new to windows in CA, Los Angeles

[jazz1]

Hi, I just found this site. My sister and I own a house and are looking to replace 12 windows and 2 sliding doors. The house was build in 1986. We feel very confused and lost. We had two guys come today, one from HomeDepot and another from Sears. Here is what we got:

HomeDepot:
can't do one window because of the weird size, he said it will be a bigger job, made for a contractor.
9 windows with Simonton Clear-Value, 2 casement (sp?) with Simonton 6200 Series, 2 sliding doors with Simonton 6200 Series, all for about $10,000. They claim 30 year warranty, with 60 years for the 6200 Series products.

Sears:
we can't even afford the cost with the sliding doors, that comes out to about $14,000.
9 WeatherBeater windows, 3 casement WeatherBeater windows, with 10 year warranty, one year labor. Just the windows for about $11,000.

I just read online some horrible reviews on HomeDepot and got scared. After their sales pitch I was all happy with HomeDepot and thought it will be with peace of mind because of the guarantee and they might be easily reached if there are problems. We are afraid of hiring general contractors because of the horror stories.

Can more experienced people out there give us some advice? Living in CA, near LA are there places/people you recommend we go with? I have some other compaines (GreenLiving, Planet Home Remodeling, Reliable Windows) also coming tomorrow. But, I feel like they will just tell us stuff and we will stay just as confused!

Please help!

[jeff1995]

I am in the Los Angeles area. In my opinion you should start by forgetting the HD and Sears sales pitch. The other names you listed are not really familiar. As a start, for every company that you do business with you should require: Make and model, what type of glass ie. Low-e2 or Low-e3 as you have done already. Simonton is not sold by Sears, per my rep., but at the Orange store. Sears is probably using the Alside product. Simonton is good (on the West coast) be careful of the Alside product, not well regarded by true professionals. Other companies I would consider are Superior Ultima, Milgard Tuscany, Simonton 7200 / 7300 series. What ever you might choose, just post again here, and someone will give a professional opinion. As for installation contractors you could search Yelp, Angies list, ect. and maybe BBB. Go to the state web site for licensed contractors and search by name or company. BTW what part of L.A. are you in ?

[Window4U (IL)]

+1 Good advice Jeff.

[jazz1]

Thanks for the advice, Jeff. We have a couple of contractors coming tomorrow. They had good ratings on yelp. I live about 40 min from LA actually.

[jeff1995]

just post up the window specs for some advice.

[jazz1]

thanks, jeff! so here is what we got. plygem windows with these specs, all seem to similar to these, these are single hung. there are also 2 sliding windows with one lock only though. please see sliding door specs below.

Product Pro Series 200 Single Hung
Overall Dimensions - Frame: 39 1/2 X 56 1/2, Rough Opening: 40 X 57
Dimensions Frame Size 39.5 X 56.5, Even Spli.t
Color Exterior = White
Glass Unit 1: Glass Package = HP-SC, Double Glazed, Argon, WE+, 3mm
Upgrade
Unit 1 Lower, 1 Upper: Annealed, Low-E Glazing = LowE-SC,
Low-E/Clear, Exterior 1/8, Interior 1/8
Hardware - CamLock, 2 Locks per Unit, Secondary Sash Stop = Yes, Weep
Hole Baffle = Yes
Screen - Standard Screen -, Charcoal Fiberglass, Installed
Frame Options - Nailing Fin = Dual Wall Flush Fin
Overall Performance No Thermal Requirement, U-Factor = 0.29, SHGC =
0.22, VLT = 0.43

here is what we have for the sliding doors:

Product Pro Series 960S Standard Two Panel Sliding Door
Overall Dimensions - Frame: 71 1/2 X 79 1/2, Rough Opening: 72 X 80
Dimensions Call Size 6-0 6-8, Frame Size 71.5 X 79.5
Color Exterior = White
Unit Type XO
Glass Unit 1: Glass Package = HP-SC, Double Glazed, Argon, WE+, 3mm
Upgrade
Unit 1 Left, 1 Right: Tempered, Low-E Glazing = LowE-SC, Low-E/Clear,
Exterior 1/8, Interior 1/8
Hardware - Exterior Handle Color = White, Interior Handle Color = White,
2-Point Lock, Not Keyed, Head Bolt = No, Patio Door Rollers = Stainless
Steel Rollers
Screen - Standard Screen -, Installed
Frame Options - Nailing Fin = Dual Wall Flush Fin
Jamb Extension No Extension Jamb
Overall Performance No Thermal Requirement, U-Factor = 0.29, SHGC =
0.23, VLT = 0.42, STC Rating = 28, STC Level = 1


the estimate seems to be the best so far,aside from HOMEDEPOT, which we decided not to go with. they provide double lifetime warranty and single lifetime for the labor and accidental breakage as well. one thing he put there was something about $100 for the time to pull the permits and also the cost of pulling the permist is not included. how much does that usually cost? other companies said all of that was included in their estimates.
also, HOMEDEPOT and SEARS warned us about E-gress codes for 2 of the bedrooms and required casement windows, none of thse other guys are mentioning it. should we worry about that?

thanks so much for your input, jeff!

[jeff1995]

Egress is VERY important here in CA. If your project is inspected by your city, and if at least 1 unit in each bedroom does not meet the 5.7 SF requirement of clear opening, someone is buying new products again. What city are you in ? Your city web site will have the egress requirements. The Ply-Gem is a good mid-grade product, made in Corona. The low-e offering is adequate. I like the cam lock option of 2 locks per window vs. the single auto locks. You now just need to vet your install company. Permit could be obtained by you or the contractor. Contractor will / should charge for the time and cost of permit. Firm up the egress questions, maybe in writing. Warranties by installers are only valid as long as the install company remains in business.

[HomeSealed]

Jeff, what product is Plygem using out there? They primarily use the Great lakes line in the Midwest and East coast, but I've never gotten a definitive answer on the West coast offering.

[jeff1995]

In S. California, Great Lakes is not offered. Ply-Gem bought the old CertainTeed window line years ago. IMO it is a good mid range window, but I live in the land of sliding windows and weep hole covers.

[jazz1]

thanks, jeff! i found another place! this window project is consuming my days and nights. this place offers a bunch of options, milgard tuscany, pella, plygem, anlin, etc. i wrote the measurements and number of windows we need and walked into this showroom to see how much the windows would cost. so the guy tells me they have a promotion and if i buy at least 4 windows the installation is free. turns out the cost he gives me is about the same the other guys do with the installation, so no free installation there! it's amazing how none of these guys bring up egress codes unless you do! i went to the city website and figred at last 2 of our windows for sure will have to be casement. the third one is confusing, 45 by 46. all the calculations done by me imply it's fine. but, one guy who came today was subracting an additional 3 1/4 for the egress rules. don't know why...
as for the permit, we called the city permit place and they recommended the installers pull the permit, that way if anything goes wrong they are responsible for it??? ok, whatever that means, but, we'll make sure the installers pull it. we also learned that after everything gets installed the city comes and inspects everything. so i don't know what their plans were when most of these guys were totally ignoring the egress code?!
so i'm leaning towards the plygem 200 series and going with this "american vision windows" place i found. they have a lot of reviews and good ones. they've been around for about 10 years. the other guys we are considering are "borthers home improvement", they've been around for 18 years, but have fewer reviews out there. they use only anlin windows that are specifically made for their company.

any thoughts?

[jeff1995]

Your 45 inch or so window will NOT meet egress, to narrow. I have not heard anything bad of Anlin, and understand it to be a solid product. Ply-Gem 200 series will serve you well, IMO. Anlin will make you a window that will meet egress for the 45 inch, so you might check them out. This is some sort of tilt turn unit. As a side note, very glad you found out what 'free' might mean.

[jazz1]

thanks, jeff! so we're close to going with plygem, just because it's cheaper and will probably suffice for our weather conditions here, and you said it's fine. i'll have to get something in writing for that 45 in window from them to see how they will handle that one.
one last thing that came up: so they have a promotion with plygem and they will give us triple pane windows for the same cost. now we haven't done any research on them, but the guy claims they are better because each piece has the low-e coating and there is double the argon in btw the 3 pieces. we're leaning towards just sticking to the dual panel, what do you think?

[HomeSealed]

There is really no reason not to go with triple pane, it is not a gimmick. It will provide you a better U-value and probably a better shgc for your region as well. It does not make as much a difference for you an LA as it would for someone in a colder climate, but it is still an improvement, so go for it if it is free.

[jeff1995]

I agree, free is free and will be better at energy savings.

[jazz1]

So we finally went with Anlin. Well, we still have to hear from the company regarding the final measurements, they were supposed to call by today and they didn't. After all we've been through I won't feel like it's all set and done until the windows are actually here! For the 12 windows and 2 patio doors we got the anlin catalina series, coronado for the casements and patio doors for $8000 out the door. I feel like we got a pretty good deal considering the 15k we started with with Sears for some no-name windows. We drove the poor salesguy nuts! Let's hope it actually goes through and in 4 to 6 weeks we'll have everything new!
Thanks for all your help and advice!