Question about Alside windows colors

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johnnymac96
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2006 12:24 pm

Question about Alside windows colors

#1 Post by johnnymac96 »

Hello -

I am in Houston, Texas, and I had two salesmen over yesterday and both tried to sell me Alside Sheffield windows under different brand names ("Performance II" and "Comfort World 6000"). My wife wants 100% vinyl windows and from what I understand these are some of the best, depending on the quality of installation, of course.

Anyway, my question pertains to the available colors - the color of our brick and trim would clash violently with anything other than a brown or black framed window; unless we repainted the trim on our house white vinyl windows would stick out like a sore thumb.

The first guy told me that all they had available was either white or beige and that they had a "brown exterior veneer" as an option but that he didn't recommend purchasing it. I agreed, the sample he showed me looked pretty cheap.

The second guy told me that they offered a brown exterior option (with white or beige interior) but he didn't have a sample or a picture to show me and suggested that I try and go to their showroom to see a sample. I am going to try and do that next week, but the location and the hours are kind of tough with my schedule and I am curious right now.

The Alside website shows that they do indeed offer a window with a white interior and "american brown" exterior, but there are no pictures and I am suspicious that Salesman #2's brown exterior is actually just the same old veneer that the first guy showed me.

Has anyone on this board seen the brown exterior Alside windows? Is is a homogenous brown color all the way through the exterior frame or is it just a veneer?

I am also going to get a quote from the Pella Store. I know they will ultimately be more expensive, but that may be my only option if I want to get a darker color vinyl window.

Thanks in advance -

randy
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Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:27 am
Location: Houston, TX
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Alside colors

#2 Post by randy »

The dark brown is a veneer that is applied to the vinyl window frame. Although Alside seems confident in the product, most professionals on this board are skeptical of it's ability to withstand the power of the sun over several years.

Alside also offers a white interior with a beige exterior. They accomplish this by taking a beige window and putting a white veneer over the interior. This looks far better than the dark brown exterior veneer, in my opinion.

Fiberglass windows, while more expensive than vinyl, offer the option of two tone frames and dark exteriors. The main drawbacks of fiberglass are the cost and the inability to make round shapes.

Since you are looking for a dark brown or bronze window, I would recommend that you consider the Don Young line of thermally broken aluminum windows. I have sold and installed many of them here in Houston, and they perform very well. They also cost a lot less than Pella windows, and come with a better warranty.

Good luck to you.

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