Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

For all those Replacement Window decisions - just read, review or post a question. You will be helped!
Message
Author
rummonkey
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 1:21 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#16 Post by rummonkey »

masterext wrote:Thats interesting. You wont find much support for alside.
The earthwise 143 is a window made by slocomb which is decent .
It definitely could be a Slocomb window, but they also have a manufacturing plant in Baldwin, GA. The plants in Baldwin, GA; Slocomb in PA and the plant in Fort Myers all fulfill for Georgia...at least according to their website.

The plant in GA is known as Lindsay South. Lindsay Window and Door also have manufacturing plants in North Aurora, Illinois; North Manato, MN; Union, MO and Lakewood, WA according to Earthwise Group's website.

User avatar
HomeSealed
Posts: 2749
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:14 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, Northern IL
Contact:

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#17 Post by HomeSealed »

rummonkey wrote:
masterext wrote:Thats interesting. You wont find much support for alside.
The earthwise 143 is a window made by slocomb which is decent .
It definitely could be a Slocomb window, but they also have a manufacturing plant in Baldwin, GA. The plants in Baldwin, GA; Slocomb in PA and the plant in Fort Myers all fulfill for Georgia...at least according to their website.

The plant in GA is known as Lindsay South. Lindsay Window and Door also have manufacturing plants in North Aurora, Illinois; North Manato, MN; Union, MO and Lakewood, WA according to Earthwise Group's website.
Have you asked the sales rep? If he/she is not forthcoming about who makes the window then I'd ask to speak to someone at their company that will be, otherwise move on. Also, ask for those performance ratings as suggested earlier. Much better to look at that objective data then to choose based on anecdotal recommendations.

rummonkey
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 1:21 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#18 Post by rummonkey »

HomeSealed wrote:
rummonkey wrote:
masterext wrote:Thats interesting. You wont find much support for alside.
The earthwise 143 is a window made by slocomb which is decent .
It definitely could be a Slocomb window, but they also have a manufacturing plant in Baldwin, GA. The plants in Baldwin, GA; Slocomb in PA and the plant in Fort Myers all fulfill for Georgia...at least according to their website.

The plant in GA is known as Lindsay South. Lindsay Window and Door also have manufacturing plants in North Aurora, Illinois; North Manato, MN; Union, MO and Lakewood, WA according to Earthwise Group's website.
Have you asked the sales rep? If he/she is not forthcoming about who makes the window then I'd ask to speak to someone at their company that will be, otherwise move on. Also, ask for those performance ratings as suggested earlier. Much better to look at that objective data then to choose based on anecdotal recommendations.

I haven't followed up with the sales rep on this one yet, simply because the Earthwise was offered through Americas Best Choice. The reviews for their installers down here are pretty mixed. I don't have any interest in potentially having to deal with multiple follow up visits to get the project fixed, should it be done incorrectly the first time. I'm working to get quotes from a couple more companies. I've done some more research and found a smaller family owned outfit that has been in business for many years that installs Soft-Lite's as well as an Okna dealer. I'm working to get quotes from them. Also, just for the fun of it, I have reached out to Polaris Windows to find out if they have anyone here in the Atlanta area selling the Ultraweld as that seems to be a decent window for the money. I'll report back with what I come up with.

User avatar
HomeSealed
Posts: 2749
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:14 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, Northern IL
Contact:

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#19 Post by HomeSealed »

If your new "3 quotes" can be Okna, Softlite, and Polaris UW, you will have yourself in a can't lose situation at least as far as product quality is concerned.

rummonkey
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 1:21 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#20 Post by rummonkey »

Hey all,
While I'm working on getting more quotes I have question for some of you pro's in regards to the situation in my master bath. Everyone that has come out to give me a quote has given me different advise...I'd like to see what the consensus here is.

Currently I have a large picture window...48x48. It is above the garden tub, so it must be tempered glass per code. Company A told me he would switch it to a single double hung, that would be his preference. Company B told me a slider would be what he would advise. Company C favored leaving it as a picture window. They all said they would quote me for whatever I wanted...but given the size of the opening, is there a preference here? One large double hung seems as though it could be a pain down the road. I'm not real keen on sliders. The picture window is nice for the light, but being unable to open it is a pain sometimes.

Thoughts?


I have a highly rated SoftLite and OKNA dealer coming this week. I've reached out to Polaris for information on an Ultraweld dealer here in the Atlanta area. My contact at Universal Windows Direct emailed me last night and said that he got a call from Corporate saying that I wanted the Polaris windows. He said he would upgrade me to his Unishield Supreme (Alside Ultramaxx) for an additional $500. Which would make it about $12,000 total. Reading up on the Ultramaxx it seems that many of the complaints about the Mezzo transfer to the Ultramaxx. I'm waiting to see what they will quote me on the Ultrawelds.

User avatar
Delaware Mike
Posts: 947
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 1:32 pm
Location: Delaware, New Jersey, Philadephia Area

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#21 Post by Delaware Mike »

I would prefer a twin casement with privacy rain glass for that window.

rummonkey
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 1:21 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#22 Post by rummonkey »

Delaware Mike wrote:I would prefer a twin casement with privacy rain glass for that window.
Option #4 Thanks Delaware Mike. I just looked at that window style and agree that may be the best way to go.

User avatar
HomeSealed
Posts: 2749
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:14 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, Northern IL
Contact:

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#23 Post by HomeSealed »

I see a trend of more expensive window configs being offered, so I will suggest quad awnings, lol...
Honestly though, the configuration is 100% your call. A DH would be cheapest because it is likely that only the lower sash would need tempering, which is priced per sq ft. You should definitely consider how you will use it though as well, along with the other window configs in the home. If you have a home full of casements, I'd strongly agree with Mike. Twin casement is ideal if you ever plan to open it. If you have a bunch of dh's or sliders, it may look a little out of place, so a dh or sl would be better aesthetically in that case.

rummonkey
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 1:21 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#24 Post by rummonkey »

HomeSealed wrote:I see a trend of more expensive window configs being offered, so I will suggest quad awnings, lol...
Honestly though, the configuration is 100% your call. A DH would be cheapest because it is likely that only the lower sash would need tempering, which is priced per sq ft. You should definitely consider how you will use it though as well, along with the other window configs in the home. If you have a home full of casements, I'd strongly agree with Mike. Twin casement is ideal if you ever plan to open it. If you have a bunch of dh's or sliders, it may look a little out of place, so a dh or sl would be better aesthetically in that case.

The rest of the home is all double hung. Is there any worry about a double hung of this size being an issue down the road? Due to size and potentially weight is it harder on the balance system over time?

User avatar
HomeSealed
Posts: 2749
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:14 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, Northern IL
Contact:

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#25 Post by HomeSealed »

Not in my experience. The balances are sized according to the weight of the sash panels (ie: window size, double or triple pane, etc). In a 48 x 48 square opening, a horizontal slider would be more conventional aesthetically, but again, I don't think a double hung would look too out of place... Being that the rest of the home is DH/SL, my own opinion would be to not go with a casement there. To provide the most "drama" to the space I think the current PW would deliver that. Make sure its something that you are actually going to use if you go away from that.

TheWindowNerd
Posts: 1893
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:52 pm
Location: SE PA & NJ; CT
Contact:

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#26 Post by TheWindowNerd »

Brandon: A DH would be cheapest because it is likely that only the lower sash would need tempering, which is priced per sq ft.
Why wouldn't the top sash need to be tempered?
48 x 48 in a high performance window like the 800 DX will be fine.

User avatar
HomeSealed
Posts: 2749
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:14 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, Northern IL
Contact:

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#27 Post by HomeSealed »

TheWindowNerd wrote:Brandon: A DH would be cheapest because it is likely that only the lower sash would need tempering, which is priced per sq ft.
Why wouldn't the top sash need to be tempered?
48 x 48 in a high performance window like the 800 DX will be fine.
I find that the bottom edge of the upper sash glass typically measures over the 60" vertical height requirement from the walking surface in most bathrooms

rummonkey
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 1:21 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#28 Post by rummonkey »

The Okna/Soft-lite dealer was out yesterday and gave me a quick estimate.

Elements - $11,533
Bainbridge - $9,543
Okna 500(Insul-tec) - $10,034

The Elements are beautiful windows and that .01 CFM air infiltration is no surprise looking at the window. That being said, the frames are quite a bit thicker and with the way my house is I think the Bainbridge & Okna 500 would be better options. I would lose a little on the air infiltration as the Bainbridge is a .06 and Okna 500 is a .02, but I'd gain a little more light. We haven't made a final decision on exactly which product to go with, but I will definitely be going either with the Bainbridge or Okna 500.

User avatar
Windows on Washington
Posts: 4850
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:21 pm
Location: DC Metropolitan Area-Maryland/Virginia/DC
Contact:

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#29 Post by Windows on Washington »

If you want a comparable window to the Elements, ask the Okna dealer for a quote on the EnviroStar.

The 500 is better window than the Bainbridge. The separation between the Bainbridge and the 500 is greater than the separation between the 500 and the Elements if you ask me.

rummonkey
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 1:21 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Vista Panorama, Earthwise or Polaris Unishield?

#30 Post by rummonkey »

Another question for the pro's that have seen a ton of windows and designs.

I have 2 double hung windows with a picture window between them and a 1/2 round on top of the picture window all mulled. Right now everything has colonial grids, we are thinking about doing no grids in the replacement picture window...or maybe prairie grids in the new picture window? Opinions? Does anyone have any photos of something like this?

This is roughly what ours looks like, I found it on Google images.

Image

We are still trying to decide if we are going to do grids in all the windows or just grids on the front. The difference in the Okna 500 for all grids vs grids only on the front is only a $260 difference for us...so the $$ isn't really part of the equation.

Post Reply