First time post here! My name is Tim and I'm from Rochester, NY.

Well, my wife and I plunked down a fairly large sum of money and bought what we thought was a "move-in-ready" home (built in 1990). After moving in, painting, and decorating, subtle imperfections in the home started to surface. We were fully aware that no home is 'perfect' but we assumed that no major work would need to be done within the next 5 years. Well... we were wrong.

During our Home Inspection, the Inspector noted several broken seals in the windows (Hurd: most likely builder basic). We pressed the seller to fix the windows; the best they could do was call a company that attempted to remove the condensation from the windows and 'recreate' the vacuum. It looked like it worked for a few weeks, but alas, fog reappeared. All in all, we decided to just settle with foggy windows.

A few months after moving in, we started noticing most of the ~30 casement windows weren't closing properly. When cranking the window in, the sash wouldn't align with the window opening. Most of these windows, I've had to drill a screw into the sash so I could lift the windows and pull them into place to close the lock.

We also noticed significant amounts of damaged hardware, rot at the internal hinges, and a clear ooze around the window near the spacer. This brought us to the point of interviewing companies and contractors to put replacement windows in. After talking with ~10 candidates we decided that full tear-outs would be the better option (entertaining vinyl siding the home at the same time).

I've narrowed our window options down to casements; either the Andersen 400 casement or the Sunrise vinyl casement window. I know that the Andersen is a wood vinyl-clad window and the Sunrise is a straight vinyl window but I'm interested in hearing from the pro's: given the choose, which would you recommend your son/daughter/nephew/niece put into their home??

Thanks for any input!!

Any idea on where the Andersen 400 and Sunrise casements fair against each other in terms of price?

Also, given this comparison, which Marvin line would compete against the Andersen 400 or Sunrise?

Thanks!

In an effort to save money, I'd like to do the installs myself (rabid DIY). I have a contractor friend that has offered to show me the ropes on the first few windows I do. It seems like A400 can easily be purchased at any lumber yard.

What do the pro's recommend in terms of other high quality casement windows (vinyl, wood, or fiber-clad)??

Also, are there any reasons to choose wood beyond aesthetics?

Thanks so much!

They should have the option of a clip in nailing fin or it may come standard and be ripped down for retrofit applications.

Are there any 'gotchas' when installing wood windows vs vinyl. I know that the expansion/contraction ratio for vinyl is much higher than wood, but does this require any consideration when doing a full-install? Does the space between the rough opening and the window need to be larger for vinyl?

Thanks!

Proper installation is proper installation. The differential amount of expansion between wood and vinyl would not be enough to change the required relief during a normal installation.

When I build out the EJ, should I caulk the wood to the vinyl?