Best Double Hungs for the heat of the desert?

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rebman
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 11:29 pm

Best Double Hungs for the heat of the desert?

#1 Post by rebman »

My wife and I have a quote from RBA and we are impressed, but after reading all of this information, we'd like to hear some opinions.

Without trashing other manufacturers, who do you think makes the best double hung windows for the harsh environment of the desert? (We live in the Las Vegas area)...

One other thing, we live in a historic district and would like similar windows to the ones that have been hanging in our house for the past 70 years.

Also, price is the LEAST of our worries....quality and professionalism are our highest priorities....

Thanks.....

InfoSponge
Posts: 155
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:25 am

#2 Post by InfoSponge »

Do you have a local Comfort Line FiberFrame dealer around. They have triple pane Fiberglass windows that should be good for more extreme climates. See: http://www.fiberframe.com/

Fiberglass is paintable just like the traditional wood windows you have. The frames are also a bit thinner than the average vinyl window.

You won't find many RBA fans here in this forum.

rebman
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 11:29 pm

#3 Post by rebman »

InfoSponge wrote:Do you have a local Comfort Line FiberFrame dealer around. They have triple pane Fiberglass windows that should be good for more extreme climates. See: http://www.fiberframe.com/

Fiberglass is paintable just like the traditional wood windows you have. The frames are also a bit thinner than the average vinyl window.

You won't find many RBA fans here in this forum.
Thanks for the info....I'm not looking for praise of RBA. I'm looking for honest opinions of which window company makes the best double hung windows that will withstand the desert heat. I have no love for RBA...in fact, they seemed really expensive....

I don't think we have a local Comfort Line dealer around....I'll take a look. Thanks!

rebman
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 11:29 pm

#4 Post by rebman »

researcher wrote:The RBA fans are the people who actually have them.
Huh? Is everyone really that sensitive about RBA around here? I'm not an RBA troll....I just came here to find out people's opinions about double hung windows....

RBA seemed nice...kind of expensive....but we want to hear about other manufacturers....it seems like most discussion on this forum is centered around sliders and we need double hungs....

rebman
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 11:29 pm

Re: Reply

#5 Post by rebman »

FenEx wrote:Post deleted... not worth it.
I reread my inital message and I think I get it now. When I said "without trashing other manufacturers" I meant that I don't want to hear "Milgard sucks" or "Schueco sucks" or "RBA sucks"....I want to hear "Milgard is good because..." etc....

Again, I could care less about RBA, we've just only had a quote from them so far and before we start randomly picking names out of the phone book we came hear about other manufacturers first....

Thanks....

rebman
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 11:29 pm

Re: Reply

#6 Post by rebman »

FenEx wrote:Post deleted... not worth it.
Please share your information with us....after reading the messages here we can tell that a lot of posters here have a lot of knowledge about windows. I had never even heard of Schueco until I came to this forum...

Man, I guess I made a mistake mentioning RBA. They were just the first people we contacted regarding windows because they have a large ad in the local yellow pages. They seemed really expensive, but they were nice and seemed to have quite a few options. They trashed vinyl a lot, but Fibrex seems to basically be wood + vinyl, so it doesn't make any sense. Plus, I thought Andersen makes vinyl windows for new homes..?

Anyway, I'm probably already blackballed for mentioning RBA, but I hope you'll take the time to retype out your original message....

Thanks....

randy
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Location: Houston, TX
Contact:

RBA

#7 Post by randy »

Rebman you haven't done anything wrong by mentioning RBA, it's just that over the course of the past two years there have been some RBA salespeople on the boards, posting as though they are homeowners (researcher & amore125). This deception has created some anger among the regular posters here who freely give of their time in an honest effort to assist homeowners, such as yourself, through the window purchasing process. These deceptive RBA salespeople cause the regular posters to waste a lot of time refuting their inaccurate information and causing confusion for the homeowners.

You have already figured out part of the problem with RBA. They trash vinyl windows, yet incorporate vinyl into the RBA, and they (Andersen) make new construction vinyl windows. Basically RBA looks pretty good but is overpriced, and underperforms.

Schuco windows, in my opinion, are very well made and attractive. However, they are not necessarily the best choice for homeowners in hot climates and they are not available in your area anyway.

You might look at the Alside Sheffield and the Simonton 5500, both of which should be available there in Nevada. These are good solid choices which will hold up well over the long term without breaking the budget.

Good luck to you.

rebman
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 11:29 pm

#8 Post by rebman »

Thanks for the information, Randy. I certainly didn't come here to stir the pot...it's a shame that a few people have ruined it for everyone.

I looked in the yellow pages and I couldn't find a dealer in So. Nev. for Schuco windows. I'm not sure why they're not represented here. Why wouldn't they be suitable for hot climates? It seems like there are several main posters here that think Schuco are the best....I hope they chime in and give their two cents worth about how they hold up in this climate.

Thanks for the information about Alside and Simonton....they definitely are both represented here in LV and I'll check into them.

I'm in sort of a unique situation because most of the houses here have been built within the last 15 years, but my house is in an historic district and was built in 1938 along with a group of about 30 other homes to house managers from the Hoover Dam project. We'd like to keep the historical feel of the wood windows and have considered just restoring the windows, rather than replacing them.

We had basically decided on RBA and then we started reading this forum and others like it and started rethinking our decision.

Thanks again for your reply...

randy
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#9 Post by randy »

Schuco does not offer a Low-E designed for hot climates. Southern and Southwestern states often have large windows in them that Schuco will not make in a triple glazed unit, only their double glazed. Their double glazed glass has a SHGC that is too high for areas where cooling is the primary concern.

Simonton and Alside will both offer double glazed units with SHGC in the .28 - .30 range which will serve you well.

researcher
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:11 am

#10 Post by researcher »

[quote]Rebman you haven't done anything wrong by mentioning RBA, it's just that over the course of the past two years there have been some RBA salespeople on the boards, posting as though they are homeowners (researcher & amore125). [/quote]

Redman, if you do a search on my user name "researcher", you will see that i am just a homeowner. And as for as RBA gos, i just feel it that it gets attacked every time it is mentioned here on this forum. There are other forums in which this is not the case.

In the heat of the desert, i would go with fiberglass or Fidrex.

FenEx
Posts: 353
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 3:43 pm
Location: Illinois

Reply

#11 Post by FenEx »

Researcher, "And as for as RBA gos, i just feel it that it gets attacked every time it is mentioned here on this forum. There are other forums in which this is not the case."

I agree, that is not fair. Please list the addresses to the other forums so we may show consistancy and educate them as well. I'd be happy to go toe to toe with ANY others in the industry showing what products, technologies and building science methods work the best and why... facts only. I applaud your concerns about the information being given on those other forums and I am willing to help and I am certain other professionals here will as well.

Please list the forums so that everyone is given the same sources of information and allowed to choose for themselves. If the Admin does not wish this to be presented here, please feel free to email me.

Thanks.

researcher
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:11 am

#12 Post by researcher »

The fact is, there is no end all window. There are strong points and weak points of every window made, and RBA has a unique combination of good points, (that to my knowledge), no other window can offer, and the same can be said for some other windows. So it all falls into the hands of what the window shoppers wants are, and RBA may or may not fulfill what the window shopper is looking for. All things considered, (and there are many), RBA may or may not be best suited for that particular shopper.

FenEx
Posts: 353
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 3:43 pm
Location: Illinois

Reply

#13 Post by FenEx »

I have already agreed to that.

So what are the other forums that you mentioned? Do those consumers not deserve the same right to information that you have been granted here? They can decide for themselves... and make a much better decision when given "all" the facts. You "state" that you, like many of us believe that it's important for consumers to see all sides. Prove it.

If you don't think that I can find virtually every window discussion board on my own, you are sadly mistaken... but I'd like to see if your interests to "help" consumers is sincere and target those sites that you feel have "more" facts than this site provides. What do you have to lose... considering you are only a homeowner that has already purchased product... it's certainly wouldn't hurt your sales numbers.

If you want to help consumers.. give them all the facts... not just those that help you feel good. Many of the articles I have had written about my efforts even discourage the purchase of windows at all without addressing other priorities first or at the same time. Can you say the same?

Just once.. stand up and face this instead of drooling soft replies of how "This" site picks on your choice. Name the other sites... when given the facts... they will see the differences too. You made your choice... allow others to make theirs with "all" the knowledge available.


Rebman

You can do much better than RBA in any climate. As Randy described previously... this has little to do with your question and more to do with combatting name recognition purchasing which plagues the industry. You aren't buying a familiar sticker... you are buying a window. What kills me about RBA is they spend half of their presentations attacking the "Mother" company, Andersen's use of vinyl to protect the high-end products.

Look at all available products, performance numbers, quality and price... ignore the sticker as it will be removed upon install. If you do this, I can professionally assure you that you will select a better value for your home. If you want to display a sticker, Pella, Andersen and Sears are the most popular choices and you can probably download the logos online and print them on adhesive paper. You can then put these on your windows to let the neighbors know you went with the flow.

Fenex

researcher
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:11 am

#14 Post by researcher »

[quote]I have already agreed to that.[/quote]

Good...So you see, window A, B, C, or G may be best suited for a particular shoppers wants. Window A can offer you etc, etc, where window B cannot and window B can offer you etc., etc., where window A cannot. And what is most important to one shopper may differ from the other.

FenEx
Posts: 353
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 3:43 pm
Location: Illinois

Reply

#15 Post by FenEx »

You are a clown and a fraud... which is why I deleted my post above. One of these days I'll learn not to waste my time. Perhaps today is that day.

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