Gorell, Seabrooke window, patio door quotes-decent deals or?

[bc51]

I've been following this board for a couple of years and picked up a lot of good useful information. Thanks to everyone who contributes.

We're looking at replacing windows this spring. We have five 35 1/2" x 53" and two 35 1/2" x 72" windows to replace. Looking at double-hung, full screens, two-color (white inside, gray outside), no grids, triple-pane glass, argon filled. We're in Lexington, KY.

We have quotes on Gorell Timeless and Great Lakes Seabrooke windows. From what I gather from this board, both should be good choices if properly installed.

Dealer 1 (Gorell Timeless)
35 1/2" x 53" @ $760/each
35 1/2" x 72" @ $816/each
Total $5432.00

Dealer 2 (Seabrooke)
35 1/2" x 53" @ $685.60/each
35 1/2" x 72" @ $772.53/each
Total $4973.00

Prices include installation, capping, insulation with expanding foam, carry away old windows, and cleanup.

My questions are: does this look like reasonable pricing for my area (Central KY) and is there a reason to prefer one over the other? My wife and I like the appearance of the Timeless Plus windows; the numbers are not quite as good (.25 U-factor vs. .21 [according to dealer] on the Seabrooke), but in our climate I'm not sure it will make that big a difference. The Seabrooke dealer made a big deal about the colors being extruded on his windows, as opposed to coated or painted on the Gorells and another brand he carries, Seaway. Does this make a big difference? I think the Gorells are guaranteed against peeling.

We are comfortable with both dealers; Dealer 2 uses only his own employees for installation (one is his brother); Dealer 1 uses own employees but supplements with contractors during peak months. Both are low pressure types and spent as much time as needed answering questions. Both are local companies: Dealer 1 has been in business 14 years; Dealer 2 about 20. I can't find any complaints about either on the BBB site or on Angie's List.

We're also looking at sliding patio doors. Dealer 1 quoted a Gorell 6100 door at $3500, and an Anderson Frenchwood 400 slider at about the same price. Dealer 2 has a Seabrooke patio door he's quoting @ $2300. All prices include installation. I can't find many reviews on these doors. Does anyone have any experience with these and offer any recommendations? Are the Gorell and Anderson worth the difference in price?

Finally, should we be concerned about Gorell's recent bankruptcy and the sale to Soft-lite? No one has a crystal ball, but what are the odds Soft-lite will have parts available 5-10 years from now if needed?

Any advice/comments will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[masterext]

I definitely prefer gorell timeless. Price is fine. as for gorells situation as of now; they were purchased by a larger company but i dont have enough inside knowledge to really comment on anything other than the product itself.

[HomeSealed]

You should check the ratings on the Seabrooke, I don't believe that the triple pane with argon gets a .21. It should be around .24-.25 unless he is quoting it with krypton (which is not a standard option). I'd rate both products as solid, not premium. They both leave a little something to be desired in terms of air leakage.
On the patio doors, the 6300 series from Gorell would be a better comparison. I don't like the 6000 series. Personally, I'd prefer the Great lakes (Seabrooke) version over either.
On the windows, I like the Gorell better. I've sold and installed both, and the Gorells just seem like they are put together better... What color are you referring to? Great Lakes does co-extrusions for brown and almond exteriors, but that's it. Generally the colored extrusion is preferred, but the paint coatings have come a long way in recent years.
On Gorell's status, there are some questions there as to how things are going to go, but Softlite is a very healthy company. As of today it is business as usual.
On price, with triple pane they sound reasonable. Softlite, HiMark, Okna, and Sunrise may all be available in the same range and would be an upgrade IMO.

[bc51]

Thanks Masterext and HomeSealed.

The Seabrooke windows use Maxuus 7.6 glass, Timeless is Energy Master III. The quotes for both show argon gas. We discussed krypton with both and ruled it out because it's so expensive. Colors are sandstone for the Seabrooke and greystone for the Timeless.

As far as the other brands, there was a dealer in Louisville who carried Softlite and sold in the Lexington market. However, it looks like they have dropped Softlite in favor of Seaway.

Okna has just become available with a dealer here, but it is another firm from Louisville area (southern Indiana across the river) who opened a location in Lexington last year. The BBB and Angie's list show quite a few complaints, some unresolved, and I did not get a good feeling visiting their local showroom.

Dealer 1 showed us a window from Vinyl Kraft that he has been installing for about a year. We were told they could do a triple pane with krypton gas and Superspacers for about $50/window less than the timeless. Seems a bit too good to be true and I can't find much info about them.

Thanks for the thoughts on the doors. We are looking at the Seabrooke door at the showroom tomorrow and will see what we think. It's possible, of course, to buy windows from Dealer 1 and a door from Dealer 2.

[HomeSealed]

Finding a good dealer that you are comfortable with is a critical step, so I wouldn't take a risk just because the product is good. I forgot that GL offers sandstone as well. The dealer is correct on the difference between painted and extruded.

[bc51]

After a visit to dealer 2's showroom, we're now looking at the Great Lakes Uniframe, which we like more than the Seabrooke. The prices quoted for Uniframe are:

smaller window: $820.30 (vs. $685 for Seabrooke)
larger window: $935.97 (vs. $772 for Seabrooke)
Total: $5973.44, or about $1,000 more.

The Great Lakes patio door looks really good and solid, so we're good with that decision. We like the wider stiles which gives it a French door look even though its a slider.

Unless I find other information soon, I'm eliminating the Gorell Timeless after seeing that Softlite is closing the plant and moving production to Ohio in the next 60-90 days. I would look at them again when things settle down if we don't go ahead with one of the Great Lakes windows. If all were well with Gorell, the Uniframe pricing would pretty much send me to Gorell.

Any thoughts on the Uniframe and the pricing? We're almost ready to go with this dealer-- but I'm starting to wonder what else I can find.

[masterext]

the UniFrame is pretty solid, more solid than seabrook.

[HomeSealed]

The deal is complete and Gorell's product lines are now sold by Softlite, which is a very healthy company. From what I've seen, there are some exciting new things in store for that line, including some upgrades that are long overdue. Any product purchased after Feb 14, 2012 is warrantied 100% by Softlite. Any product purchased prior to that will still be serviced, however there may or may not be some charges associated depending upon the status of the individual dealer.