Two quotes so far

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shbrowns
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Two quotes so far

#1 Post by shbrowns »

We're replacing two square bedroom windows and a big round window above our front door.

Quote #1
Circle window - $2083 for Sunrise with wood trim or $677 for Sunrise square window instead of circle
2 bedroom windows - $1587 with wood trim

Quote #2
1- Remove old windows and haul away
2- Install two new white double hung replacement windows. ThermalWeld Plus by Polaris
3- Windows have low W, Aegon gas, double pane glass, half screens and tilt in sashes
4- Window has white flat colonial grids 2 vertical, 1 horizontal in each sash
5- Remove circular window and install new ThermalWeld Plus by Polaris (24x24); Window has low E, Argon gas
* Lifetime warranty on windows
Price - $1900

Quote #2 is obviously more detailed. Any opinion on the products and prices?

toddinmn
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Re: Two quotes so far

#2 Post by toddinmn »

They sound pretty close in price, price sounds fair. Consider me biased but I would go Thermalweld. Upgrading to contour grids is minimal and so is going with a stainless spacer, maybe add reinforcement if the sash are large and foam fill. Are thes full frame/ inserts?

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HomeSealed
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Re: Two quotes so far

#3 Post by HomeSealed »

Both fine products, prices seem to be close. I'd take a closer look at the install and the company performing it. Unless that is a tossup as well, I'd probably choose based on that.

shbrowns
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Re: Two quotes so far

#4 Post by shbrowns »

toddinmn wrote: Thu Sep 27, 2018 1:45 pm They sound pretty close in price, price sounds fair. Consider me biased but I would go Thermalweld. Upgrading to contour grids is minimal and so is going with a stainless spacer, maybe add reinforcement if the sash are large and foam fill. Are thes full frame/ inserts?
Well we aren’t sure about price bring close. Quote #1 is a lot more expensive if we stick with the circle window. That’s like 3500+ vs. 1900. Is Sunrise worth that much more money?

shbrowns
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Re: Two quotes so far

#5 Post by shbrowns »

HomeSealed wrote: Thu Sep 27, 2018 3:11 pm Both fine products, prices seem to be close. I'd take a closer look at the install and the company performing it. Unless that is a tossup as well, I'd probably choose based on that.
I wish we knew. There aren’t many reviews of either company online and the ones we found are so glowing you can’t tell if they’re plants, you know?

masterext
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Re: Two quotes so far

#6 Post by masterext »

A good way to start your evaluation is to ask yourself which window brand you would choose if they were both the same exact cost.
Next you should ask yourself which company you felt most comfortable with if both companies were the same exact cost.
After answering those two questions, you will have a pretty good idea as to whom you should choose.
Its far too easy to talk yourself into making a decision when you are weighing cost too heavily. When that happens, quality doesnt have a chance in the fight.
Last edited by masterext on Thu Sep 27, 2018 7:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

toddinmn
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Re: Two quotes so far

#7 Post by toddinmn »

I thought it was only that much going with the circle window from Sunrise and the Polaris dealer bid it with a square window. $677+$1587=$2264 vs $1900? Maybe I’m not understanding things correctly.

shbrowns
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Re: Two quotes so far

#8 Post by shbrowns »

toddinmn wrote: Thu Sep 27, 2018 5:23 pm I thought it was only that much going with the circle window from Sunrise and the Polaris dealer bid it with a square window. $677+$1587=$2264 vs $1900? Maybe I’m not understanding things correctly.
Honestly that confused me at first too! They’re saying it’s 2087 just got the circle window or if we want a square window in its place that would be 677 instead.

Then the two bedroom windows are an additional price of 1587.

This bid 1 is either 677+1587 or 2087+1587 depending on if we are doing a circle window or a square window to replace the bad circular window.

You can see why I really question if bidder 1 is overpriced or if bidder 2 is not realistically priced enough. Any idea?

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HomeSealed
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Re: Two quotes so far

#9 Post by HomeSealed »

shbrowns, if you can't find a much of a track record on either company, that is not ideal. Sure you could still get a good finished product, but its a bit more of an unknown when there's not much to go on.

shbrowns
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Re: Two quotes so far

#10 Post by shbrowns »

HomeSealed wrote: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:15 pm shbrowns, if you can't find a much of a track record on either company, that is not ideal. Sure you could still get a good finished product, but its a bit more of an unknown when there's not much to go on.

One of them has 4.6 stars based on 5 Google reviews. The other is 5.0 based on 3 reviews.

Assuming both of these companies are good, why is Sunrise so much more in price? Is Sunrise worth that much more or is the other vendor just providing too low of an estimate?
Last edited by shbrowns on Mon Oct 01, 2018 10:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

shbrowns
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Re: Two quotes so far

#11 Post by shbrowns »

masterext wrote: Thu Sep 27, 2018 4:48 pm A good way to start your evaluation is to ask yourself which window brand you would choose if they were both the same exact cost.
Next you should ask yourself which company you felt most comfortable with if both companies were the same exact cost.
After answering those two questions, you will have a pretty good idea as to whom you should choose.
Its far too easy to talk yourself into making a decision when you are weighing cost too heavily. When that happens, quality doesnt have a chance in the fight.
We have had a lot of trouble even getting local vendors to quote out the project because they are all in demand and getting calls from home owners who want to replace 30 windows and we're just inquiring about 3. Eventually we may do the rest but for now we want to start with the ones we have to replace due to cracks in the wood, etc.

These two companies have 8 reviews between them and that seems minimal to me.

How do I find out what windows are the best?

toddinmn
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Re: Two quotes so far

#12 Post by toddinmn »

What other brands are available in your area?
Where is you’re area?
Soft-Lite and Okna are a couple. Of other brands to look for.

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HomeSealed
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Re: Two quotes so far

#13 Post by HomeSealed »

Thats a pretty small number of reviews. Certainly deeper digging could reveal more about them (good or bad), however it would be nice to find a company with a little more review volume to gauge by.

On price, you are probably getting dinged with a small job fee of some sort on 3 windows.

On window brands, good advice from Todd.

shbrowns
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Re: Two quotes so far

#14 Post by shbrowns »

toddinmn wrote: Mon Oct 01, 2018 11:38 am What other brands are available in your area?
Where is you’re area?
Soft-Lite and Okna are a couple. Of other brands to look for.

Those two brands have not been proposed by the four vendors who met with us. We have been pitched Pella, Sunrise, Jeld-wen, Provia, New River, Polaris. What is considered to be good in this bunch?

toddinmn
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Re: Two quotes so far

#15 Post by toddinmn »

The Pro-Via Endure is pretty much the same window as the Thermalweld Plus.

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