New windows in Colorado?

We live in Parker, co. A large 3 pane slider in my son's room stopped opening and closing. Part of the frame melted from the heat. The house was built in 1992 and using builder grade windows with storm windows.

I'm consider replacing some or all of the windows in the house. I'm thinking that the other windows in the house are just going to get worse too, and that they are pretty inefficient. We frequently get flys caught between the outside window and the storm window, which leads me to believe they aren't sealed well. The thickness of the current frames is approximately 3 7/8"

So I'm leaning towards replacing all the windows, but would rather save the money.

I've had a few different place come by and give me quotes..
Accent windows of Colorado (now owned by PH tech)
Costco (who uses a good local dealer) using Milgard
Home depot

I believe the total number of windows is 22. I'm not doing the unfinished basement or the 2 patio doors.

I called Accent because they used to make everything here in CO. After taking to them, they don't make the glass here anymore. They use Cardinal glass. Their frame seems to be very strong with a lot of chambers. Their quote. $15k. For their Premier.

Costco is having some kind of 10%off deal for milgard. I got a quote for Milgard stylelines For approx $13k. I'm wondering if these are thick enough to replace my windows.

Home depot just gave me a quote for 3 windows for a pretty cheap price using their Clearview windows. I kind of dismissed them, but they will probably be pretty cheap for the whole house also.

Things I am concerned about
Less expensive
Decent quality but I don't need the best
How will it look after pulling out the old windows?

Is there any point in doing half the house or some of the windows rather than the whole house.... Then doing more next year?
R4.0 vs 366 windows for Colorado. Which is better?

Any opinions would be helpful. Thanks in advance. I've read a lot of posts on here, but still unsure what to do.

A picture of the exterior will help get you more directed feedback as to the finished look.

That, in large part, also depends on the contractor's approach and your input.

What brand of glass is R4?

Being in CO, you are going to want to pay special mind to getting a window that is air tight along with the proper coatings for the glass.

Windows should be a one time purchase so make sure you do your research on the product and the company so that you get the right product.

At the end of the day, when you leverage the cost differential between a really great window that might be $150 more than the medium quality window, 10 years of home ownership equals a whopping $1.25 per month (per window) or $27.50 (per month) for the whole home of 22 windows.

R4.0 glass is the e272 filled glass that is the lower end glass that most companies have.


I think we are going to go with Milgard Style Line. My wife really likes the look of these windows.

I doubt that their Low-272 is a true R4 but the second part of your post is far and away the most important part by a mile anyway.