Where to buy replacement windows?

[TinkerTanker]

We ordered ours from Pella off 63rd. Tell them you're a contractor and you get better pricing. Make up a company name. It takes about 3-4 weeks for them to come in. Don't order vinyl because it warps and cracks.

To remove, just drill a hole in the side corner anywhere that's easy, poke the sawzall in, and cut all around. You need a helper to catch the window sometimes so be careful there or end your cut at the top so it doesn't fall and you can bend it around to get it poked out. Don't need to remove the glass or break it leaving glass all over the place that way. Heavier, but easier for an old coot like me that can't see glass shards as well as I used to.

Then for the new one you poke it in, screw it down from inside the window outward into the frame, then caulk it up. You can squirt some foam sealant around it too if the gap is bigger than 1/4 inch, but honestly because it's just an air gap caulking it with good caulk like the Dap Stretch seals it and makes a good enough create an air insulator layer that won't need foam.

Then go cook yourself a steak. You deserve it after all that. By the time you finish three windows you've had three steaks. It's a win/win.

 

[swampratt]

How long before vinyl windows becomes warped and cracked?

Mine have been in for 24 years and not warped or cracked yet.
The aluminum frame ones I pulled out were 24 years old and way worse off than these I installed.

Now I did have 1 get a piece broke out of the vinyl on 1 window but that was from a hail storm that broke pieces from my bricks and pummeled the roof and siding.

I was told 30 years ago some people put too many screws in the vinyl windows.
This does not allow them to move when the house expands and contract with heat and cold and they do get leaky and warped.

4 screws is all I have used and no issues.
Many big window companies now just use low expanding foam and 1 screw if even 1 screw.
1 screw to hold it in place and foam all around it then caulk it. Done.

I use a putty knife and push fiberglass insulation into the voids beside the windows and then caulk with Solar Seal #900 and no cracking or shrinking in 20+ years. Stays stuck to vinyl all that time also.

 

[Ready_fire_aim]

ABC supply is a good place to look into ordering windows. They have different grades from cheap builder vinyl up to aluminum clad crank outs etc.. measure very carefully!

I’ve done countless window installation jobs. Too bad you’re not in OKC area because I’d swing by and ***** the situation/help you measure them.

I carefully examine the interior and exterior of each window to be replaced. No 2 jobs are ever the same. Some window installs are cake and easy money for the contractors… some are an absolute nightmare lol

 

[Raido Free America]

Did anyone have a problem with removal of old windows? Mine are in need and the flange is nailed and nailed and nailed. Cannot imagine how they would remove the aluminum frame without tearing things up.
I watched a crew do my neighbors house and they broke the brick bond, mortar joints, pretty bad. The wall was easily rocked after they were done.
I'm tempted to just replace all of the glass and springs.

I'm in the process of learning about replacing our windows. I think the original windows have flanges, that are nailed to the frame work before the outer wall is installed. I think window replacement guys cut this flange, with a saws-all, and attach the replacement windows to the opening? This is one of the reasons I haven't had ours done yet. It seems to me, if a window leaks air, it would most likely be around the edges, not through the window it's self? Plus all the different material replacement windows are made of, I'm still trying to figure out which is best? Sales people all clam theirs is best?

 

[swampratt]

Leaking air through window seals.
I will say this I have not seen a window that opens up that will not leak air when that north or south strong wind blows.
For grins I had my buddy that owns a window siding company used to be Balkan install 2 windows in my house after a siding warranty job.

Guess what..... they leak when the north wind blows.
In fact a little more than the ones i got from Home depot in 1999.

There is just a felt fuzzy strip that closes against another felt fuzzy strip.
Unless something has changed in the last 10 years.

Could be my house is not air tight like a newer built home.
I have a fireplace and a dryer vent and gas heater that vents out the roof and 2 fart suckers in the bathroom that vent out of the living area.

Wind blows and pressures from inside to outside change and windows will allow some air through the seals.

I went to Pella and asked about french doors they had.
I asked if they were air tight when closed as in 100%.
Answer was no and good luck finding french doors that can pull that off.

Take a candle around your new windows when the wind blows 20+ mph and see if the seals hold all the wind out.

You may be able to pull it off in a very air tight home.

 

[swampratt]

On vinyl windows you score both sides of the nail flange and then bend it over and it will break off.
Score it with a new box blade knife.
If it does not score well then break off the very tip of the blade with pliers.
It will then score very well.

Tip of the day

 

[Raido Free America]

Leaking air through window seals.
I will say this I have not seen a window that opens up that will not leak air when that north or south strong wind blows.
For grins I had my buddy that owns a window siding company used to be Balkan install 2 windows in my house after a siding warranty job.

Guess what..... they leak when the north wind blows.
In fact a little more than the ones i got from Home depot in 1999.

There is just a felt fuzzy strip that closes against another felt fuzzy strip.
Unless something has changed in the last 10 years.

Could be my house is not air tight like a newer built home.
I have a fireplace and a dryer vent and gas heater that vents out the roof and 2 fart suckers in the bathroom that vent out of the living area.

Wind blows and pressures from inside to outside change and windows will allow some air through the seals.

I went to Pella and asked about french doors they had.
I asked if they were air tight when closed as in 100%.
Answer was no and good luck finding french doors that can pull that off.

Take a candle around your new windows when the wind blows 20+ mph and see if the seals hold all the wind out.

You may be able to pull it off in a very air tight home.

Leaking air through window seals.
I will say this I have not seen a window that opens up that will not leak air when that north or south strong wind blows.
For grins I had my buddy that owns a window siding company used to be Balkan install 2 windows in my house after a siding warranty job.

Guess what..... they leak when the north wind blows.
In fact a little more than the ones i got from Home depot in 1999.

There is just a felt fuzzy strip that closes against another felt fuzzy strip.
Unless something has changed in the last 10 years.

Could be my house is not air tight like a newer built home.
I have a fireplace and a dryer vent and gas heater that vents out the roof and 2 fart suckers in the bathroom that vent out of the living area.

Wind blows and pressures from inside to outside change and windows will allow some air through the seals.

I went to Pella and asked about french doors they had.
I asked if they were air tight when closed as in 100%.
Answer was no and good luck finding french doors that can pull that off.

Take a candle around your new windows when the wind blows 20+ mph and see if the seals hold all the wind out.

You may be able to pull it off in a very air tight home.

Good point! We built a new house in 1977, it had 5 windows, and two doors, facing the north! The curtains on the north wall, would stand out when the north wind was blowing!! 20 years later I built on, and completely eliminated all but one bathroom window, and both doors, facing the north. we doubled the size of our house, and added more attic insulation, and our utility cost went down heating, and cooling, twice the space!!

 

[TinkerTanker]

How long before vinyl windows becomes warped and cracked?

Mine have been in for 24 years and not warped or cracked yet.
The aluminum frame ones I pulled out were 24 years old and way worse off than these I installed.

Now I did have 1 get a piece broke out of the vinyl on 1 window but that was from a hail storm that broke pieces from my bricks and pummeled the roof and siding.

I was told 30 years ago some people put too many screws in the vinyl windows.
This does not allow them to move when the house expands and contract with heat and cold and they do get leaky and warped.

4 screws is all I have used and no issues.
Many big window companies now just use low expanding foam and 1 screw if even 1 screw.
1 screw to hold it in place and foam all around it then caulk it. Done.

I use a putty knife and push fiberglass insulation into the voids beside the windows and then caulk with Solar Seal #900 and no cracking or shrinking in 20+ years. Stays stuck to vinyl all that time also.

The last vinyls I pulled off were installed in 2009 and they were cracked pretty bad. These were used windows, not windows that were left shut since they were installed. They were part of a cross blow section where the owner would open these and the ones across the home from them to let the north/south wind blow through.

Out of four windows on that wall (south, sunny wall) three windows were cracked, all four were warped beyond closing, and two wouldn't lock anymore because they wouldn't close anywhere near well enough to push the lock.

Replaced all with fiberglass frames.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Following for OKC area recommendations

 

[icarus_85]

Purchased our home in 2000. Built in 1985. Replaced 15 original contractor windows with Thermal Windows. 23 years later, they are solid and still doing a great job. No sticking, the hardware still works like day one and they are thermally sound with double pane construction. One of the best investments I've ever made in our home.