I know i'm going to open up a bag of sh*t here, but...
we'll be building next spring (myself) and i wondered if i could get some opinions on the best (reasonable) entry doors/windows. I live in Upstate NY and we see 90deg in summer and 10deg in the winter. I built my existing house 9 yrs ago, and we have Pease homestead doors, which have been fine, and Schoolhouse (kasson/keller) windows which are complete junk. Since i've been out of residential for awhile i wondered what was good/garbage these days, thanks alot

 

I like fiberglass doors. they are easy to finish, don't rust, warp, or dent, and nearly as strong as steel without the heat problems for south facing doors. Thermatru or Masonite(formerly Stanley) would be my choices, but most brand names are quality doors.
For wood windows I like Andersen. IMHO, the best dollar value. Quality product that looks good, excellent warranty, and a company that stands behind their products. For vinyl, I like Certainteed, but I admit bias, I am a Certainteed installer. Again, a national company and excellent service/warranty. Always get Lo-E/argon(or other gas), well worth the money. Pella advertises a quality product and service, but experience with several of my customers contradict that.

 

i've heard about the Certainteed "Newcastle series". all good so far, just wonder how the price compares to others.

 

Don't buy things like windows on price alone. Those windows will be there for a long time, hopefully, so buy the best you can afford. Better windows will quickly pay for themselves in energy and maintenance savings. But New Castle series is not a high priced window, also not cheap. They are designed for new construction.

 

Some big brands are Pella & Andersen for doors and windows.

 

i agree and intend to buy the best i can afford, i actually have heard quite a few things that scare me about anderson and pella lately. people seem to say you just pay for a name now and the product sucks. Like Just Bill said, this will be new, doing it myself, be in there a long time, and after looking at these crap Schoolhouse windows for the last 9 yrs, i want to put in something decent, especially with our NY blizzards, my schoolhouse windows look great, like any other window, but are garbage, they all just seem to look too much alike. i appreciate the opinions

 

I have 22 yrs as a remodeler. I have used many name brand products. Hurd is probably the most efficient window you can buy, but at a hefty price. marvin is also very good but also pricey. I was a charter installer for Atrium many years ago and quickly stopped using them, poor product, poorer service. They seem to be back but don't know if they have improved. I have had too many problems that Pella would not help with, to recommend them, including rotted frames at 12 yrs. Andersen has given me free parts for windows out of warranty, and in my opinion is the best value for your window dollar.
Most home product companies are suffering right now with the housing boom over, but Andersen has been in this business longer than most.

 

Working almost exclusively in the window and door business, I've found that you will find problems with every name brand out there, Pella and Andersen included. Every company has their horror stories. That doesn't take anything away from the 1000's of happy customers both those companies enjoy.

At the same time, there are many other companies out there that make quality products that are comparable in quality, price, and service.

Pease, Peachtree, Eagle, Marvin, Hurd, Jeld-wen, Traco, Masonite, Therma-tru, and a few hundred others make decent products. It's really hard to recommend any product, it all depends what you are looking for. And there isn't any door that lasts forever.

Personally, I would never ever buy a vinyl door. I just don't like them.

 

For replacement windows, I don't think you can beat silverline (owned but not adulterated by Andersen). For new windows I would recommend Andersen. I say this because they are the only brand I know of, to date, that can actually increase the value of your home when you are looking to sell. For doors, I agree with previous posts, NO VINYL. I personally would prefer fiberglass although steel has it's benefits too. As far as I know, Therma-tru has the best reputation and hold a patent for the most realistic wood skins you will see on the market. Definitely not crazy about Feather River even though their products seem to be of a decent quality and I would rather live in a termite infested hut before suggesting Atrium to anyone.By the way, Jeld-Wen is fairly good but I think they are slow in response to general problems with their products and giving answers in a complete and prompt fashion. I hope this helps anyone that may be reading this.

 

I, unfortunately, disagree with JustBill on the argon gas issue. It creates a negligible difference in efficiency and often causes problems when moisture develops between the glass. This can also occur when the glass and the manufacturing are of poor quality. If you were going solely on the quality of the glass, I would suggest Andersen. They contract a company that deal solely in glass, thereby creating a superior product. Andersen focuses on what it does best and lets a glass manufacturer create consistently excellent Low-e glass. You can find a virtual smorgasbord of information on the websites of Andersen, Jeld-Wen, Therma-Tru. Just add the .com. But personally, I would never opt for the argon gas. I feel like it's a gimmick. But you will see a huge difference in efficiency if you choose low-e over clear insulated glass. As always, hope this helps any readers.

 

i seem to hear alot of people liking the anderson 200's, and other woods but i just fear that darn wood, especially since everything hear (upstate NY) takes such a beating, 10deg winter, 90deg summer. I built a beautiful deck, all screwed, etc, and in 2 years the boards warped so bad the screw heads were popping off, and the gaps between boards are huge. I am now looking to see who has really good vinyl that i can afford, just so i can compare to the ander 200's.

 

Hey the best deck is to take the 2x4's and install them on edge! Takes more lumber but the outcome is years of long use and no maintenance...

 

Vinyl scares me a lot more than wood in a situation with temp extremes. Vinyl moves a lot with the temp changes.

Recently, for doors, I've been using Perma-door. Good quality, reasonable price, and quite a few options. You can get either fiberglass or steel doors. They also have a stainable steel for a wood-like finish. There is also a "U-install" door assembly for retro-fits into existing standard wood jambs. Great for remodelling jobs. I remember liking the Peachtree doors about 20 yrs ago although I haven't used them in a long time.

On windows, they come and they go. We install what we're given. Marvin's always seem to work well. I have to mention Loewen also, maybe a little more costly (I'm not sure about that) but a beautiful product, both doors and windows, seem to be well constructed and install easily. I'm not a big fan of Anderson windows but that's just me talking. They seem to require a lot of carefull attention during installation. I've had trouble getting replacement glass on occasion too for units no longer in production. It seems production of at least the gas filled glass is proprietary and not within the capabilities of most local glass/window suppliers. That's not saying they're a bad window, just a personal gripe.

Steve