New homeowner in need of advice

We just purchased our first home about 7 months ago in eastern North Carolina and would like to replace the windows. A company salesperson came over last night and pitched their windows which seem to be the thing we might want to go with. We ended up with a quote of 8703.50 with a 50 year full warranty. We have 13 windows and most are 35 x 60 inches. The price includes installation. Oh yeah, and the windows are Gorell. This company guarantees that our energy bills will go down 40% after the window replacement.
My question is, with us having absolutely no experience with home improvement, I would like a few opinions on the quote and the quality of the windows versus other brands from say Home Depot or somewhere like that. I think putting them in ourselves would be over our head at this point.
ANy responses would be very appreciated!

 

First off let me say I am not a expert but I was in the same position. Here is what I found. If your old window sills are in good shape (basically all of the wood on the outside) than replacement windows from a home center are the way to go. I found than to be of the same quality as those being offered by window replacement companies. The value that most of those companies bring is in wrapping the outside exposed wood. I believe they use aluminum. If the wood is in good shape and you keep up on the maintenance this should not be required. I had the replacement process down to about 45 minutes per window. Just my opinion but it was deffinitely a do it yourself project

 

When you say "definately a do-it-yourself project", on a scale from 1-10 how difficult would it be? And, have you noticed a marked improvement on your energy bills? This is a big selling point for us with these windows, but was wondering if it would be the same with replacing windows with any type of windows, not just theirs. One more question: how can I tell if the window sills are in good condition or not?
I know these sales people were trying to do their job and sell us their product, so Itook what they said with a grain of salt. They did make a big deal about mass produced windows nto fitting well, etc. Apparently these are custom deals, not sure if there really is a big difference or not. How are your windows holding up so far and how long have you had them in?
Hearing 45 min per window is less time than I thought it would take for us to do it ourselves. Also, about how much did your project cost?
Sorry about all the questions, but it's a big investment!

 

Da Pearces,

The quote sounds about right to me, provided they were quoting you a replacement window, and were going to wrap the exterior wood (sill, brickmould, stops) with aluminum trim coil. We are also dealers for Gorell (made in Pennsylvania) and have been very pleased with Gorell's double hungs, which slide like they are on ball bearings. I do doubt the claim of 40% energy saving, however. I'd like to know how they stand behind this.

Whether or not you can do it yourself really depends on the style of windows you currently have. If your windows have an interior stop that can be removed to get out the old sashes, then yes- you probably could do it yourself, minus the wrapping. Keep in mind you could always wrap the windows later. But also keep in mind that most installers know what they are doing, you can call them back it there is trouble down the road... if you do it yourself and there is trouble later, you have no one to blame but yourself. It depends on what that's worth to you.

Some windows do not have a removable interior stop (it's behind the casing- or even worse, it can be part of the jamb moulding.) In this case, the exterior blind stops must be cut off with a reciprocating saw, the window is installed from the outside, and wrapping the window is a must. So it wouldn't be fair to say that its a do-it-yourself project in every case. It just depends.

By the way, if someone trys to sell you a vinyl replacement window for $199 installed, its usually a piece of #%$&. (heh heh) You get what you pay for.

My suggestion would be to ask for references and go look at some of the company's work. Pay special attention to the care they took with the interior trim, and also the quality of the wrap job. Find out if some of their other customers were happy, and if they cleaned up after themselves. Was the installation crew friendly? That's the best thing to do to ensure you will be happy in the end.

 

lets first make sure we are comparing apples to apples. I replace double hung wood windows with new double hung vinyl. If that is what you are doing than lets take a look at the process to determine if you are up to it. The first step is to determine if your windows are standard sizes. Take a look at the home centers and see if they have the proper size replacement window. If they do not you can custom order each window. Rather than detail the process of a custom order here you can pick up a how to document from the store where you will bu purchasing. (lumber yards are also a good source) My windows were standard and after installing and caulking they fit very nicely with no draft etc. A quick overview of the process is as follows. remove the old window to include sash, the stop, any track that the windows ride in. You should be left with a wood framed opening. The next step is to run a bead of caulk around the opening where the new window will make contact with the framed opening. place the window in the opening and shim to ensure that the window is plumb Secure the window with 4 screws where indicated push in insulation aroung the gap between the window and the frame. try to keep the insulation as fluffy? as possible as it loses insulating properties when compressed. replace inside stop and interior trim. All of these instructions are included with the window with pictures. As far as energy bills I do not have a number because I also replace a oil burner with a heat pump at the same time. I can say that the rooms certainely feel warmer and I also notice less outside noise. My windows have been installed for about 6 months. You can visually inspect the wood on the outside. If it is not rotten or decaying you should be good to go. Lot of info and I probably made it sound way more complicated than it is. Mabey you could pick 1 window and give it a try. If it goes well than tackle the rest. If not you are out 150.00 dollars. Hope this helps