One more Question on Soft Lites

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Canaligator
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One more Question on Soft Lites

#1 Post by Canaligator »

I am replacing my old Caradco wood windows with Soft Lite Imperial LS vinyl windows. I am going with the replacements over new construction. How much window space can I expect to lose? The contractor told me about an inch of each side, top and bottom. The windows I have now are roughly 30"X50". Should I be concerned or will they still look OK?
Thanks

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Windows on Washington
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Re: One more Question on Soft Lites

#2 Post by Windows on Washington »

Post up a picture of your current window's interior and I will tell you where to measure from.

1" sounds a bit much on the widths of each side, but about right if you are figuring aggregate total width loss.

Tough to say without measuring the window while in the home but the edge of frame to edge of glass on the Imperial LS is about 3.5" and if you measure from the edge of the interior stop on your current window, you can compare that to the new measurement. Figure on having about 1/8" on all 4 sides for shimming and squaring up.

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HomeSealed
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Re: One more Question on Soft Lites

#3 Post by HomeSealed »

Good advice above. I'd only add that at 30 x 50, you have nice sized windows so the difference should not be very noticeable.

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Re: One more Question on Soft Lites

#4 Post by masterext »

I think glass loss is one of the most over rated issues in the replacement window industry.
I have plenty of customers express concern but never are they disappointed after the windows are actually installed.

TheWindowNerd
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Re: One more Question on Soft Lites

#5 Post by TheWindowNerd »

Ok. Lets look at an example from yesterday:
existing vinyl clad wood DH, frame size 37 3/8" x 68 1/2", VG is 31 x 29.5

vinyl insert ( 35.5" frame size) with 3.5" frame = vg 28.5" the net loss is 2.5" This is the least of the glass lost, it is worst in the height.

vinyl full frame ( 37 3/8" frame size), VG = 30 3/8", not bad when compared to the original VG. Again that is just in the width. The height is more dramatic with the ~3" original frame dimension in height as compared to the original frame width of only 1.5"

theWindowNerd...

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HomeSealed
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Re: One more Question on Soft Lites

#6 Post by HomeSealed »

The loss of glass is definitely real so it is not overrated in that respect, however I'd have to agree with masterext that it is not an issue that I EVER hear complaints about after install. I do go over the pros and cons prior to choosing however, so I can imagine that someone might be disappointed if they were not aware of that difference up front. The only time that I really stress the issue is when we get into some very narrow openings, like 24" and less. It can be pretty noticeable in that instance, however even then, 8 or 9 out of 10 of homeowners would still prefer to lose the glass than pay an extra $200+ per window if that is the only issue.

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Re: One more Question on Soft Lites

#7 Post by Windows on Washington »

Anthony,

What insert did you run?

Canaligator
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Re: One more Question on Soft Lites

#8 Post by Canaligator »

I just took measurements on my existing windows. It looks like I am going to lose about 1 1/2+" on each side. That's quite a bit. About a total of 3". I do have some smaller windows that are being done also. Hopefully it won't be too much of a change. When the contractor told me it would only be about an inch on each side, it didn't seem that bad. Now I am wondering if I should have gone with the new construction. But the savings was significant. The price dropped from $1250 a window to $800 a window. Too late now. The contract has been signed and the windows are on their way.

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Re: One more Question on Soft Lites

#9 Post by TheWindowNerd »

Eric I used the frame dimension that you mentioned at 3.5" .
Lets look at the height VG:
Original 59"
with 800Dx(since that is my fav, and I just measured it) as insert 57.5", net loss
with 800Dx as full frame VG = 60.5", net gain
with the two combined calculations, width and height loss, the net glass loss with a vinyl insert is 1.32 sq ft of visible glass per window.
So is that worth $225, only the homeowner who is informed can decide that.

theWindowNerd...

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