We are remodeling a family room at a lake cottage. It was done in late 70s dark paneling. Remove paneling peel off old paint and wallpaper add wainscoting and remove carpet to refinish hardwood floors. The walls will now be white but the old windows are a brown vinyl. I hate to go to so much trouble to update then have ugly windows. The trouble is they are decent windows. I don't have any leaks and they seem as good as any at keeping the heat out in the summer.
I looked into Window World replacement windows for $189 each installed. The price is right, but that's about it. They only replace the sashes, not the whole frame. I don't think that will really solve the problems. Plus there seem to be a lot of add ons that make the price significantly more (like measuring!)
The other option is to buy new windows at lowes and do them ourselves. We've installed a sliding glass door where none was before and did a pretty good job. The issue is the cost. If it were your house would you spend an extra $400+/- to replace 2 ugly windows? The whole budget will come in under $1000 (before windows). Would I be better off just decorating around them? The house is small and really want to make sure we don't put too much money into over improving the house. We're kind of getting close as it is.

 

This is your call, you're the one who will have to look at the old windows if you keep them.

Are the windows as old as the paneling? If so, I bet they're more inefficient than you think.

 

Like Mitch said, your call, but if you don't do it now, think about the expense of having to do it after all your sheetrock is finished, outside is finished, etc.

 

There are paints that work on vinyl.

 

IMO it would not be worth it to replace the windows on a vacation cottage. I like Bill's comment about vinyl-safe paint. And if they seem drafty, it might be that just removing the interior trim and re-insulating the perimeter of the window with some of the new window and door spray foams would help to tighten up any drafts coming around the window itself.

 

Don’t replace your old windows. You will never get your money back and you really won’t save energy. Not to mention that the design of new windows are very different from the old and will look very different on your house. There are certain things you need to watch out for. There is a good website explaining all this stuff. It’s against the rules to post it here. Hope you stumble upon it so you will get the info you need.

 

Welcome to the forums, ripguy. Good move on not posting the website. Not sure why you would advise against replacing windows. I don't think the OP is looking for a return on investment, but eye candy, instead. Newer windows possibly CAN save energy with the new gasses and coatings. I think the cost factor is the main thing against it. Painting the vinyl with a compatible paint would be a good idea for aesthetics.

 

On a vacation home/cottege, I would probably opt for refinishing the windows vs. replacing them.
If you are not using air conditioning during the summer (or continuous heating during the winter), the energy saved will likely never compensate the $$ spent on the windows.
Resale value of the cottege however could warrent the new windows.

 

Yea - I wish I could provide the info everyone would need to know, but it would take entirely too long to retype it. Just know the info is out there - too bad this forum's (and most forums like this) prohibit posting helpful information from websites - things like this have to remain a secret to the people that need/want to know. It's kind of absurd.

 

To the OP, what option did you go with?

Links to information is generally acceptable. It's the folks that come on here and promote their company or their specific product that makes linking to vendors a NO, NO.

If you have valuable information on a site, you can link it or even better, copy/paste the info into the post, crediting the site.

The key to being the smart guy (or girl) isn't knowing everything, but knowing where to find the information that makes you look smart.

Anyway, this is totally off topic.

 

Ripguy, check your PM folder.

 

I looked into a few of those "$189" windows. Yeah, not worth it. By the time you get the options you need it gets too expensive. I just bought faux wood blinds and covered them up most of the time. When they are open, it's not a big deal. Saved myself a few hundred dollars.

 

Can't fault your thought process

Thanks for the update