Replacement windows connundrum

[chrisinhouston]

Bit of a rant here but what else is is the Cellar Nothingland good for?

My stepson who just moved closer to us into a nice newer home told us a few weeks ago that they were going to go ahead and replace the remaining single pane aluminum frame windows in their home with double glazed vinyl ones. The former owner had replaced about 65% of the home's windows and they were the ones facing west and south and get lots of sunlight. The ones left face mostly east and are pretty shaded but he wanted to just get the house all done to match closer.

Since we live in Houston the summer is hot and long here with 4-5 months of 90+ degree days, warm nights and while our winters are mild we still get plenty of days down around freezing or in the 40's and 50's. I think in the long run if you plan to stay in your home the upgrade is worth it as electricity keeps going up and there is increased comfort and sound deadening to be considered. And I have done about 90% of my home with new ones but I did my own research, measurements and installation. I still have 5 windows left but will wait for a sale or something and it will be winter before I would do them.

What gets me is my stepson just went with a company after a door to door salesman knocked and gave him his sales pitch. I learned the hard way about buying like that, many years ago my first wife and I bought a set of Colliers Encyclopedias that cost us a small fortune in monthly payments. Later in life my wife and I were persuaded to pay over $1000 for a Kirby vacuum cleaner, the heaviest vacuum on earth and like a Mercedes it is expensive for parts or service. We still have it but some day if I get a Dyson or something like that the Kirby could make a boat anchor! My wife says her son told her the 12 windows cost $17,000 but I am pretty sure she misheard him and it costs $7000. The windows are average size from a small bathroom one to big ones in their dining room that are 3 by 6 feet maybe. My Pella windows from Lowes cost me from $200 to $450 and I can't imagine his windows costing $1400 or so each which would be the case if they were 17 grand. I think he should have researched it more, Googled the company name and gotten reviews on them and not just heard what the salesman had to say. And I would have gotten several estimates as well from different companies. Other thing is the salesman talked him into double hung windows where both upper and lower open. Where we live you can only open your windows a few months anyway so I would never have bothered with that. The salesman explained how easy being double hung makes them to clean. This is kind of irrelevant for my stepson and his wife who hire a maid service as well as a lawn guy and pool service; I don't think they even own a bottle of Windex!

That being said they did the installation this week and I went over to see them afterwards. All I can say is I am glad I went with Pella windows and did my own installation. Replacement windows are typically installed with in the window opening after the metal frame is torn out and held in place with several screws. My windows all had recessed screw holes and matching color plugs to hide the screws, his do not and you can see these big ugly screws. They also chipped some of the frame areas with the chuck on their drill as they put the screws in. And all of their new windows are really hard to open and close, not like with one finger as the salesman demonstrated! I asked my daughter in law if the upper window sections were also hrd to open and she said she couldn't even reach them if she wanted to... and you bought double hung for what reason???? She also was not real happy with their cleanup work and she thinks they scratched the hardwood floors in a few places.

Well, it's their money but I sure wish they had asked me first and chosen a better company to do this and I am now even happier with the windows I put on my house!