Anderson doors & windows

Jenise,

How do you like your new Anderson's? Over the summer I asked them to give me a quote on the bay/casements on the front of my living room and it was $6000.00. Before I make the purchase I would like to hear what you, or anyone else here, thinks of their quality. I've heard good things about their sliding doors, but again rather pricey.

Thanks

FWIW, we will put Anderson windows in our next house. Maybe in this one, if we decide to do more to it.

FWIW, we will put Anderson windows in our next house. Maybe in this one, if we decide to do more to it.

Thanks for the input, Robert! I'll start another thread so I don't hijack this great kitchen flooring thread.

[Jenise]

FWIW, we will put Anderson windows in our next house. Maybe in this one, if we decide to do more to it.

Thanks for the input, Robert! I'll start another thread so I don't hijack this great kitchen flooring thread.

Consider it done.

It's Andersen windows (I know, picky, picky). Andersen makes a quality product. A year ago we got new windows installed from Champion on recommendation of a neighbor and we're thrilled with them. They made a big difference in cutting down outside noise, and now the curtains don't blow when the wind blows.

We have Anderson windows throughout. Two have lost the vacuum between panes and gotten a little misty, one has cracked for unknown reasons, out of a total of about 30 casement panes. I recommend the plastic coated low maintenance variety.

FWIW, we will put Anderson windows in our next house. Maybe in this one, if we decide to do more to it.

Thanks for the input, Robert! I'll start another thread so I don't hijack this great kitchen flooring thread.

Consider it done.

Thanks!

It's Andersen windows (I know, picky, picky). Andersen makes a quality product. A year ago we got new windows installed from Champion on recommendation of a neighbor and we're thrilled with them. They made a big difference in cutting down outside noise, and now the curtains don't blow when the wind blows.

Thanks Larry. I will look into Champion as well. Is is amazing how many different brands are out there.

We have Anderson windows throughout. Two have lost the vacuum between panes and gotten a little misty, one has cracked for unknown reasons, out of a total of about 30 casement panes. I recommend the plastic coated low maintenance variety.

Alan,

How old are the windows? One of mine lost the vacuum and gets some condensation in between but I was told that can be fixed without having to replace the entire window.

[Jenise]

We have Anderson windows throughout. Two have lost the vacuum between panes and gotten a little misty, one has cracked for unknown reasons, out of a total of about 30 casement panes. I recommend the plastic coated low maintenance variety.

Alan,

How old are the windows? One of mine lost the vacuum and gets some condensation in between but I was told that can be fixed without having to replace the entire window.

True. And they are warranted for at least 10 years.

Dave - the windows are 24 years old this year. The glass and surrounding wooden frame can be easily replaced simply be removing the old glass & frame, adding hinge mounts and screwing the whole thing back into the outer frame. They are heavy so you will probably need some help unless the windows are small.

[Jenise]

Jenise,

How do you like your new Anderson's? Over the summer I asked them to give me a quote on the bay/casements on the front of my living room and it was $6000.00. Before I make the purchase I would like to hear what you, or anyone else here, thinks of their quality. I've heard good things about their sliding doors, but again rather pricey.

Thanks

I love them. I'll put up a picture of what I put in--three sliding glass doors of which two are nine footers and one's a 12 footer, plus a door-size non-opening fixed window adjacent to one of the 9's--11 panels altogether (you only see two of the sliders here, if I swivel my office chair 180 degrees, this is what I see, the third panel and extra window are immediately to my right). All wood inside, aluminum clad outside--I wanted them to look like furniture. My cost was about $19,000 for unfinished, uninstalled, low E, custom-made (my openings were shorter than standard by three inches and moving the headers would have been more expensive than custom doors, and they don't even make the four-door model I wanted for the 12 footer) AND extra money for a higher design pressure rated add-ons suitable for the gale-force winds we get here on south-facing waterfront. Our needs pretty much limited our choices to Andersen, Pella and Marvin. But Marvin and Pella wanted a fortune for the custom-sizing, almost double the cost, where Andersen only bumped us by about 40% so Andersen is what we bought.

I'll add that the contractor who has just finished a year of rebuilding the house next door to me, where they put in Pella, popped over (he'll be doing our upcoming remodel) and commented on our new doors. "Are those Andersen?" Yes. "Great choice. Best stuff made--Pella is supposed to be the Cadillac but if it were my house, I'd buy Andersen." For whatever that's worth.

This is going to be long-winded, but something to consider about cost is the guy who is giving you the quote. The window seller quoted me $10,000 to install the doors--and that didn't include staining/finishing the wood, a service they would not provide. That was just bare-nekkid. I initially hired them anyway thinking I didn't have a choice, but then I hired one of the best building contractors around who happened to have a lull between new homes to do it for me instead. His cost, including all the staining (every piece was stained, finished and assembled by an excellent finish carpenter) was around $7,000. Plus, and here was my biggest concern: the installation contractor would be dedicated to the welfare of my home, not the window company's profit margin, possibly a biggie since a 30 year old house, especially with our weather issues, was likely to have some problems underneath the old doors that would need remediation before the new doors were installed. I feared the window company would just cover it up and moved on. And in fact we did have problems: some weather related rot, but also it turns out that during manufacture Andersen did not install the DP rated hardware on the third and largest door. The DP difference isn't in the window panels themselves, it's not something you can see in an installed door--it's in the attached stuff--stiffeners in the frame and hurkier bottom rails. Without understanding what the difference was (this kind of upgrade would be common in Florida, but not here) my contractor noted there was one and had me call Andersen to find out why. Would the window installer, if he'd noticed the difference, even have stopped to ask when he had a new project to start next Monday? I tend to think not.

My doors look beautiful. I'm thrilled with the quality. I'm thrilled to be able to stand right next to the glass on a day like today and not feel cold air. Our heating bills will surely be a lot less this winter.

And there's more: Andersen cheerfully took complete responsibility--a coordinator at the manufacturing plant was assigned to handle my project so questions could be answered directly without going through the window contractor. He had us install the first set of doors, then built and sent new doors, and paid the cost of refinishing and change-out. They're a good company and they really stand behind their product. So the rest of my windows will be Andersen, no doubt. And I'll never have a window or door replaced by someone who isn't working directly for me. I would urge you to take the same path and get a new quote from your supplier: window/material only, and hire your own installer. You'll probably pay less, and you'll optimize your results.

Here's a glimpse of what we installed. What a change from that spindly old aluminum!

It's Andersen windows (I know, picky, picky). Andersen makes a quality product. A year ago we got new windows installed from Champion on recommendation of a neighbor and we're thrilled with them. They made a big difference in cutting down outside noise, and now the curtains don't blow when the wind blows.

Thanks Larry. I will look into Champion as well. Is is amazing how many different brands are out there.

There are several good brands out there. Our Champions have argon-filled windows and are coated with an infrared-reflecting layer. We also chose a taupe color and an upgraded trim package. The lifetime guarantee includes window breakage, seal failure and even screens. One of our friends had Champion windows, sliding door and dog door installed on our recommendation on his stucco house. It's amazing to watch them rip out windows and install them in only one day. Our only problem so far is that birds kept flying into one window creating some amazing dust silhouettes.

So, Jenise, are you spying on your neighbors?

Thanks for all of the details, Jenise. You certainly make a compelling argument for using an installer that is not associated with the window manufacturer. There is a flip side to that which I will have to consider as well. When Jody had replacement windows put on her house she had the manufacturer take the measurements and build the windows then hired a contractor to install them because she found that to be less expensive than having the manufacturer install the windows.

When the new windows arrived, there was a significant issue with the installation and the contractor pointed at the manufacturer stating it was their fault and of course the manufacturer pointed at the contractor insisting it was his fault. It wound up being one heck of a Mexican stand-off. It was finally resolved but the money saved was not worth the stress and frustration.

It is good to hear that you had a pleasant experience though. Things like that are less and less likely these days.

[Jenise]

Thanks for all of the details, Jenise. You certainly make a compelling argument for using an installer that is not associated with the window manufacturer. There is a flip side to that which I will have to consider as well. When Jody had replacement windows put on her house she had the manufacturer take the measurements and build the windows then hired a contractor to install them because she found that to be less expensive than having the manufacturer install the windows.

When the new windows arrived, there was a significant issue with the installation and the contractor pointed at the manufacturer stating it was their fault and of course the manufacturer pointed at the contractor insisting it was his fault. It wound up being one heck of a Mexican stand-off. It was finally resolved but the money saved was not worth the stress and frustration.

It is good to hear that you had a pleasant experience though. Things like that are less and less likely these days.

Well, I never dealt directly with the manufacturer. I dealt with a dealer, and I had the contractor who eventually did the installation confirm the measurements for what I ordered. I was covered no matter what.

Thanks for all of the details, Jenise. You certainly make a compelling argument for using an installer that is not associated with the window manufacturer. There is a flip side to that which I will have to consider as well. When Jody had replacement windows put on her house she had the manufacturer take the measurements and build the windows then hired a contractor to install them because she found that to be less expensive than having the manufacturer install the windows.

When the new windows arrived, there was a significant issue with the installation and the contractor pointed at the manufacturer stating it was their fault and of course the manufacturer pointed at the contractor insisting it was his fault. It wound up being one heck of a Mexican stand-off. It was finally resolved but the money saved was not worth the stress and frustration.

It is good to hear that you had a pleasant experience though. Things like that are less and less likely these days.

Well, I never dealt directly with the manufacturer. I dealt with a dealer, and I had the contractor who eventually did the installation confirm the measurements for what I ordered. I was covered no matter what.

Obviously you made the right decision. I was just mentioning another experience and factor to consider. I will follow your plan.

Thanks

[Jenise]

Obviously you made the right decision. I was just mentioning another experience and factor to consider. I will follow your plan.

Thanks

Jody's situation was certainly unfortunate. I guess I was lucky to have gone into this with a career in major project engineering and construction where sometimes the engineer/designer isn't the constructor. Any time you uncouple the chain between procurement and end result, you introduce risk. It's mitigatable, but it's easy to understand how a homeowner can get blindsided by an idiot contractor. Which is who one would blame without more details--he accepted the job and has the responsibility for making it work or identifying unfeasability at the get-go. Isn't home ownership fun?