Camaro...I don't know what your location is, but it seems that in my area not too many people buy Andersons and just don't like them. Our house was built in '88 and the Andersons we had were basically trash. All of the wood on the inside was getting bad and they did not seal very well. A friend of mine put in Andersons in his house a couple of years back and had nothing bet trouble with them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they are bad, but personally around here it seems Marvins, Peachtree, and Pella, seem to be the bigger sellers, not necessarily in that order.
The replacement windows that we have, and I would have to dig up some papers to find the name, are ****. Plain and simple. A replacement window is something that you really have to shop around for and really read up and maybe talk t some contractors about. Ours are not a brand name replacement, but the company does a large volume of business. The company that we went through does remodeling, we've used him before, and this is what he sells and recommends. I was basically bullshitted. In the winter we run a humidifier on our furnace as one should do in the winter. We get condensation on the windows at the bottom. I questioned our contractor about it and he said we have our humidity too high in the house. I told him the windows leak and the cold along with the warm is creating the condensation.
He gives me this big long paper from the company that makes the windows, about how window condensation is a misconception about leaking windows. That was my first clue that the windows leak. The second clue was the wife pitching a ***** about dirt coming in around the corners of the windows where the sash seals against the sill. When she complains, you know there is a problem.
The replacement windows we have use a fuzzy seal around the window. They interlock but the fuzzy seal is what is supposed to stop air infiltration. It doesn't, and we have dirt in each corner of the window to prove it. I showed this to the contractor and he says that is normal with a replacement window. I know it's not. But we are stuck with the windows and that is all he sells. Thay have made some difference in the heating bill and the sound. You can't hear anything outside with the replacement windows. With the old Andersons we could.
My advice to anyone getting replacement windows would be DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Shop around, get references, and ask the homeowners what they think. I'm done with my contractor. And if I sell, all I have to say is that the house has new replacement windows. Most people would be really happy with them. I am not and see what most wouldn't.
I'll take a french door any day over a slider.....especially if it sees frequent traffic.
We already discussed changing the door out. I absolutely HATE our replacement door. It slides easy in the summer, but in the winter it gets stiff. The first thing I know will break is the handle. We have to periodically tighten it up as the door is kind of hard to latch. You have to pull on it. By doing so, it puts stress on the handle.
If I can find some old pics of how I framed in the door, I may see about widening the opening for a standard width. When our house was build, our door was something like a 5'6" door. Standard at the time, but a ******* size today. Standard is 6'0". And then we will go back to a French door. When I build the Family Room on, I just used the existing door and windows that were in the house an moved them back. I should have bought a new door then that was larger.
Exactly
what?