What’s the best window for the money? Or what’s the best value in window replacement?

What the best window for the money?

Short answer, it depends.

Long answer, it’s starts with two main questions. First off, what kind of windows do you currently have?  Secondly, what do you want your windows to do?  I’m a firm believer that paying for things you don’t need, especially if you can get what you need for less, is a foolish approach to life. Do not be fooled, I am not talking about the difference between a burger from Wendy’s and a burger from 5 Guys.  I am also not talking about the difference between trucks and someone’s brand loyalty.  I ams saying that buying a truck that looks sweet only matters if it will pull what you need to pull.  If it doesn’t, it’s not worth your time or your money to fill a need… that’s called a want.

So regarding windows, what kind of windows are you looking to replace? If you have windows that are single pane and have weights in your wall… anything would be more efficient and easier to use. But you have to know where you are starting to know what direction to head in order to make it to your destination.  With windows, I replace just as many vinyl windows that are 10 years old as I do old single pane windows.  Most of what I see are 20-40 year old wood windows that are rotting or are in major need of repair. THIS IS NOT ADVOCATING FOR WINDOW REPAIR, but that will be the topic of my next blog for you all. But those units that are 20-40 years old share a similar starting point, which necessitates the next question: what do you want your windows to do?

People have all different reasons to replace their windows.  Most everyone wants efficiency and aesthetics.  There are a lot of windows that can solve these problems.  First being efficiency, there are really 3 things to consider.  The most obvious is the glass because it makes up 90% or more of the opening.  But within glass, there are things to consider that are directed at efficiency.  First off is U-Factor.  The lower the number, the more efficient the glass is.  But don’t be fooled here either because this usually comes at a cost.  With double glass, to lower the U-factor, you either have to get more expensive gasses between, or you increase tint that lowers the amount of light coming in. On in the case of heat-shield glass from Andersen, it is more efficient, but it is far more likely to condensate on the inside of your house. A good efficiency that doesn’t takeaway light or add unnecessary issue our expense is Cardinal Glass 270 or 366.  Andersen calls these Low-E 4 and Smartsun glass. Marvin calls them Low-E 2 or 3 with Argon. Since most non vinyl manufacturers use Cardinal, these are often available. The big difference is they offer a great amount of visible light through and for our market (central Indiana), they have great energy efficiency.  This is a much larger topic than just a single paragraph, so let’s dive deeper at a later date.

Second in importance is the frame material, specifically what it is clad with.  Keep in mind, most everyone reading this lives in a stick frame home with some type of cladding (vinyl siding, Hardie-board, brick, steel, etc…).  But the strength comes from the wood, your exterior just protects it.  The same with windows, the structure of most quality windows is wood, then they are clad with something.  Know this, while there are innovations everyday, nearly all vinyl windows are white or beige in their true form.  If you get a vinyl window, not vinyl clad, in a different exterior color like black or bronze, it is most likely painted.  This process is expensive and nowhere near as strong a clad wood window or something like Fibrex from Andersen or Ultrex from Marvin. But other than how it looks is how it lasts and how it seals. If the cladding, such as a rolled clad aluminum window leaks, then the wood underneath is likely to fail, and you won’t know until it falls apart. But if it is sealed well, you can expect that it will hold its form and function for many years to come. If a manufacturer uses treated wood behind their cladding, they are basically telling you that it will leak at some point.

Finally, the way it is installed is also incredibly important for performance.  If you have an insert window that is sealed perfect in a home that has 30 year old wood windows, you will likely find that it leaks air around the window because the original window wasn’t properly insulated, or insulated at all. That’s a big deal if you want efficiency because it is a job that can be done well, but still not be complete. This is yet another blog topic I’ll hit on soon.

So let’s assume you have a good window installer, and a well built window.  Does it look like you want?  Do you want full divided lite grids, or do you want specialty hardware?  Going with a product from a manufacturer like Andersen or Marvin give you the best opportunity to get what you want in a window that will last, and that’s why we offer them. If what you want a door where there is a window, you can’t just call your vinyl replacement contractor.  And for heaven sakes, don’t choose something based only on price without talking to a professional that actually installs the product.  A salesperson is only worried about selling something you’ll say yes to; but you have to live with that yes both financially and visually everyday while they go on to the next person to repeat the process.

Let’s call this part one of the topic of the so called best window.  I really only hit on efficiency and installation and there is a lot more to go over.  But in short, the answer to the original question of what window has the best value is this… it’s the window that does what you want, and looks like you want, that you paid a fair price for. So call me, I have a lot of those windows and doors available.