I purchased a home in Southeast Michigan that is six years old this past fall. After seeing a couple of months of cold weather I am learning that the new construction windows seem to be slightly less than good quality.
My question is can higher quality replacement windows be installed or will the old windows need to be removed and replaced which would involve sidiing work?
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, the windows are identified as 'CareFree' on the latches.

Thanks in advance.

 

Your windows seem to be "poor quality" as evidenced by this winter's cold weather. What exactly are you noticing? Air coming around the frame? Or around the sashes? Ice on the bottom edge of the glass? Moisture on the frame? They just feel cold?

Your windows likely have a nailing flange and are nailed to the exterior of the house. They could be removed, but you would have to remove the exterior window trim (if there is any) and if not, you'd have to remove the siding to remove the window. Then a different window could be installed. In order to insulate around those new windows, you would probably have to remove the interior trim and try to save it so that it can be reinstalled.

But depending on what you're experiencing, simply changing windows may not solve your problem.

 

Thanks for the reply. What I am seeing is cold air coming in mainly at the joint between the sashes but have a couple of windows that have condensation between the panes which to me indicates the seal is broken.

 

Moisture between the glass does indicate that the seal has failed, but glass can easily be replaced. Unless you got a transfer of warranty from the previous owner, you'll probably have to pay for the glass to be replaced. Any glass shop can do that for you.

As far as the cold air- if it's coming up the sides of the frame, and you are feeling it coming up the channel of the inner sash and coming out at the sides where the two sashes meet, that could be due to the window being out of square and not sealing properly when closed- OR- not having the windows locked.

If you open the sash and bring it 1/8" from being closed, you should be able to see light all the way across the bottom of the sash. That line of light should be straight. If there is a larger gap on one side than the other, the window is out of square and is not sealing tight against the bottom of the window when it's closed.

Occasionally, some window manufacturers have trouble with air channeling up the sides- this is sometimes fixed by applying a thin foam pad to the bottom of the sill so that the frame seals better down there when the window is closed.