Opinions of Kolbe double hung w/ jamb liners???

[andy mac]

I have been doing a lot of research on vinyl replacement windows for my home in Long Island. I am leaning toward Kolbe at the moment, even though I haven't gotten a quote yet, because they offer colors. I prefer not to install white or beige. The house is an old clapboard cape house with the original wood siding and the paint scheme does not include white (light green w/ darker green trim).

Kolbe offers a replacemnt window - a double hung tilt sash pack w/ jamb liners. This is available in vinyl w/ hydroflex color application, in wood w/ a factory enamel finish on the exterior, or wood w/ aluminum cladding and a strong factory finish.

The warrantees are nothing like a Simonton 9800 and some of the others, but it seems like a quality product. If I hate the idea of insalling white or beige, does anyone have enough experience with this product to say if they think it's a good option or not?

I also wanted to ask about capping in colored pvc coated aluminum coil. Anything wrong with this product? Any reason not to cap a window in a wood home which has wood siding? The sills and trim will need repainting in the spring but the wood is solid. Could I seal replacement windows nicely w/o using sheet metal style capping, leaving the woodwork exposed?

[gtrman79]

Yes I had experience with them. I did install them myself and they were very easy. But...if you out of square window frames, I heard they are a little more difficult. I am not the greatest do it yourselfer and I had a couple frames out of square. Needless to say, they were a little drafty. I know they recommend having a combination storm/screen with them to cut down on wind. I got mine in Pine and finished them all myself. I got the green aluminum clad to match my trim. And I got the snap-in grills that I finished myself. I thought they were a beautiful window when I was finished. I stained them to match my dark oak trim. As far a longevity, I only lived at the house for about 1 year after I finished them. In that year I had no problems. They weren't too bad for price. Maybe $240 a piece.