I need to replace the windows in my brick sided, ranch style home. which material makes for a better window, vinyl, fiberglass, or something else.

Good timing for the question, we are looking at it as well, the builder grade single pane windows just don't cut it as power costs continue to rise.

As much as I like wood, with the harsh weather here we're leaning to Vinyl, it's lower cost but great insulation.

Pretty good article by Window World on the differences in windows

https://www.windowworld.com/blog/window-materials

I have never been happy with any of the vinyl windows we've had. My favorite window is the Andersen 400 series. They are aluminum clad wood windows. They vinyl windows over 24 inches have all sagged. They had major air leakage and the locks become difficult to close after just a few years. I would never have another one. Just my opinion though.

HRK, if you live in FL check out my safe Florida program. They will reimburse 50% of the cost of strengthening your home for hurricanes, up to $10,000.
We just had all new impact windows put in our home. Still waiting on our reimbursement. If this is something you are interested in get some quotes and have them ready. Keep an eye on when the new budget goes into effect. My wife was on the computer at 10:45 pm our time and kept checking. It went into effect at 11:00 pm our time, midnight Tallahassee time. She got on immediately and was approved in a minute. The money gets allocated very fast so you have to be ready.
We spent $28,000 on the windows and storm shutters for 2 openings. Waiting on out $10,000 reimbursement.
The house is noticeably quieter and cooler. My homeowners went down $900 per year.

I have Anderson Clad Wood Windows from 2001 when my house was built and they suck.

They are all rotting away and need to be replaced soon. If you pull too hard on the upper panes to slide them down, you can literally crush and rip off the bottom of the window frame due to the rot.

And now I find they have been leaking for years. Enough wind drives the water under the bottom seal and down the wall inside. I've seen it happen too. I have all the screens popped out a little on one side to allow water in the jamb to drain out because with the screens fully seated they don't drain.

And I get constant direct mail ads for "Anderson Renewal" yeah, fool me once....

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:
I need to replace the windows in my brick sided, ranch style home. which material makes for a better window, vinyl, fiberglass, or something else.

Wow there are a lot of negative experiences here. In general and in order of quality at the bottom is vinyl, then wood (clad or otherwise) and then either fiberglass or Fiberon.

I have to go out for dinner and can respond more in detail later or feel free to email me.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:

Wow there are a lot of negative experiences here. In general and in order of quality at the bottom is vinyl, then wood (clad or otherwise) and then either fiberglass or Fiberon.

I have to go out for dinner and can respond more in detail later or feel free to email me.

Please respond here for everyone. Thanks.

Just had Windows USA quote us $5400 for four of theirs. It is a "premium" window. That price is in line with Anderson Renewal and Window World. These are all vinyl, I believe.

That price is installed.

We're still looking. Trying to find something middle of the road between "premium" and big box/builder.

Find out what Powers77 has and avoid those:


https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/1500019515

Replaced my whole house recently
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I decided on fiberglass , as it allows for lower profile than vinyl, and I don't trust vinyl in the texas sun for long term.

About 20 years ago we had several Simonton windows install. Still going strong. They have a lifetime guarantee. Every once in a while, one seal will fail causing the pane to defect. We call Simonton, give them the code on the pane, and they send a sash replacement. Positive for us.

Fiberglass (from a quality manufacturer) over vinyl 24/7/365. Renewal by Andersen are nice, Infinity by Marvin are a similar window. Marvin Essentials is performance/quality bang for the buck best option. I recommend not dealing with a “you can only buy these windows from us” type shop (although Renewal and Infinity are just that). Rather, do your homework, buy the windows and related installation material (coil/caulk/foam), and hire a reputable local carpenter who does quite a few windows, on the regular. Expert installation can make an average window great, and iffy installation can make an awesome window suck. FWIW, I manage an exteriors remodeling company that installs nearly 2k windows a year, and I’ve seen it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Dad built a house in 1985 in western NC. Put in Anderson double hung windows. They are still in that home and going strong. Vinyl would be what I put into any new home.

My experience comes from the new custom construction background.

Vinyl is all the rage these days for replacement and basic homes. Now there isn’t anything inherently wrong with them provided you understand their limitations, the most important one being their lack of rigidity. That coupled with the fact that the frames are not insulated doesn’t give you a well built product. But if price is a concern that these may be your best option.

Wood framed windows are almost always now wearing an exterior cladding of some sort like vinyl as in the Andersen 400 Series or aluminum in the Pella Proline Series. We have used both of these for decades with good results. Marvin also makes products in this genre but tend to be more expensive because their frames are thinner and therefore you get more glass in a given opening. This may or may not be worth the premium to you.

In the last decade or so fiberglass framed windows have gained popularity as well as a composite frame like what is available with Anderson’s 100 Series which use what they call their Fibrex material. It is dimensionally more stable than wood and has been getting great reviews. Interestingly they are cheaper than Andersen’s other lines because they essentially use their waste wood along with a proprietary binder to make their product.

If you are looking at conventional double hung windows you might want to consider single hung windows where only the lower sash is openable. This is less expensive, provides better sealing and looks virtually the same as double hung windows. If your window is in a bedroom make sure that it meets egress codes of at least 5.0 SF of openable area for first floor bedrooms and 5.7 SF for second floor bedrooms.

A little known fact is that the actual glass of the windows are not made by the window company. All the major companies buy their glass (cut to their specifications) from a single supplier, Cardinal Glass. If you look carefully at the warranties they are exactly the same concerning the glass.

All windows loose approximately 1% per year in their efficiency so if your windows are 20 years old then they are only 80% as effective as when you bought them. Plus with most manufacturers now using inert gasses like Argon the windows are better than they were a couple of decades ago.

Hope this helps.

quote:

That coupled with the fact that the frames are not insulated doesn’t give you a well built product.

You can get vinyl windows with insulated frames.

All window materials have their pros and cons, and there are horrible and very good windows available with every type.

Worth pointing out that a replacement window slid inside of an existing installed frame will only be as good as the original window was installed. I'm more of a fan of completely removing the old window, installing the new, and properly flashing everything.

quote:

Originally posted by BOATTRASH1:
HRK, if you live in FL check out my safe Florida program. They will reimburse 50% of the cost of strengthening your home for hurricanes, up to $10,000.
We just had all new impact windows put in our home. Still waiting on our reimbursement. If this is something you are interested in get some quotes and have them ready. Keep an eye on when the new budget goes into effect. My wife was on the computer at 10:45 pm our time and kept checking. It went into effect at 11:00 pm our time, midnight Tallahassee time. She got on immediately and was approved in a minute. The money gets allocated very fast so you have to be ready.
We spent $28,000 on the windows and storm shutters for 2 openings. Waiting on out $10,000 reimbursement.
The house is noticeably quieter and cooler. My homeowners went down $900 per year.

Thanks that is excellent information..

We had windows installed about 8 years ago and went with vinyl. We quoted fiberglass (Marvin) and it was over double the cost. I'm sure its a nice window and they have nice marketing of people standing on the frames. However if I'm standing on my window frame I have bigger problems as my house in on its side. I could not justify the cost.

My big mistake was not going with one of the major window makers Pella/Anderson. We used a local company who used locally made windows from a manufacturer who has been in business for many years, till covid hit. They went out of business and now I have two windows with broken seals and no warranty.

I would still get vinyl but I would get Pella or Anderson.

What about vinyl-clad aluminum? My wife and I built a house in 1996 / 1997, and IIRC, that's what we had installed. All of the windows are double-pane, single-hung.

In 2022, we bought another house that was built in 1975. The windows in it are aluminum-framed, and have a unique double pane arrangement. The windows are single-hung, and the upper sash has a removable panel from the outside, while the lower sash has a removable panel from the inside. I am missing a few of the inner panels, and have yet to find a source for them. They aren't that complex, and could be built, but every window place that I called wanted to sell me complete new windows.

I may eventually replace all the windows in the house, but not yet.

I did some research a few years ago, went with ‘infinity’ by Marvin. Of course the install is a biggie, proper flashing & all that.

I have a house built in 1996, ‘builder grade’ windows. My procedure is just to replace windows as needed, ‘on condition’. I guess if one wanted the same everywhere, maybe it wouldn’t work.

Some of my windows are under a covered porch, very fine. Various windows face all the 4 directions, some fend off more elements. Yes, there may be economies of scale, but nothing wrong with limiting cost by dealing with 3-4 in bad condition.

We did all our windows about 5 years ago. Went with SoftLite Imperial LS. They are mid-priced replacement windows. I know 2 other homeowners that used the same windows before me and both did a lot of research before buying. We’ve all been very happy with them and I fully recommend them.

My only regret is that I did not replace my windows sooner.

My window guy, FWIW, explained it like this to me. (I’m in TX)

He said draw a line, around OK City, and draw it East/West.

Anything below that line, thermally broken aluminum windows. Anything above, vinyl.
Vinyl is better in the winter but thermally broken aluminum is better in the summer. Which is more of a thing to your geographic location? One company’s vinyl windows is vastly different than a competitor.