Town home replacemnt windows

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riker57
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Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 12:46 pm

Town home replacemnt windows

#1 Post by riker57 »

Hi I have been following this site the last few weeks and need help on picking vinyl replacement windows. We have a end unit townhouse with a North/South orientation and eastern exposure located in Orland Park, Il. We need to replace our current builder grade vinyl windows by ROW. Per our homeowners Association and management company we must have white exteriors, between glass white grids and casement windows on all opening windows. We would like Low e-glass with argon gas, single lever locking mechanism, fold flat crank handles, and locking patio doors where lifting the unit will not unlock the door. We have had two companies state we need buck frames installed. Our management company and one other company claim they can perform a direct mount to the current opening. All windows currently have dry wall returns, 1/3 windows are in wood frames and vinyl siding, 2/3 in Brick. There are 10 window openings ( 17 panels; 14 casement 3 fixed) and 2 custom sized sliding patio doors. There is quite a diffenrence inwindow selection and mounting since we last replaced windows 28 years ago in our first house.
Current quotes:

Sunrise Construction: $13,500 for Allside signature 8000 series windows, Climate 4 elite glass package, with Buck frames unfinshed oak blocks for interior trim, Quad four sealant, Spray foam insulation, Aluminum white coil exterior trim.

NEXT windows: $20,182 for Sunrise windows, full buck frames, Ultra U plus glass package
Quad four sealant, spray in foam insulation, interior jambs and trim, Aluminum coil on exterior trim. 1182 additional to prefinis with paint or stain and varnish. $460.00 for oak upgrade on interir trim.

Window and Door superstore: $14700 for Serious 501 windows low eglass with argon and window film, direct mount to openings, Spray foam insulation and sealant unkown.

Management company: quote pending for Simonton 5500 and Alliance windows. Direct mount to opening, unkown sealant, hand packed fiberglass to insulate (property manger claims any spray foam may deform window openings. We need help. Opinions appreciated. Rich

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Town home replacemnt windows

#2 Post by Windows on Washington »

Rich,

If you are in Chicago, I have one opinion above all else...give Window4U a call.

He (Dave) is one of the seasoned vets of the board and has a tremendous wealth of knowledge and great product offerings.

You can find him here in this thread and click on his name for his contact information: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5209

Once you have seen him, I guarantee that the rest of the quotes will be second hand.

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HomeSealed
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Re: Town home replacemnt windows

#3 Post by HomeSealed »

+1 on contacting Window4u. Awesome guy, carries the best products, and offers excellent value.

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Town home replacemnt windows

#4 Post by Windows on Washington »

HomeSealed wrote:+1 on contacting Window4u. Awesome guy, carries the best products, and offers excellent value.
In a phrase....

Image

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Window4U (IL)
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Re: Town home replacemnt windows

#5 Post by Window4U (IL) »

.....a paper jam would be awful. :oops:

tone74
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Re: Town home replacemnt windows

#6 Post by tone74 »

Rich-

For what it is worth- I am not a contractor, just a consumer that resides in the Chicago area. I interviewed some the same companies, and chose the professional the other contractors recommended on this board.

I was skeptical at first-but I am pleased I made the choice. The price quoted was better than inferior products, and I did not have to deal with "buy today" nonsense. I am waiting for the windows to be installed-but so far things have been great.

Hope this helps.

TheWindowNerd
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Re: Town home replacemnt windows

#7 Post by TheWindowNerd »

You have lots of differing opinions on a couple of important issues.
Direct mount vs wood buck: a wood buck mount has major draw backs. 1a. it reduces your visible glass area. You will already have a reduced VG due to the replacemet units having wider frames than new construction windows. 1b The management company has said direct mount and I concur this is best. 1c A wood buck can rot and has to be painted.
2. insulation type.
Low expansion foam with a progun is the only way to go.
The management company is wrong, they do not install windows. Fiberglass is a good insulater but does nothing about water tightness and air sealing. I want all three, as in window and door foam.
If you can get Dave to do your project you will have made the best choice.

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HomeSealed
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Re: Town home replacemnt windows

#8 Post by HomeSealed »

I agree with anthonys point on the foam. Your property manager should leave that to the pros because he clearly does not know what he is talking about.
Don't mind WoW, he just received his latest issue of Cat Fancy. :wink:

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