The Window Store - Nordic Guard - WI

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outlaw
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:35 am

The Window Store - Nordic Guard - WI

#1 Post by outlaw »

Not sure where the proper home of this should be or if this is considered a review because I haven't ordered anything yet.
First of all - Sorry for the extremely long first post. This is all over the last week.

Full company anme-
The Window Store Home improvements

Site names- Note- They currently do not have a site for the WI area yet.
twshomeinc.com
windowstoremn.com

NOT-
thewindowstore.com (This is a company based in CA)

I've been doing a lot of research between two brands and have come up short on the Nordic Guard brand. I thought I would share my experiences so far. The other is Alside Preservation w/Triple Pane.

We were already wanting to replace a large opening containing 3 single pane windows and a standard slider. The total opening is 60" tall by 124" wide. The slider standard 6' aluminum. We already planned to wait on the other windows as they were the smaller ones 7x 38" tall by 36" wide and 1x 42" tall by 42" wide.

In SE WI, in our neighborhood, we have had a lot of 'street walkers' (marketing reps). One of which was The Window Store. The street walker was nice (as they should be) and did their "model home" blah blah and scheduled an appt to at least hear what they had and see where they compared price/quality.

The sales rep showed up... 3 HOURS later he was done.
- Went over their product construction.
- Used the window demo bag with red heat lamp.
- Measured window/slider
- Showed us options and cost per options- pricing order least to most- 3 lite - 3 DH - Casement w/crank wings.
- Said they would match the opening with a custom sized 3 lite
- Gave us the "promo" price, and 60 day "thanks for letting us in" price which was about $1000 different. The entire house would have been a little over $12,000. Also, if we take the "promo" price, we would get the same pricing on other windows in the house for up to 2 years (assuming they still have this product. Not sure how that would work if they have "better windows").


Things to note talking with people from the company:
1. Welded construction
2. They are made by Vista Window Co. (all I remember from the tiny NFRC sticker)
3. They are Vista Window Co's best window with a few upgrades (per the nat'l manager). Per the sales manager they
4. The name 'Nordic Guard' is trademarked by The Window Store (per the nat'l manager). Looking this up, it has expired as of 2013. (http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f= ... bmit+Query)
5. They offer the Alside Thermalmaxx brand in MN but the Nordic Guard here in SE WI. According to them, they are going to be switching to a different manufacturer/window in MN though.
6. The vista windows have a 50yr warranty with 25years of that transferrable (per sales rep and nat'l manager; Vista's website says- Liftime Limited Warranty which is fully transferrable)
7. They use the soft coat Low-e
8. They guarantee 98%+ argon fill (per the sales rep and nat'l manager - this is done by vacumm)
9. They are 3rd party tested for effeciency
10. Financing originally offered is 5yr or 10yr (per sales rep but varies depending on credit)
11. The vinyl used is not recycled and because of that is stronger (per sales rep - used the small bottles with sames of recycled vs non)

I don't have the brochure with me for this post but I can reference if anybody is interested.

And now the cost stuff-
At the home show- we stopped by a local window company and gave them a rough estimate of the window opening and asked about the casement window (with wing cranks). They estimated at $6700 for just that window, not including the slider.

We had another (different than one above) company come in (only spent 45min or so on actual window measuring and quotes). They offered the Alside Preservation, their promo was free triple pane upgrade if you saw them at the recent home show (which we did). They said they would have to use the 3 DH because they don't special order and the 3 lite max is 120" wide. They came in at the 60 day price of TWS around $6000 for the large opening using 3 double hungs and a new 6' slider. I then told them about the quote we got from The Window Store for $5200 under their "promo". He said he could match them.

I called TWS back and asked what was so special about the promo and where we were saving money. He asked about the other brand and I told him. He quickly went to "they are drafty" and "I've been doing this a long time and sold a lot of different windows. I pick the windows we sell here..." Ok, fine, I've read plenty of online reviews claiming the same thing with certain lines from Alside, also I've read about the snap in sills (which I was told the Preservation line doesn't use). He continued to ask if we were OK with the promo options we chose, I said sure but where are we getting a deal? He said he could do $4900 without changing anything. I said OK but would have to see financing options and talk to the "boss" (wife) and would call back. I talked to the other company and they said they could match the $4900 without changing anything.



Yesterday
We did get approved for financing through TWS for the full amount but not excited about payment amount. We were not able to get approved through the other company. I talked to the nat'l manager again and asked if their was anything they could do pricing wise to get the payments closer to what we wanted. He came back with, "you will likely be saving the difference in energy each month. OR we coudl break up the jobs to one we feel we need more, then do the other when monies permit" He also said if we wanted to save some more money, we could get the Thermalmaxx they offer in MN but said they are a lesser quality than the Nordic's.

He said when I call back today, he was going to see if there was anything else he can do/add to the offer if we decide to go with the whole thing.

Last night, the other company recommended going to our credit union to see if we can get a home improvement loan becuase they are usually better rates and more willing to work with us since we are already customers and they are not for profit.


Today
I'm going to call the credit union to see if and what they offer for home improvements, if anything to see about doing other stuff around the house. I also have to call back TWS to discuss the job to be done and find out what his offer is.


Again, sorry this is so long but hopefully it will help others (even if they are in Viking territory :D, jk).

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: The Window Store - Nordic Guard - WI

#2 Post by masterext »

If I'm not mistaken, HomeSealed is located in your area. Brandon is a heck of a guy and I know he offers very good financing options. Do a board search of his name and click his contact button.
Fwi, he also offers much better brands of windows.

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

Re: The Window Store - Nordic Guard - WI

#3 Post by Delaware Mike »

I once used Vista as a drop or entry level window but have since found much better options. I think they're a pretty good company as far as how I was treated as a dealer, however the product is pretty "me too" generic looking and the master frame and sash design seem somewhat dated. Last I checked they still did an irrigating sill with weep holes to the exterior. The welds were typically pretty rough too. It's very similar to the Simonton lines.

Their sliders have way too loose tolerances for my liking. Air leakage is an issue with them and I know that from first hand field experience. I wouldn't trust anything window wise from Alside short of a rental or flip.

If Homesealed serves your area you would be doing yourself a huge favor by contacting him. All of his offerings are better than those options without all of the sales BS.

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

Re: The Window Store - Nordic Guard - WI

#4 Post by fridge2020 »

Vista is very average at best. You've probably read enough to get a good feel for Alside.

The main thing I'm not crazy about is the sales games. The door to door canvassers mixed with a 3 hour sales pitch is typically a sign of a company that is nothing more than sales and marketing as opposed to someone that genuinely has a passion for their craft. I don't know anything about those particular companies, just speaking in generalities.

randy
Posts: 1064
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:27 am
Location: Houston, TX
Contact:

Re: The Window Store - Nordic Guard - WI

#5 Post by randy »

Here's another vote for contacting Brandon at HomeSealed. Great guy, top notch products, and professionalism that will put the other guys to shame.

outlaw
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:35 am

Re: The Window Store - Nordic Guard - WI

#6 Post by outlaw »

masterext wrote:If I'm not mistaken, HomeSealed is located in your area. Brandon is a heck of a guy and I know he offers very good financing options. Do a board search of his name and click his contact button.
Fwi, he also offers much better brands of windows.
Looks like Himark. Thanks for the info. Got some research to do.
Delaware Mike wrote:I once used Vista as a drop or entry level window but have since found much better options. I think they're a pretty good company as far as how I was treated as a dealer, however the product is pretty "me too" generic looking and the master frame and sash design seem somewhat dated. Last I checked they still did an irrigating sill with weep holes to the exterior. The welds were typically pretty rough too. It's very similar to the Simonton lines.

Their sliders have way too loose tolerances for my liking. Air leakage is an issue with them and I know that from first hand field experience. I wouldn't trust anything window wise from Alside short of a rental or flip.

If Homesealed serves your area you would be doing yourself a huge favor by contacting him. All of his offerings are better than those options without all of the sales BS.
Thanks for the info. Coming from helping install the box store brands, they looked nice and the info/energy efficiency looked good. I wasn't 100% with only having a single source of info to look up comparisons. Interesting you say that about Vista. That is exactly what I've been told about Alside from them lol. Once I do some more research on these windows. I will have to keep them in mind.
fridge2020 wrote:Vista is very average at best. You've probably read enough to get a good feel for Alside.

The main thing I'm not crazy about is the sales games. The door to door canvassers mixed with a 3 hour sales pitch is typically a sign of a company that is nothing more than sales and marketing as opposed to someone that genuinely has a passion for their craft. I don't know anything about those particular companies, just speaking in generalities.
Thanks for the info.
Yeah. The sales rep even said "we are right in the middle as far as quality and efficiency go". The wife and I were not very happy with the 3 hour visit. Just glad we were able to make it out unlike a certain tour that didn't :) (and the reunion rescue doesn't count).

No more street walkers here. Going to throw up a soliciting trespassers sign. Could always answer the door with a paintball gun too if they don't get the hint. If I need your service, I will find you. I think we've had a dozen in the last few months for different services and it gets old fast.
randy wrote:Here's another vote for contacting Brandon at HomeSealed. Great guy, top notch products, and professionalism that will put the other guys to shame.
Cool. Thanks for the reference. Like above. I'll have to do some homework to get an understanding of these windows just so I know some of the jargon. It's our first house and first time with windows. If they weren't so big, I would have just likely done them with my dad.

And and update to my original post-
We did not get approved by our credit union for a credit card and I didn't want to do Home Equity. During the storms here, our basement/sump decided it wanted the water inside instead. I know have that to deal with. Maybe this happened for a reason, but I called TWS and explained the flooded basement and told them we have to correct this before we can worry about the windows. They are currently keeping the rain out. The only good that came of the flooded basement is I didn't have to lie to anybody. Even when something doesn't seem right, lying to back out of something just doesn't sit right with me.

Thanks for all the input so far though. I have a lot more to look up in the meantime. Also hopefully this will help others with some info on the TWS branded windows. I still have the brochure if there is any info needed from it or if I should post it.

Outlaw

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