Pella 350 or something else?

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zaoka
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Pella 350 or something else?

#1 Post by zaoka »

Hi,

I am about to order Pella 350, tripple glass, low_E with Argon windows, frame filled with foam. They are about 4x4'.
Lowes wants $370 for each. (I have installer)

Is there better brand and model that cost the same or even less?

Winter is my main concern while summer is OK since windows are not directly exposed to the sun.

I live in Pittsburgh, PA.

THanks guys and great site.

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#2 Post by Windows on Washington »

Decent window. Pocket sill which is not ideal in my book. Not sure where you are going to find anything cheaper with triple pane glass.

masterext
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#3 Post by masterext »

I have seen the pella 350 and to me it felt very flimsy and looked very cheap. The performance numbers also leave alot to be desired and the pocket sill is a total deal breaker. I would definitely search for another window.

zaoka
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#4 Post by zaoka »

Yes I heard that so thats why I wanted to get some advice.

You just cant look at their marketing, they all claim they are the best :shock: :lol:

masterext
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#5 Post by masterext »

You most certainly can rely on marketing, especially when the company markets their superior performance numbers. All the top window brands do that. Pella does NOT do that because their performance numbers are nit very good. Again, the pella 350 is very unimpressive and not something i feel comfortable recommending. I would save some money or maybe consider doing your window project in stages in order to procure a better window.

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Delaware Mike
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#6 Post by Delaware Mike »

While Orange and blue are convenient in terms to being just about everywhere, I would advise on looking into a mom and pop window type window dealer, or private building materials distributor. Some larger lumberyards will carry something decent in your area. For the price of that Pella 350 you may be able to find a ProVia Endure vinyl product as cash and carry. It's a much better window by a great company.

The Endure doesn't have a pocket sill, it has triple weatherstripping contacts of the sash profile (double hung) so the air numbers are tight, and they glaze standard with the non-metal Super Spacer. It's a series we do and I would have it in my own house.

zaoka
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#7 Post by zaoka »

Delaware Mike wrote:While Orange and blue are convenient in terms to being just about everywhere, I would advise on looking into a mom and pop window type window dealer, or private building materials distributor. Some larger lumberyards will carry something decent in your area. For the price of that Pella 350 you may be able to find a ProVia Endure vinyl product as cash and carry. It's a much better window by a great company.

The Endure doesn't have a pocket sill, it has triple weatherstripping contacts of the sash profile (double hung) so the air numbers are tight, and they glaze standard with the non-metal Super Spacer. It's a series we do and I would have it in my own house.
Thanks. Will go see those this week.

Do you guys have experience with Thermal Industries Inc. ?

Endure rating for u-factor is 0.27 while this other company has windows with rating of 0.18.

Also can I go with ceasment window type for window dimensions 23x72" and for 47x35"

??

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Delaware Mike
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#8 Post by Delaware Mike »

The Endure as a standard glass package configuration with double-glazing and a regional appropriate low-e & argon package for your region will have a .27 and the SHGC should be in the .25 to .29 range. I will guarantee that the information that you might be looking at online isn't a double-glazed configuration, thus it's not an apples to apples comparison.

I just started dealing with Thermal. They're privately making a window for us Philly dealers that were doing some business with a local Philly manufacturer that had to close their doors. It was my budget window, however it was built well and I had a long standing relationship with the management. Thermal acquired the same extrusion from deueunick (extrusion manufacturer) and is making a window very similar to the Endure series by ProVia. I'm not sure what Thermal window you might be looking at that is stating a .018 overall u-factor? I would expect it to be one of their triple-glazed configurations with multiple lites of low-e. One thing many of us pros don't fancy are the interior hard coats that lower the CR numbers on windows, thus thorough research of how that number is achieved is pretty important.

Let us know how your research comes along this week.

zaoka
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#9 Post by zaoka »

Yes it was for tipple glass with krypton, in the mean time I found the same for ProVia, They go low for triple glass as well.

My last question should I just pick ProVia or should I go check Sunrise as well?

Thanks for your time Sir!

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Delaware Mike
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#10 Post by Delaware Mike »

Sunrise is a really nice window. Sunrise has many different series and you would be hard pressed to make that window work with most budgets and finding a dealer that would sell the product out the door without installation. Their product lines aren't distributed to any resale type of building supply houses and most of their dealer network is set up with really big dealers. It's a very pricey window Way more than ProVia or Thermal and the U-factor on their double right now is at a .28 on double. To achieve Energy Star .27 northern zone compliance one must do a surface #4 hard coat or go to triple which makes it that much more expensive.

Best thing to do is to see the Thermal and ProVia in person and compare it to the Pella. If someone in my parts has a contractor picked out, or they're doing the installation themselves, I will send them over to Lansing Building Products as they have the Simonton and ProVia products and are more suited to that cash and carry format. Lansing also has Interstate which is a nice composite PVC window but certainly more money.

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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#11 Post by TheWindowNerd »

Sunrise and Provia are good companies.
My preference is for OKna/HiMark 800DX

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HomeSealed
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#12 Post by HomeSealed »

Good advice above. I'd take a look at at least a couple quality products so that you can see what you like and what you don't.

zaoka
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#13 Post by zaoka »

Hello,

I ended up going with OKNA 750, tripple low-E glass and Argon.
Cant believe how good this product is. Way better than all other brands I checked.

Thanks all!

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HomeSealed
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Re: Pella 350 or something else?

#14 Post by HomeSealed »

zaoka wrote:Hello,

I ended up going with OKNA 750, tripple low-E glass and Argon.
Cant believe how good this product is. Way better than all other brands I checked.

Thanks all!
Sounds like an excellent end result. That product should serve you well for many years to come. :D

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