|
| I am replacing 4 large double hungs in my family room. I have to do this quickly because we are putting hardiboard on the exterior in a few weeks. Chicago is in Energy Star 4 category. The windows are north/northwest and only get a glimmer of sun around sunset. This has been a miserably cold room. We are replacing 28 year old Andersons that were installed by the previous owner. We always have a space heater going during the winter. I want the lowest u factor I can find and I'm willing to pay for warm windows. I've looked at Marvin, Simonton Hurd and Jeldwen. I am considering the Marvin and a Simonton that has a wood look vinyl interior. I wanted wood but wood consider a vinyl alternative if it looks like wood. We have Anderson and Pella white vinyl in the rest of the house but I want wood in this room to go with the wooden vaulted ceiling.
These windows are 46 inches wide. Would triple pane make them too heavy/cumbersome to clean? Does the clean technology work? One rep told me that it's just Rain-X and it will come off with chemicals in Windex and other cleaners. If it works well this may be a deciding factor for me. Should I get 2 or 3 coats of Low-E? I understand it makes the room darker but also inhibits transmission of cold/hot
Should I have my general contractor install them when he puts the hardiboard in or should I go with the window company's installer? Are there any other recommendations or something I'm missing? Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by windowsonwashington (My Page) on Tue, Mar 29, 11 at 21:42
| Triple pane does not add that much weight to the overall window assembly and is certainly not an issue for a well engineered window. The trade off to triple pane is the fact that it will be darker when compared to the double pane option. The self cleaning windows do work if you have exposure and water that can get to the surface of the glass. There are specific cleaners that you need to avoid if you have a self-cleaning window. The miserably cold room may or may not be corrected by the replacement of your windows. Without having a more critical examination of the room and windows, it is tough to determine what the source of the heat loss is. If you are in Chicago, there is one person that I can recommend without hesitation. His name is Dave H. and he is with Strong Windows. They carry all the best brands and Dave is a stand up guy. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Strong Windows
|
- Posted by patrice607 (My Page) on Wed, Mar 30, 11 at 23:10
| Thanks for the information. How much Low -E coating? |
|
- Posted by windowsonwashington (My Page) on Thu, Mar 31, 11 at 0:17
| Depends on what glass pack you go with. You would like to have higher SHGC on the South facing windows and low on the North, East, and West. That orientation will dictate Low-e surface thickness. |
|
- Posted by patrice607 (My Page) on Thu, Mar 31, 11 at 23:52
| I understand that low E also inhibits transmission of cold and hot air. I don't want my north facing windows to be dark but 2 coats of low E is standard on most of the windows I have looked at. Thinking of going with 1 coat. We also have a lot of tall evergreens back there. Virtually no sun. |
|
- Posted by windowsonwashington (My Page) on Fri, Apr 1, 11 at 8:20
| Low-e has nothing to do with the movement of air. Low-e stands for low emissivity and is designed to slow the movement of radiant energy. Most windows will come with 2 soft coats where as there are units with 3 coats for lower Solar Heat Gain Coefficients. In Chicago, you are going to want to keep your SHGC as high as possible on the South facing windows. Low-e is going to darken the window up some, however, that is the trade off as a result of the increased efficiency. |
|
- Posted by patrice607 (My Page) on Fri, Apr 1, 11 at 18:01
| Marvin rep came in today. Ultimates are a 4 week wait time. Integrity is 10 days! I'm thinking of switching to the integrity and ordering the standard 2 coats of low E. Contractor vs. Marvin distributor - Any opinions on who should do installation? |
|
- Posted by windowsonwashington (My Page) on Sat, Apr 2, 11 at 8:54
| I would check out the Okna 800 from Strong Windows for your last vinyl comparison. They have a very pretty interior wood laminate. The Integrity is a very nice window. In terms of who should install, you should look at some representative work samples from each party and make your evaluation based on that and their approach. |
|
- Posted by patrice607 (My Page) on Tue, Apr 5, 11 at 0:09
| Just ordered the Marvin Ultimate. Intergrity didn't come in my sizes. Hope they can keep promised delivery date of 2 weeks. |
|
- Posted by windowsonwashington (My Page) on Tue, Apr 5, 11 at 8:42
| Nice windows. Good luck with the install. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Windows Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.