Discussion Board Forum for Vinyl Windows

20 year old windows, could be marine glazing pulling out of the sash corners. Maybe the telescoping mechanical Maynard design which was fabricated by lots of manufacturers at that time. If that is the problem it can be tucked back into the corners.

Just to clarify, Ellison is an Atrium branded window which is both NFRC and AAMA certified. Very comparable to Simonton IMO.

Just an opinion, not knowing specific pricing for your market, I would say the pricing should be closer to the lower estimate for the same scope of work and that particular window product.

I would bet the "buckling spacer" the OP is referring to is Swiggle. That is a problem with that spacer system. I have been told another contributing factor could have been when the IG unit was sealed, residue could have remained on the glass from the glass washing process and could cause ...

Restorations is a window line manufactured by Sunrise and is listed on the NFRC website. Look under the Sunrise name. I would not be too concerned about Atrium's bankruptcy as it is just reorganizing its debt structure and is still one of the larger national manufacturers. There should be plenty of ...

You could have new sashes made for the windows that are currently installed. Maybe just try to replace 1 or 2 sets of sashes with laminated glass to see if they meet your expectations. Laminated glass and tempered glass are two different products, though both can be used as safety glass, but tempere...

Whichever window you choose, it should be installed with a nailing fin. Sounds like the installer is plannining to remove the exterior trim and do a full-frame replacement. If so, only about 1" - 1 1/4" will extend outboard of the nail fin and the 2x4 trim should fit nicely up to the windo...

The sash may fall due to the having the wrong balance installed. This can be easily corrected by having a stronger balance installed into the window. This can be done without removing or replacing the window. Contact the company who sold and installed the window and let them know of the problem.

Part of the design of a window is the amount (number of weatherstrip barriers) and thicknesses of the weatherstrip. More rows of weatherstripping are used to slow and divert the air from reaching the inside of the window. Keeping close tolerances on the frames and sashes is also very important. Manu...

Soft-Lite, Gorrell, and Okna are, what I would consider, to be smaller, regional manufacturers. Simonton is the only one listed that has a national presence and is in the upper tier of window companies based on volume and total sales dollars.

They manufacture their own windows. 2 facilities, Cincinnati, OH, and Colorado. I am not sure if they extrude their own vinyl or if it is even their own design which may be extruded for them by another company. Maybe one of their salespeople who seem to pop in occasionally can share some information.

The Champion we are most familiar with is not owned by Atrium. Atrium owns a similarly named company based in Texas which manufacturers primarily aluminum windows. They do make a vinyl SH window also. There are 3 listings for companies with the Champion name listed on the NFRC site.

Was not considering those as variables, just trying to get a better understanding of your situation and other areas where you could maybe spend money that would have more of an impact. Depending on the number of windows you have, that may or may not be where you should be looking to make a change.

How many windows? Square footage of your home? 2 story or 1? Brick or siding? How well is your home insulated? Heat source? How efficient is your furnace? All things to consider. $100/month is pretty good (I wish mine were that low) and I would guess that replacing your windows may not bring that co...

Seems to me that air infiltration and air loss are 2 different things. Windows are tested with air pressure applied from the outside to measure the infiltration rate. The numbers that manufacturers quote are at 25 mph of pressure for a period of time determine the infiltration rate. Since windows ar...