comes with robust screws that go in without stripping.

I will make a rare exception if the factory screws have the same finish as the thing, and different ones would be easily noticeable. If it's up high like a curtain rod, I'll never see it to care.
 
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