Window replacement

[JD]

As Ron said, the link you gave us goes to a new construction type frame with slotted nail fins on the sides of the frame. The picture at the web site does not show the fin but the specifications say nail fin. The "retro" frame is sometimes called a Stucco Frame. Ask the guy in the window dept for prices for the retro fins. Special order windows have gotten a lot cheaper over the years and in my area I get them for just slightly more than an "in stock" window. The built in exterior trim fin is easy to seal against the house and just slides in with no fuss to the rough opening, provided the framing is not water damaged.

I mostly install Milgard windows bu Pella are also excellent windows. Jeld-wen which usually runs a little cheaper and are also good vinyl windows. The are performance differences, but they are miniscule. When they show the charts showing one window more effective than another, they are only showing the very top of the chart, making the difference look huge.

[crackur]

http://www.lowes.com/pd_359366-1257-100 ... ent+window

http://www.lowes.com/pd_318881-1257-748 ... ent+window

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?par ... &cId=PDIO1

These are not the style of the others......but is this what you are talking about guys?



I'll have to try to get back up there soon and asked some questions.....

[JD]

There basically 3 types of vinyl windows, new construction with a nail fin, stucco fin with built in exterior trim and the ones you show which are replacement windows. Replacement windows have no fin at all and are designed to just fit and seal to the rough opening. Both the new construction and replacement windows require exterior trim, which is what I feel is the weak link. Usually the trim is just 1x3 or 1x4 white wood or pine that is to be painted. Water seems to be able to get behind this trim and eventually cause water damage. The wood can also split or warp allowing for water damage. The Stucco fin seals direct to your siding and being plastic and without seams, seals out the water better in my opinion. I have installed hundreds of them and never had a call back. They are by far the easiest to install and considering extra expense of trim and possible reframing of the wall, a custom sized stucco fin window, made to fit your actual rough openings will be your cheapest option, if you have to buy your materials.

On those old skinny walls that have the 2 3/4" wall studs, a standard vinyl window box might leave about 1/4" to 1/2" reveal at the sill, depending on what your siding and wall panels are.

[HouseMedic]

Correct JD, I think if I was doing it I would go for the new construction type for use in a mobile home. That way you know that you are getting it sealed correctly. If the outside of your home is vinyl then it should not be that bad of a job. Also if your home has 2x4s for the exterior walls along with exterior sheathing and interior drywall the correct window thickness would be 4 9/16".
If you have an older home with the metal siding then if everything else is sealed good I would use a replacement type.

Ron

[Greg]

New construction windows are no no trick with metal siding, Just make sure that you do not go with a smaller window. Same size or slightly larger. Depending on the age of the home chances are that the window frames are either rotted or starting to so they may need to be replaced also.

Greg

[crackur]

yeah that sounds like an easier option. If I get time today in between jobs I'll drop by lowes again and try to see the difference in the windows.

Its a Manufactured home ...1987 with vinyl siding.

[oldtimer]

Mines a 2000 with verticle aluminum siding !!!!

[Mark440]

I may be too late to this dance...but.....

I replaced all of my windows with special order vinyl, double pane, low e units from Home Depot. These were NOT the Pellas (American Craftsmen???), and there was no additional charge for sizing. All were "new work" with the nail fin. Window cost was ~$1400 for 11 windows.

Installation was a breeze. I used an overly generous amount of caulking - and they slid into place with zero problems. Still had to use shims - but that was expected.

The "hard" part was redoing the inside trim. Time consuming and tedious are the most politically correct words I can use in a public forum! Of course, there is always...PITA!

FWIW - I did get a quote to have it all done for me. Five thousand was the cheapest. With teh $3600 I saved doing it myself I was able to buy some really nice shop tools!

In the last two years - they have just about paid for themselves. My January bill had previously been in the $350 - $400 range. This year...the bill was $203. (All electric heat). Summers are not as drastic...but I still see $40 - $75 savings PER month as compared to the old single pane windows.

Bear in mind that I wouldn't say these new windows are incredibly good. There were plenty of models with better ratings. It is more that the old ones were incredibly bad.

[JD]

And there you go. Windows made to order for the existing rough framing at a very reasonable price. Why reframe if you don't have to?

>>It is more that the old ones were incredibly bad.

Yes, old oem aluminum windows are almost like screens. You can feel the air move around them when you get close. Any big name vinyl window will make a tremendous difference. Some vinyl windows are more efficient than others, but if you had a 12" graph of the differences, those differences would probably fall in the top one inch of the graph with the MH aluminum windows coming in at 3 or something like that. Non-science made up stuff, but I hope you get my point.