I am thinking of purchasing Gorell 3505 Cliimate Master double-hung replacement windows for my 1917 Rowhouse.
The salesman claims that the U-Value is 0.31 and the VT is 0.71. 0.71 seems awfully high for a window with a U-Value of 0.31. Could this be true?
He also claims that if I get armour glass on the widows it only lowers the VT to 0.68. This also seems to good to be true. Is it?
I tried to find these windows on the NFRC website, but I couldn't.
Thanks,
Andrew
Sorry, I meant Gorell 5305 windows.
Thanks again,
Andrew
All replacement windows are as good as the measuring and installation.
You may have some super value for the unit itself but what about the cracks and gaps caused by poor measuring, bad installation or really " out of square" window openings.
Salesmen sell. Smucks are sold. The intelligent buy what they need after proper research or experience.
On a positive not if there has not been any major settling you 1917 house may have more square opening than a lot of newer homes.
Colbyt
IMHO, I would not have vinyl windows. Again IMHO, cheap POSs. YMWV.
Are you talking only to window salesman, or to contractors and owners?
J
Having recently replaced wood windows with a high quality Alside vinyl windows, I might make the opposite statement, honestly.
As another data point, a property I'm looking to buy is in a neighborhood built in 1989, and nearly all the houses there have wood windows.... that are shot an in need of replacement.
The trouble with wood these days is that they really don't make it like they used to. The fast grow pine they use in many products absorbs moisture like there's no tomorrow, so you have be careful about cheap POS wood windows too.
In short, a broad brush generalization about window durability based solely on its material will miss the mark.
Best Regards,
-- Todd H.
Get the independant test results and call the lab that did the tests to verify them.
I don't know any contractors or other people in the same position, so I have been talking to salesmen and doing as much research as I can online.
Why not go to their web site and look for yourself? I know they post the U, not sure about the VT. And they also have a customer service number.
This is to inform home owners interested in purchasing replacement home windows about one couple's experience with a Northern Virginia firm, CONSUMER CONSTRUCTION, INC.
In June 1999, Consumer Construction, Inc., Woodbridge, VA 22191,
703-491-0745,Initially my wife Robin and I were generally pleased with the product, however one double-hung unit toally filmed over within three years on the inner (sealed) surfaces. Those surfaces cannot be cleaned.
We left several phone messages with Consumer Construction, Inc. (hereinafter called the "company') but received no response. In June
2004, we sent the company an e-mail mesage via its e-mail response line. A male from the company phoned and agreed to inspect the window, but never showed up.We subsequently contacted the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Greater Washington, D.C. (202-393-8000,
The company agreed to contact the manufacturer to obtain an on-site inspection, but a few weeks later, it was determined by the company that the manufacturer of Carefree brand windows had gone bankrupt and out of business. The company subsequently told us that it, therefore, would not replace at no cost any of the filmed windows, since the manufacturer was no longer in business. "I am at a dead end," we were told by the company manager, Mr. Mitchell.
We went back to the BBB with this information; the BBB agreed to try to arrange for arbitration of our case, but were met with silence on the matter. The case remains in an unresolved category.
To summarize my wife's and my position, we believe that, at a minimum, Consumer Construction, Inc. should be willing to replace at no cost the two windows that are completely filmed over, especially since the company's own inspector remarked, "You don't need blinds for these [filmed windows]."
Consumer Construction's position is unacceptable to us, as customers, and we believe it fails to meet standards of responsible business practice as well. Consumer Construction SOLD us windows that failed; THEY bear primary responsibility for resolving this case to our satisfaction. The company's position is like a food market telling a customer to go to the farmer who raised the steer from which a spoiled cut of meat was originally obtained!
(It would be interesting to know how many of the company's other customers have incurred problems such as ours.)
Ken Spalding Dale City, VA
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