Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

For all those Replacement Window decisions - just read, review or post a question. You will be helped!
Message
Author
eagle107
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2009 7:26 am

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#16 Post by eagle107 »

We went with the R3 Insul-Tec windows and put the money we saved into the front entrance Polaris Double Doors.

User avatar
HomeSealed
Posts: 2749
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:14 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, Northern IL
Contact:

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#17 Post by HomeSealed »

So you switched from casement to double-hung?
Very good product either way... Polaris makes a solid door as well.

eagle107
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2009 7:26 am

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#18 Post by eagle107 »

Sorry, I misspoke. They are 10 casements with the deluxe dual glazing option.

User avatar
HomeSealed
Posts: 2749
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:14 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, Northern IL
Contact:

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#19 Post by HomeSealed »

No worries. So you are getting 700 series casements, not Insultec. That just makes it an even better deal. :D

eagle107
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2009 7:26 am

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#20 Post by eagle107 »

Everyone,

Just an update. We are having the new Onka casement windows installed, however, someone messed up the the order. All the front windows we're suppose have the contour grids and the back windows without any grids. It seems two of the front windows were ordered have no grids and two of the back windows were ordered to have grids; it really make the house look weird, but hopefully the company can fix this quickly.

On a another note, how financially sound is Onka Windows being a small manufacture in such a large industry? I am hoping Onka will not share the same fate as Gorell did. The reason for this question is that three of the six Gorell windows we had installed in the house now have seal failures and the company who installed did not stay as a "loyal" Soft-Lite Gorell customer, so we are out of luck getting any warranty work done on these windows. This being the case, I was thinking of ripping out all the Gorell windows (never liked them) and replacing them with Onka windows. I just hope Onka, in the next six to ten years, does not go out of business like Gorell and I am stuck replacing the windows with another manufacture due to seal failures. I do not know much about the window industry, but it makes me wonder if paying more up front for Andersen or Marvin windows makes more sense in the long run because these companies have be around decades and there is a good chance you will not need to worry about the warranty work in the future.

TheWindowNerd
Posts: 1893
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:52 pm
Location: SE PA & NJ; CT
Contact:

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#21 Post by TheWindowNerd »

Okna has been around for several decades too.
They are continuing to grow, just moved the whole factory into one large building with room for growth.
The owners seem to be in it for the long haul with their sons are in the business as well.
Everything I see and hear says they will be around for the next 20 years or more.

User avatar
HomeSealed
Posts: 2749
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:14 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, Northern IL
Contact:

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#22 Post by HomeSealed »

+1, nothing to worry about with Okna. They are a rapidly growing company that has been around for 20+years, they are on the leading edge of product innovation and quality, and in fact, they really are not a small company at all. They have been in the nation's top 100 manufacturers of windows/exterior products for many years now. They are not in the same company as the "big 3" to be sure as revenue goes, however they are a very solid company built on a solid foundation.

Gorell was a once great company, however there were a bevy of issues that lead to their downfall, most notably that product development and innovation had become stagnant far before they went under. I'll withhold my personal thoughts on that SL transition.

Regarding the mis-ordered grids, that is nearly 100% certain to be the fault of the dealer. They should be able to get you the correct parts at no charge though (simply swap sashes with remakes), so it really isn't a big deal.

toddinmn
Posts: 632
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:11 am

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#23 Post by toddinmn »

To say Okna has been for decades is a little misleading since this is there 20th year, so depending on the month it may only almost 2 decades.
Not long ago some were saying the same about Gorell. It would be safe to say companies such as Soft-Lite and Polaris have been around for decades and that OKna is the smallest company of brands recommended here. Okna is doing alot of things right and seems to headed in the right direction. I hold nothing against Soft-Lite for there acquisition of select assets Gorell.

User avatar
Windows on Washington
Posts: 4850
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:21 pm
Location: DC Metropolitan Area-Maryland/Virginia/DC
Contact:

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#24 Post by Windows on Washington »

+1

I think that is a fair assessment Todd.

While Gorell was great and did a great job on customer service, I felt like their lines were stagnant at the time.

masterext
Posts: 826
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:14 pm
Location: Window Pro-Serves All of Northern New Jersey. Bergen, Morris, Union, Essex, Passaic, Sussex Counties

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#25 Post by masterext »

Okna has been around for 20 years and has been through 3 recessions , one of them being almost a depression and survived while many manufacturers had to close their doors. Okna just moved into a brand new / state of the art facility thats the size of a football stadium.

As for Gorell, they have no one to blame but themselves. As other window manufacturers were utilizing " cutting edge" technology, maximizing energy efficiency, and updating their window design, Gorell clearly got lazy and rested on their laurels. They could have easily added a new spacer system and some better weather stripping and they would still be around today. Their dealers were severely handy capped going into a home with intercept.
As for Soft Lite, it was a smart business decision to purchase Gorells assets for pennies on the dollar and win over former gorell dealers. They are under no obligation whatsoever to honor old gorell warranty claims. If they did, that would completely mitigate the financial rationale of the deal.

User avatar
HomeSealed
Posts: 2749
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:14 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, Northern IL
Contact:

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#26 Post by HomeSealed »

+1 on Okna. The only way you could compare them to Gorell would be if they decided to sit on their existing product line for the next 20 years with very few improvements and ride their reputation. There were a host of other issues at Gorell as well that lead them down the same road as the domestic car manufacturers (workforce pay and bennies). They still made a solid product until the end, but as WOW said, it was becoming stagnant.
Regarding the SL purchase, I don't think that anyone would argue that they made a good move from a financial perspective. They get a respected name, product line, and full network of dealers. That said, the court of public opinion has not treated them well from what I can see. I would violate my own personal code of ethics if I bought out one of my competitors and then told their past clients to pound sand when they came to me for warranty service. Bad karma at best. Just my $.02 on it.

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

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#27 Post by Delaware Mike »

LOL. Those darn greedy union factory workers with pensions, overtime, and health benefits. Gorell did get lazy on keeping their products up to date. If the entire window industry was to have a competent workforce, windows would cost us dealers 4x what we could ever sell them for……

OKNA is hands down the best vinyl product out there right now from an installer's point of view.

fridge2020
Posts: 135
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2012 8:20 pm

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#28 Post by fridge2020 »

Gorell was at a competitive disadvantage due to high labor costs. They had a lower profit margin at a higher selling price and no money to make the needed improvements. Near the end it was my understanding that the union refused to make concessions, at least not to the level needed. Call it what you want, but now the company is gone and so are their jobs. It is really a shame, it was a once great product line. The line is in better hands with Softlite in my opinion.
I would not replace all of the Gorell's with new units. It is still a good window.

User avatar
HomeSealed
Posts: 2749
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:14 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, Northern IL
Contact:

Re: Okna 700 casement vs Soft-Lite imperial LS and Elements

#29 Post by HomeSealed »

Delaware Mike wrote:LOL. Those darn greedy union factory workers with pensions, overtime, and health benefits. Gorell did get lazy on keeping their products up to date. If the entire window industry was to have a competent workforce, windows would cost us dealers 4x what we could ever sell them for……

OKNA is hands down the best vinyl product out there right now from an installer's point of view.
Didn't mean it that way Mike. I grew up in a union household and have been a member of two unions myself. I've been on both sides of the fence and can relate as such... Just calling it for what it was in this case. Certainly there was probably some mismanagement that went along with it. A shame on both sides to be sure.

Post Reply