PLEASE HELP THIS WINDOW NOVICE

For all those Replacement Window decisions - just read, review or post a question. You will be helped!
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kellsbells
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:40 pm
Location: Philadelphia PA

PLEASE HELP THIS WINDOW NOVICE

#1 Post by kellsbells »

Does anyone know of any Schuco dealers in Philadelphia, PA? I can't find any online or in phone book. I have emailed Schuco but not received a reply as of yet. I had ruled out Schuco thinking I probably cannot afford them, but after perusing this forum I think I owe it to myself to at least check them out.

I would like to know if any of you experts out there think I might be going for a little bit of overkill. The windows I am replacing are a picture window with a casement on either side. The opening is roughly 106x48. I say "roughly" because I can measure something 10 times and get 10 different measurements. I want to replace them with 5 casements. I like the look better and want to go for maximum airage (if that's a word). I love as much fresh air as possible for those 2 weeks of spring and 2 weeks of fall that we get now.

But I digress. My intention was to go for triple pane + dual low E + krypton. I want to get the most energy efficient windows that my budget will allow. The window wall of this 60 year old house seems to have either very little, inferior insulation, or no insulation at all. I have to move my furniture away from that wall in the winter because it is so cold. My thinking was that on such a cold wall at least the window portion would be warm. After reading a lot of posts I come away with the impression that maybe it makes little sense to get such a good window on such a poor wall(?) Is that correct or should I go with my original instinct?

I am also going to check out Great Lakes, maybe Simonton, and Gorell, even though they only have one dealer in this entire area. I'm not really crazy about that idea but they seem like good windows so I'll see what they have to say. Any guidence you learned people can give me would be greatly appreciated, and also the Schuco dealer names if you know any.

I can't believe I lucked into this forum! What a great tool for consumers just venturing into an unfamiliar, and very scary world!

Henry5
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:22 am

#2 Post by Henry5 »

Just do a internet search for Schuco NEPA a Schuco dealer will come up..

kellsbells
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:40 pm
Location: Philadelphia PA

PLEASE HELP THIS WINDOW NOVICE

#3 Post by kellsbells »

Thanks for the tip, Henry5. I checked it out and just come up with dealers in the Lehigh Valley and Pocono area. I'm wondering if someone would want to come this far for an estimate and if I would want to deal with someone that far away. But I will definitely contact them if I can't find someone in or closer to Philly.

Anyone else out there in windowland know someone?

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Delaware Mike
Posts: 947
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 1:32 pm
Location: Delaware, New Jersey, Philadephia Area

#4 Post by Delaware Mike »

Are you an Eagles fan?

Henry5
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:22 am

#5 Post by Henry5 »

kellsbells also search Schuco Philadelphia one should come up. Most window companies around here cover more then a 100 mile radius so give them a call.

kellsbells
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:40 pm
Location: Philadelphia PA

PLEASE HELP THIS WINDOW NOVICE

#6 Post by kellsbells »

Delaware Mike wrote:Are you an Eagles fan?
Um....I think that's some kind of sports thingy, isn't it? :|

kellsbells
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:40 pm
Location: Philadelphia PA

PLEASE HELP THIS WINDOW NOVICE

#7 Post by kellsbells »

Schuco Philadelphia only brings up United Window Company from craigslist. I guess I will give them a call since it's the only one that comes up. It says they give estimates over the phone? Is that normal? Do you know anything about them?
If it's normal to service a 100 mile area I will try a couple of the Lehigh Valley ones too. At least that will give me some choices. Originally I thought that would be too far for them to want to come out.

kellsbells
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:40 pm
Location: Philadelphia PA

#8 Post by kellsbells »

Thanks for the tips, Henry5. I am going to start getting quotes after my current project is finished. If all goes according to schedule that will be in 2 weeks, which gives me time to do more research. I'm going to look at Schuco, Simonton, Great Lakes and Gorell so if anyone has anything good or bad to say about any dealers or installers in this area I would sure like to hear about it. Meanwhile, does anyone have any opinion as to whether or not triple pane krypton will be overkill in my situation?

Henry5
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:22 am

Re: PLEASE HELP THIS WINDOW NOVICE

#9 Post by Henry5 »

kellsbells wrote: It says they give estimates over the phone? Is that normal? Do you know anything about them?
One was a Great Lakes Dealer. I really like there Uniframe Window it was double pane with Argon. The quote was actually higher then the one from Schuco. The other one was a Gorell Window I really wasn't to impressed with the salesman. He tried the old I will buy your old windows and I will give you a discount if you let me put up a yard sign. That turned me right off. Hopefully this helps.. :D
Last edited by Henry5 on Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

kellsbells
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:40 pm
Location: Philadelphia PA

#10 Post by kellsbells »

Thanks again Henry5. That's good to know. It's always a plus to have a recommendation. After all this time I just got a reply from Schuco. It says AWC (Advance Window Concepts) out of Allentown PA is the "exclusive" Schuco dealer in this area. Just made a quick visit to their website to see if they are a member of the BBB and they're not. Does anyone have any info/feedback on them?

Henry5
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:22 am

#11 Post by Henry5 »

AWC was at the Allentown Home Show back in Feb....Thats were I found United Window. One thing I didn't like about AWC they seemed to be a sales company..They had a girl at there both that didn't know a thing about the windows. A lot of the other window companies there had people that were knowledgeable.

slider71
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2007 11:12 pm

#12 Post by slider71 »

I actually dropped a dime on AWC looking for Schuco windows as well, but when I did some digging on them, didn't get the warm and fuzzies:
http://yellowpages.superpages.com/revie ... 3D%3D&PI=1

tgtrim
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:03 am

AWC Customer

#13 Post by tgtrim »

My experience:

I ordered Schuco windows from Advanced Window Concepts in January of this year and had them installed in February (13 double hungs & 1 picture window). Overall, I would have to say my experience with them was good. The installation went very well (installers name was Lance) and I am very happy with the windows. The capping looks very neat and professional, they used low expansion foam for insulation and they caulked both inside and out. I also got references and went to visit one of them to check out the installation which like mine, looked very good.

The reason I rated my experience as good rather than very good/excellent was that there was some confusion about which window package I ordered. The salesman suggested I would be getting Schuco's best window package which includes triple pane, krypton and two panes coated with low e (#406) but I ended up with triple pane, krypton and one pane coated with low e (#405). This resulted in windows with somewhat different NFRC numbers which I was not happy about. This could have been an honest mistake on AWC's part, but it does not change the fact that I did not get the energy package that I wanted. That being said, I still am very happy with the Schuco windows. In my opinion, they are the best.

My advice:

It does not cost anything to get a quote so go ahead (salesmans name was Noel) . They seemed very professional (no high pressure) and both the salesman and installer visited the house to review the job prior to me signing a contract. However, as I stated in a prevoius post, make sure you put everything in the quote exactly how you want it, including the glass package numbers. That way there will be no surprises when it comes time for installation, and if there is, they will have to honor the contract and make it right.

BTW, going by what I have read on this site, I got what I thought was a very good price from them (after some negotiations).

Hope this helps!

Tom

slider71
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2007 11:12 pm

#14 Post by slider71 »

ok, I'll bite...what size windows, and what did the $$s look like?

Henry5
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:22 am

Re: AWC Customer

#15 Post by Henry5 »

tgtrim wrote: The salesman suggested I would be getting Schuco's best window package which includes triple pane, krypton and two panes coated with low e (#406) but I ended up with triple pane, krypton and one pane coated with low e (#405). This resulted in windows with somewhat different NFRC numbers which I was not happy about. This could have been an honest mistake on AWC's part, but it does not change the fact that I did not get the energy package that I wanted.
Did they compensate you for the mistake?

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