virgin vinyl vs recycled vinyl

I have been looking at hurricane impact glass windows. I had it narrowed down to the Simonton StormBreaker Plus or Alside Coastal Impact, until I was as Home Depot today and saw the American Craftsman by Andersen, only to learn that they are mfrd out of recycled vinyl. Is that reason enough to stear clear of the AC's?

 

As I understand it, a lot of window companies claim to sell windows made of virgin vinyl, but much of this "virgin vinyl" can actually contain a percentage of reground vinyl.

In all truthfulness, reground vinyl has certain benefits. Adding reground vinyl to virgin vinyl gives the mixture unique properties. In most cases, it is more rigid, and less flexible, which can be beneficial on certain parts of a window that NEED to be stiff. Reground vinyl in high percentages can also be brittle, so companies are usually careful about how much of a percentage they incorporate into their mix, and where they use it.

While I have no opinion regarding any of the brands you mentioned, I wouldn't buy into the whole "virgin vinyl" sales pitch, because in most cases, its just one company trying to call another company's products into question so as to elevate their own.

 

XSleeper,

Thanks for your answer. Don't most of the high end window mfrs use virgin vinyl, so could one make the leap that it's a better product?

 

Reground vinyl is certainly a way of saving money. So, your conclusion may be correct, but almost all companies use vinyl that has a percentage of reground in it... certain accessory parts, for example.

I guess my point is that I don't believe everything that window salesmen tell me. They like to make their windows sound better than everyone else's which leads to misleading statements and comparisons. Sure, their frames may be made out of all virgin vinyl, but what about the glazing stops that hold the glass in? Can you be sure that isn't one of the accessories that they outsource and have made from a percentage of reground? The truth is usually a closely guarded commercial secret.

I've compared and installed many different brands of windows, and I have never cared about the amounts of virgin or reground vinyl. There are other features that are much more critical.

If I recall, one of our members, JustBill, is familiar with the American Craftsman window. Maybe he can answer questions about it's quality.