[laurie]

We are going to be installing:

1)a new window in the master bedroom

2) replacement patio door for an 8' opening

* The overhang of the future peninsula of our kitchen will butt right up to the trim of this door. Should we get:

a) Four 24" french doors with the two in the center operable. Would leave 24 inches of space from the overhang to where the doors open.

b)get a new slider (our present one is old and hard to open).

** Don't really care for sliders because of the track and I think the french doors would look better. But dh thinks that it would get old opening two center doors all the time to get out. We thought it would look funny on the rear of the home to have two center 36" doors with 1 ft. sidelites on the side.When you enter our front doors, you see straight through to where the patio door is at the back so I want it to look good. What are your thoughts?

3) Has anyone purchased windows recently and how do you like them? What brands? We are looking at vinyl windows.

I've been looking at a forum trying to get info. about different brands. I went to HD and Lowes and wasn't all that excited about the Andersen or the Pella.

The forum I've been looking at highly recommends Schuco. I had never heard of them and can't find a dealer in Missouri. I think they're mostly east of the Mississippi. (Hey, I'm just across the bridge!!!!!:X).

Any suggestions or comments? We need to decide very soon and order.

Thanks bunches!!

Laurie

[gwen]

Laurie,

We just put in 24 newVinyl windows in our home earlier this year.The 20 year old windows we replaced wereAluminum which had all had seal failures and manywouldn't even open.

After a TON of research, we went with Window World which is a national company with locally owned offices in most major cities. They combined the four important qualities that we wanted: 1) Product Quality, 2) Competitive Pricing, 3) Good Record/National Reputation, and 4) Personal Service.

The windows we chose were the 6000 series. A little less glass shows because of the thicker frame but we felt the construction was far superior. The cost difference between the 6000 and 4000 (their standard quoted model) was only around $20-40/window I believe. Window World came out to our home SIX times before we signed any contracts with them. We asked questions, questions, and more questions. We interviewed 6 local companies and Window World was not the lowest but next thing to it. FYI - the windows sold by Window World are also sold by Sears at an increased cost under a different brand name. If we had went with Sears, our cost for our 24 windows would have been at least double (Sears charges more for installation too).

Now the only hiccup in the whole window adventure for us was that it was supposed to be a 2-3 day process. It ended up taking 4 weeks! The catch was that they had to break out each window because we have a TX Limestone house and the frames were nailed in unusually tight. So we had a lot of mess (picture broken glass everywhere and 3 children under the age of 7) that Window World tried to contain but it stillwas a challange.

Overall we feel good about our decision and feel confident about the extensive warranty they offer. Even if they go out of business (although they've been in operation here for decades), Window World national should be around to fufill any contractual obligations. I'd definitely give them a ring and check out your local Better Business Bureau for information on their record.

As for the patio door, I personally prefer french doors too. We have a similar situation on our bedroom door that leads out to the patio. Instead of both doors being moveable, only one opens. The other door is fixed in place. I believe you can get doors in an 8 ft size - maybe just special order?

Hope that helps,

G.

[laurie]

Thanks Gwen. I also forgot to mention that we need windows/doors that will be appropriate for our climate also. We have the extreme heat (95F to 105F) and also the extreme cold (10F to -10F). I understand that will make a difference in the windows we purchase.It could have been that the Andersen and Pella we saw at HD and Lowes were not the only type available in those brands. It's just that I thought what they did have didn't seemas high quality for the price. I'm sure there are great windows out there that aren't quote "well-known brands" that are high quality. With us purchasing vinyl, I don't want it to look cheap; so appearance is very important along with quality.

I'll be sure to check them out. Thanks for the info.

Laurie

[gwen]

Laurie,

Definitely keep an eye for quality because there is a wide variance on windows. Ours definitely aren't Pella or Andersen but thenI think part of the huge cost ishaving to work their advertising budget into the cost of every window.

Being in TX we don't have quite the temp shifts that you do in St. Louis but just having moved from KC, KS and installing vinyl there too, I can tell you that most vinyl products will serve you well.

Check out the Replacment Windows discussion board:

http://www.replacement-windows.com//...7ee92540ebc7fd

The link is to a thread that talks about Window World and the windows they carry. It mentions the Alside windows that are exactly the same but just carry a different retailers sticker.

G.

P.S. We've had nothing but compliments on our beautiful windows. We went with the center grids (kept with the style of our house) and the windows are very substantial and good looking (for windows). :? I love the fact that both panes tilt in for easy cleaning . . . no climbing ladders to dowindow cleanings!

[chabuchie]

I've been window shopping as well lately, and I've heard good things about Peachtree doors and windows. I also prefer French doors to sliders because I've never had a sliding door that slid smoothly after its first winter. If you get the French doors, one needn't be stationary. At the house my brother just bought, the entire front is french doors, and every one opens. In each pair there is one door that you bolt into the top and bottom though, so you're less likely to open it. Is that clear? As for whether you want the mullions, I think that depends on the look of the house. I prefer solid panes instead of mullions, plus if you go with solid panes, you can get the ones with blinds built in. I think I've talked my brother into holding off on replacing his french doors and windows until he can afford to get those, because a single 23 year old boy is not likely to dust his blinds, and with those he needn't ever.

[Ikeafreak]

We replaced 27 windows about 2 years ago. After lots of research, we chose Certainteed Bryn Mawr II with Low E glass and Argon Gas fill. They were a Consumer Reports best buy. Here's a perfect explanation of low e glass and argon gas, which IMO would beimportant for your varying climate: http://www.patriothome.com/LowEGlass.htm

In the addition, we used the Certainteed windows again, butthey didn't make entry doors that fit what we needed. So we got an Anderson sliding french patio door. Weoriginally wantedswinging french doors, but there wasn't sufficient room for the inswing in the family room. Here's a picture of the back, showing the new patio door and the windows. (There will be 3 mullioned windows above the door, but haven't been installed yet, hence the large gap covered with Tyvek at the top.)

[Shadowkat]

We just installed 22 Marvin windows. They are the low-e ones. Super energy efficient and perfect for our Minnesota weather.

[kate1234]

With French doors, think about the swing and whether it will hit either the counter or bar stools that are in front of the counter. One of the beauties of French doors is that you can open them all the way and leave them open and you might think about whether having it open 90 degrees or 180 degrees is what you want. Also beware fancy cut glass on the window panes. We had that once and it proved disconcerting to look out of since the view was distorted.

[laurie]

Thanks all for the input!! We have mullions on all of our windows, but this 8ft patio door goes out to a large three-season enclosed patio room and I don't think I want to put mullions on the new patio doors so I can see the view better out through the sunroom patio doors. But our new windows will have the mullions.

Does anyone know how well the blinds inside the glass hold-up? I'm so afraid they'll become inoperable (but loath the thought of vertical blinds like we have now!!!!).

So, if I had four 24" patio doors, out of each pair I could have one that opens, or I could have all four open?

I suppose we could just have them all be able to open, but only utilize the one farthest from the kitchen counter on a regular basis.

kate: What is fancy glass?

I'll be sure to check out the the window discussion forum and check into all your recommendations. Thanks everyonel!!

Laurie

[kate1234]

Our french doors had the standard mullions but within each little square of glass the edges were beveled about an inch in. I just tried to find a picture on the internet of something similar but was unsuccessful.