Input appreciated on couple brands

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Delaware Mike
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#46 Post by Delaware Mike »

One thing the older platform series from Soft-Lite does have going for them is the fact that the general operation of the sashes and locks is very simplistic and smooth as silk. Some older customers of mine have not taken all that well to the Elements locks and tighter tolerances of the sashes.

Don't get me started with ABC Supply houses. The ones by me are horrible. If I sniffed glue and hung out with Keith Richards for ten years, I would still have too many functional brain cells to ever deal with them. That goes for Universal too.

toddinmn
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#47 Post by toddinmn »

The ABC/Norandex in Roseville MN. Are awesome . Starting with my Mitch, my salesman, then Troy who processes all my special request , and to the sales staff and drivers, I love them all.

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HomeSealed
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#48 Post by HomeSealed »

For the true , unapologetic craftsmen ....
https://www.goapr.com/news/2017/04/01/a ... t-systems/

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#49 Post by Windows on Washington »

HomeSealed wrote:For the true , unapologetic craftsmen ....
https://www.goapr.com/news/2017/04/01/a ... t-systems/
I am going to guess that was in line with yesterday's date?

Did anyone see this one? Bullet cams?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoGRlS53U_k&sns=em

Ran into my ABC at Lowes yesterday. They have always taken good care of us.

Happy Sunday boys and girls.

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HomeSealed
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#50 Post by HomeSealed »

toddinmn wrote:With ABC and Norandex dropping Softlite the Pro is not so easy to obtain .Softlite prices were never at a song even on the Pro series
Is that just in your area Todd, or company-wide? It seems like there are product availability differences from one market to the next. I believe Richards still carries the line around here. I think Allied may even have access.

On pricing, no doubt that they are not sold cheap at the supply house. They most certainly are sold for a song though by a lot of the pick up truck contractors that purchase them there.

eshenem
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#51 Post by eshenem »

Sorry, guys, back to the topic - well, the saga continues... :roll: I asked the dealer to hold the order after I inquired about permit. I was told permits are not necessary and while some cities do require permit, in my case, it didn't seem one was needed. That prompted me to call the county where I live and spoke with someone in building division. I was told permit is required for window / door replacement without any structural changes. Eventually, I found out the bedroom windows (all of them) would not meet egress requirement (5.7 sq ft). The person asked me if the dealer was registered with them I mentioned the company name and it doesn't seem like the company is registered with the county. I reached out to Sunrise Restorations dealer once again with configuration changes I made to allow for triple pane on every window and it sounds like it's possible. One downside is the particular glass package, while it has good performance numbers across the board, has less than ideal CR # which is 50. I'm hoping it is better than what I have - cheap dual pane with tint film applied. The new quote is slightly higher than Lotus but is within acceptable range. I may live with CR 50. I asked dealer if he pulls permit and he said yes and he's licensed in the county where we live. He's been in business for over 30 years.

I sent an email to Sunrise dealer about a different glass package that has better CR whether it's available in Colorado and if it is I hope it's not prohibitively expensive.

By the way, the Lotus dealer sent screenshots of the windows after they input the measurements it tells you the egress dimensions I was disappointed they didn't bother to point that out in the first place and I had to find out after I inquired about obtaining permit and eventually told that bedroom windows would not meet code. That's a huge red flag IMO.

Not sure you guys routinely pull permits or make sure bedroom windows meet current building codes?

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HomeSealed
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#52 Post by HomeSealed »

eshenem, I can't speak for other areas of the country (or sometimes by city), but around here we are not held accountable for meeting current code for window replacements. That only applies if the opening is altered, a new room constructed, or in some cases where the use of the room is changed. I suspect that this is pretty common, I wonder if maybe there was some miscommunication involved. These opening sizes are already established, and a replacement window installation generally changes that by very little. In this case for instance, depending on your current windows, you could actually be GAINING net egress area. That's the exception to be sure, but you get the point.

I do agree though, that you contractor should be licensed and pulling those permits where required. If they are not, that can be a red flag unless there is some special circumstance which does not seem to be the case here.

eshenem
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#53 Post by eshenem »

At least, the county where I live, they require permit for window / door replacement (http://www.douglas.co.us/land/building/ ... placement/) and since I wanted double hung windows instead of sliders and with Lotus (I guess thick frames) would not meet egress requirement (height is less than 24" at 23.5"). With Sunrise's thinner frames, two bedrooms, that includes master bedroom, would meet code but one bedroom's opening is not ideal for double hung and it has to be slider in order to meet code. I can live with that. I won't get into details as to why I want permit and inspection - when selling the house it can be an issue which has happened to my parents and some folks I know.

Anyway, the Sunrise dealer got back to me with answers (which was pretty quick). He said the different glass package would cost the same but has slightly higher u-factor.

Your thoughts on two glass packages both are triple pane without argon gas:

U-factor .23, SHGC .22, VT .41, CR 50 (dealer recommends this for Colorado)

U-factor .25, SHGC .17, VT .36, CR 64

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HomeSealed
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#54 Post by HomeSealed »

I was not questioning the need for the permit, as much as the need for it to meet current code. The fact that you are changing configuration may be the sticking point here.

On the Sunrise glass, I think we mentioned this earlier in the thread, but the thing that I'd use as a deciding factor is whether or not you deal with condensation currently. If you do, I'd opt for the slightly downgraded u value and shgc to add 14 points of condensation resistance. If not, then you may very well be safe with that lower cr, and get a little better thermal performance and more light. Its not necessarily a situation where one is always right and one is always wrong, it is very dependent on circumstances.... I will say that given that the sghc and vt are not exactly high to start with on the "recommended" package, I'd lean toward the better CR and that is where the more profound difference lies between these options

eshenem
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#55 Post by eshenem »

The Sunrise rep contacted me directly recently - we had email conversation last year and the dealer apparently told rep about me. The rep offered another glass package which might work though the u-factor is .01 higher. It's triple pane.

U-factor .26, SHGC .22, VT .42, CR 63.

I wonder how does one measure CR on the existing window? I like lower u-factor...I think it's more likely I'll go with Sunrise Restorations. :shock: Now, it's a matter of picking glass package that I think would work best.

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HomeSealed
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#56 Post by HomeSealed »

eshenem wrote:The Sunrise rep contacted me directly recently - we had email conversation last year and the dealer apparently told rep about me. The rep offered another glass package which might work though the u-factor is .01 higher. It's triple pane.

U-factor .26, SHGC .22, VT .42, CR 63.

I wonder how does one measure CR on the existing window? I like lower u-factor...I think it's more likely I'll go with Sunrise Restorations. :shock: Now, it's a matter of picking glass package that I think would work best.
That latest offering probably has the most attractive specs given the circumstances IMO. I'm speculating though based on my loose knowledge of your climate. You could really get specific on what glass to put in which facing direction, etc., but overall, those are probably the better specs generally speaking

mitvel
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Re: Input appreciated on couple brands

#57 Post by mitvel »

eshenem,
Can you please share what window/installer you choose and if you are happy with it?

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