Renewal by Andersen Window Replacement

Recently received quotes from several manufacturers that I would like to share with others out there who may be shopping, but would also greatly appreciate feedback from those of you who have some of these manufacturers windows installed in your home.. All the quotes include windows, installation and taking away the old windows.

We live in Colorado where we get extremes from hot to cold. We started by looking at Vinyl windows. Simonton is the manufacturer and Home Depot is the dealer that gave us the quote. The warranty is a lifetime (of the product) warranty on the install, seals, and glass breakage. In round numbers 35 windows for $25k.

We then looked at Pella Architect series windows. Wood exterior with aluminum cladding. Their warranty is 20-10-2 on glass, frames and install. They look great in the showroom, but not sure if a cladded wood product is the best for our environment or not - still debating... The quote for 35 windows was $33k

Lastly we talked with Renewal by Andersen. Fibrex material (60% wood,

40% PVC) seems at first to be a better choice of material for our climate, but my concern is it is so new. We actually went to a neighbors house who has had them installed for almost 2 years and they look great and have said that Andersen really took care of any issues (kid shot a bebe through a window - andersen replaced it). Renewals warranty is a "Asolutely, Positively, Worry-Free Performance Guarantee" where (and I'm quoting now) "Your windows are guaranteed to perform as well as the day they were installed for as long as they remain in your home." Trim is not covered. Hold on to your hat - 35 windows for $38k.

Now these are the quotes and I did not do any negotiating with any of them yet. What sayeth the people?? Sounds expensive to me regardless of material. The only way I can justify it is if I know that the Andersen windows will last twice as long as the Simonton Vinyl windows. Back east in Jersey I have seen vinyl hold up for 20 years but that is without the intense UV that Colorado has...

Any advice suggestions? Is Andersen really a marketing machine or do they truley make a better product?

-Bill

Consumer Reports has rated windows so check them out at the library.

I have Andersen vinyl clad windows in my house originally (not Renewal) and some cheap windows and sliding doors that were replaced with Pellas aluminum clad windows. Here in NC on the south side of the house the vinyl cladding of the Andersen has yellowed a bit and definitely gotten stiff. One sill was damaged in a construction accident and I ordered the vinyl trim parts from andersen and found doing a good job replacing them is just about impossible. On the other hand the Pella aluminum sliding doors seem better designed and one piece of trim was damaged during installation and Pella replaced the part and you can't tell.