Pella or Home Depot Windows

[Adrienne]

I want to get the windows in my house replaced - they leak so much I might as well be using sheets of plastic.

I got quotes from Pella (ProLine) and Home Depot (6500 series). I was surprised because the quotes weren't that different ($5400 for Pella and $4700 for Home Depot). I was very impressed with the home depot pitch and estimate - they seemed eager, almost desperate for my business. The Pella experience wasn't so great - they came out to my house to do the measurements and then asked me to come to the showroom, which is pretty far away and I don't really have time.

I do have my reservations about Home Depot because of my experience shopping in their stores, but I wonder if it might be better now.

Any thoughts on the difference in quality between these two types of windows? They seemed pretty comparable to me, but I don't know much. Both seem like high quality, efficient windows; I'm not really sure if I lean one way or the other. The one thing about Pella is it's such a good brand name I wonder if it might help to have Pella windows when I sell my house sometime down the line.

Thoughts? Advice?

[Lou]

Well Pella has (had??) the great rep. OTOH I would ask about guarantees. What happens if a window is not installed properly. The likely way a future buyer would know who's windows you used would be for you to push the issue. Also are they really HD brand windows?? Who makes them?

Lou

[Edwin Pawlowski]

My experience with Pella is very good. Before spending $5000, you can bet I'd go to the showroom. I don't trust Home Depot.

[Steve B]

Take your worst case scenario. Wrong sizes. Late delivery. Back orders. Wrong color.

Multiply it times ten.

You got Home Depot.

I barely go there for nuts and bolts any more.

Steve

[Sacramento Dave]

Pella makers a good window I thing there a little pricey but a good window. The only problem I see is going threw HD ( or Lowes, Expo) you are asking for trouble as mentioned Late delivery, wrong sizes, poor quality work. When I bought windows for house at HD it was a total nightmare some of the windows I had to send back 3 times wrong size, wrong glass , Late Ltae Late. just never again. If they do the install they make sure they get most there Money before there done so you have nothing to hold back. The contractors they use are just going threw them so you can imagine the buck passing when the problems develop. Also if you shop around you can probably get a better deal. I would find a good shop to work with, Pay with a credit card in case you have a problem you can put a stop payment on it. Your taking a real chance going threw HD definitely re-think that

[JoeSpareBedroom]

To get to the Pella showroom, how long is the actual driving time?

[mark.wolven]

At this point, I wouldn't trust HD with a big - maybe if I lived in a smaller rural area, but not here in the DC area, where I am.

HD just hires/contracts with practically anyone to their installations. I had a hard time with a carpet installation about 2 years ago - having a working knowledge saved me that day.

I recently redid 23 windows and large sliding patio door in my house. Get more than one quote. Visit the JD Power website for window reviews (I went with Simonton windows) or Consumer Reports. Than find a local contractor. Check that contractor with the local Better Business Bureau. Find someone with little or no complaints; remember most people don't lodge formal complaints. So, before something ends up at BBB, both parties have a chance to mitigate the problem. If a contractor has a bunch of complaints, don't use them.

Have you asked any of your neighbors? Friends? It sounds like you are in an older house, if your neighborhood was built all about the same time, some of your neighbors have already had their windows replaced.

I found a local contractor who came out to my house, provided a free written estimate, didn't push me and the best part, didn't ask for a dime until the end of the day of the installation. All the windows were the correct size and style. And they took away all of the old windows. By the way, it's 2 months later and I haven't had a single problem with any of the windows. You can bet I'll use him again and recommend him to friends.

[Steve Barker]

You'll get a GOOD window for about $300 installed.

[bambam]

Only because you're a cardinals fan.....

Pella is a window manufacturer and distributor ... high end stuff. Pricey, and proud of it.

Home Depot is a low to mid range retailer... manufacturers must meet price point targets ... or get taken off the shelves. Like Sears, Rona, Lowes, etc. etc., they offer installation and sub it out to contractors who meet their price point.

There are a lot of brands -- Ridgid, deWalt, even Bosch -- who have sacrificed quality to price to stay on the shelves at the chain stores.

I would expect it's the same with windows.

While there are exceptions -- a tilesetter I use also contracts from a retail chain ...he has raised his family on work gained through the chain ... and his work is excellent, way above average ... the general rule is that trades who need to kick back twenty or thirty percent to a chain to stay busy are not all that good.

Plainly put -- Pella is pricey and Home Depot (as are other chains) is suspect. Is there no third option nearby?

God Bless the Cards. and the Calgary Flames.

Ken

[Merryb]

Great timing on your question- I'm going to be going down the same road soon. What about Milgard?

[Gary Dyrkacz]

My experience is a bit one sided, but very positive. We had all our windows replaced with Pella replacements. We did go through their showroom office.

Pella doesn't install themselves. In our case we had two different installers because we split the task into two portions. Both installers did excellent jobs. Excellent job on the trimming and caulking. Everything went exactly as planned with no problems in eithe case. In both jobs, the sales/service rep came out a couple of times while the windows were being installed to make sure everything was going smoothly. In the latest install, the installer noted that several of the hooks for the internal blinds were missing. He contacted the sales rep, who came out the next day and dropped them off.

[aspasia]

I only had one minor window installation done by HD, and they were so sloppy that I will never use HD installation again for anything.

Ask around your friends, co-workers, etc. about their experience with Pella installers.

Anybody know if Pella does it themselves, or if they contract out installation?

[Art]

Pella makes great windows though ProLine may be a low grade for them. A few years ago they bought a vinyl window manufacturer and put the Pella name on it to sell thru loews cheap. I would imagine that they have the bugs out of it by now but initially it was not normal Pella quality.

Flashing is most important. Visit Pella's web site and down load installation instructions and put in your contract that they will follow those instructions.

[Eigenvector]

I just finished installing one of those off the shelf windows.

It wasn't high class by any definition, but certainly better than the aluminum single panes I had originally. I view the off the shelf Pella's at Lowes as a short term investment until I have sufficient money to have real windows installed. It has a screen, it moves nicely, it mounts sturdily, that's all I can ask for 130 bucks.

[Dean Hoffman]

Do you have any real lumber yards in the area? It might be worth your while to check the yellow pages and give some of those places a call. Some in my areas have their own carpenters to do the installation.

Dean