Windowed Debate
And so begins the first major debate of the project—what type of windows do we use: wood or vinyl? Our architect is strongly recommending wood, while our contractor thinks vinyl is the way to go. As always, there are pros and cons to each, but I’m inclined to follow our architects advice. Of course, that decision will have a significant impact on the budget.
At the moment, our plans call for about 54 windows. So far we’ve only priced all-wood, and the quotes we’ve received have ranged form $21,000 to $34,000. These all include a “designer discount” of about 45%, which has proved to be another huge advantage of working with our architect. That said, this is still well over what we had originally budgeted… but we knew we’d be going over as soon as we saw the first set of drawings. As for vinyl, we haven’t priced them yet, but I’m told they will be significantly cheaper.
If vinyl prove to be less expensive, why would I want to shy away from them? I have to question if they’re cheaper in price, cheaper in quality, or both. I’m told they’re “maintenance free”, which is an obvious plus, but my architect still advises that we avoid them. I’m a sucker for aesthetics, and I have a feeling wood windows will simply look better. And as usual, I’ll end up paying a premium for that luxury.
Regardless of my aesthetic preference, we need to be very conscious of our budget and I expect a compromise will be in order. My guess is that we’ll ultimately end up with a mix of both – vinyl windows in the clerestory (where you won’t see them up close) and the basement (where moisture comes into play), and wood windows everywhere else.
I’m going to be visiting a few window showrooms this week, after which I’ll hopefully have a better understand of why I don’t want the cheaper and maintenance-free vinyl windows.
Post Tags: architect, contractor, costs, Financial, vinyl, windows, wood
You might want to consider fibreglass windows – “greener” credentials than uPVC and better performance than wood, both thermally and from an air tightness perspective. I’m not in any way related to this company, but have heard only good things about them: http://www.thermotechwindows.com
— posted on June 2, 2008Thanks Paul,
I double checked the latest quote from Marvin windows, and it’s looking like we’d be getting “Pultruded fibreglass sash & frame. Durion finished.” on the exterior, or I think we’re in good shape.
I’ve been reading more and more about vinyl windows, and I’ve become inclined to avoid them altogether.
— posted on June 2, 2008Sash windows are “flawed by design” according to Thermotech as they can never be made as airtight as casement windows. Since air leakage is often the largest component of heatloss in a modern house, I’d seriously consider avoiding sash windows unless your local planning department is obsessed with them (I live in such a zone but managed to persuade them to allow us to use casement windows).
Paul.
— posted on June 3, 2008i concur that vinyl windows are to be avoided. i have worked
on renovation projects where vinyl units had to be replaced
after about 5 years use due to wearing out.
the marvin integrity line of wood/fiberglass composite
construction has proven a good value on many residential
projects.
fiberglass windows are another good option. some manufacturers
include: fibertec, accurate-dorwin, efco, and thermotech.
there are pro’s and con’s to both sash-type and casement-type window window operation.
karl
— posted on June 3, 2008I’m not too sure about the sash vs casement debate – your points definitely make sense, but I’ll have to look into more. We’ve got a meeting this Thursday with our architect and I’ll see what they have to say.
Thanks for the tips!
— posted on June 3, 2008Hey Karl, the best quote we’ve gotten so far is from Marvin Integrity, but we’ve also got a competitive price from Ridley which we’re considering. I’m not sure if our architects have inquired with any of the fiberglass manufactures, but I’ll find out this week.
— posted on June 3, 2008