That company is a fraud and does not deserve your business. Find a quality home improvement contractor who will quote you a firm, fair price for the project.

A company that lowers its price or runs special deals is always up to something..it's called, "playing games with your money".

Nothing is free...nothing.

Michael

Call contractors, not window salesmen.

If you are in an older house, and you currently have wood windows, I would not necessarily replace the windows at all. Instead, look to improving what you have - adding weather stripping, storms etc.

I, too, would stick with advice from contractors that have experience with homes of the same age as yours.

You don't need to throw money away.

Disagree with patser. Unless you have some windows that have architectual interest, there is no reason in the world to hang on to them. Even sound windows with a decent storm will not be as energy efficient as a good quality low-e, insulated glass window. If your house is a candidate for replacement windows then you can leave your storm windows on as an added layer(if they are in good shape).
Before investing in replacement windows, do some research. Know the difference between welded seams and mechanical seams, insulated frames vs hollow frames, etc...
Avoid the high pressure clowns like the plague.
Ron

I see more new windows screwing up the appearance of older homes.
Snap on grills are still a long way from divided lights.
Let alone when someone does not even use the grills and creates 'black holes' in the facade of an otherwise nice house.

The major loss from older windiws is infiltration.
Weatherstripping can significantly reduce this loss.

The basic calculation runs like this:
A 30 inch wide by 60 inch tall double hung window has 3*30+2*60 = 210 inches of 'crack length'.
If this crack is 1/32 of an inch wide, the total area is ~6.5 in^2. This is the equivalent of the window being open about 0.2 inches.
Reducing this gap will go a long way to saving energy.

I really doubt any modern window is going to be around in even reasonable condition in 50 years, let alone 100.

It appears that we have become a bit off topic, but I am going to make it a bit worse.

I really like old windows. I believe that in the correct circumstance they are so much a part of the charm of an older home that it is worth the effort to try to save them. I understand the desire of many people to try to do everything possible to save the original windows in a classic home, but I also understand the appeal of replacing them for the improvement in energy consumption, comfort, and the potential ease of maintenance.

There are a lot of misconceptions about old windows versus new windows and many opinions most of them based on feelings and not facts - that come up in discussions like this one.

I am going to offer a few simple facts that relate to restoration versus replacement.

Fact  if you were to opt for top-quality vinyl windows, you could get them made in any style that you wanted  styles that would fit your home and that would be virtually indistinguishable from the original windows in your home  and, these windows could last every bit as long as your home. But, note that I said "top-quality". A typical low end replacement vinyl window doesnÂt come close to meeting the same sort of standards as does a top-quality product  from the vinyl used, to the glass used, to the hardware used  it could be like comparing a Yugo to a Ferrari (and whatever happened to Yugo BTW?).

The guy in the Sunday paper who promises to replace every window in your home at "$129.95" with his "super-dooper-highest-quality" window likely has neither the highest quality window nor does he have your long term peace-of-mind at heart. He needs to get in and to get out  and what happens in five or 10 years? ThatÂs your problem.

Okay  from this point forward I will be commenting on good replacement windows  and not just vinyl or aluminum  but generic replacement using a quality product  whatever the material  but not necessarily the very best and certainly not the very worst.

Again, GENERAL overview...

Fact  new windows are substantially more energy efficient than old windows, despite the claims to the contrary of a good part of the window restoration world. True, and the numbers are out there if some one wants to disagree.

Fact  folks in the window restoration world like to claim that old windows have lasted 50, 75, 100 years and that new windows will always fail in short order  5 or 10 years is the common claim. (Again, I AM NOT slamming anyone who has posted in this thread  this is a common claim in the restoration world).

This claim is based on emotion or on opinion and not on quantifiable fact. In fact, it is generally wrong  ultimately, quality products will outlast non-quality products no matter when produced and there are tens-of-millions of windows that were made in the last few centuries that didnÂt make it into todayÂs world for a wide variety of reasons. The ones that made it thru are often the best that were produced and they likely had a good bit of maintenance at some point. These are all very good things and that also makes the consideration of keeping them around even longer worth seriously considering.

Fact  new dual or triple pane windows with LowE and argon will make your home more comfortable in both summer and winter. There are plenty of studies to prove it.

Fact  restoring old windows is good for the environment and helps with energy performance. This is certainly true, but it isnÂt the whole story.
Despite comments from folks who love their old windows  and while there are many very good reasons for that feeling, those reasons are primarily aesthetic, not efficiency  replacing older windows will almost always save energy over restoration.
But, again to reemphasize, restoration and the addition of a good storm window can still be a huge improvement over windows that are stuck, painted-over, drafty, and without storms.

Fact  many old houses have their original windows and some of these windows (if they have had adequate maintenance for their lifetime) are in very good shape. But, some are also in very poor shape. Most are somewhere in between. But, they have made it this far and if they are worth restoring, then by all means that should be considered as a very definite option.

Fact  most (but not all) older windows are made with old growth lumber which is inherently better than almost any lumber available today. Absolutely true and rather sad in some ways, but again, this is what our ancestors left us with  kind of wondering what we will be leaving our descendents?.

Fact  older single pane windows with sash cords are inherently huge energy wasters. because that open spot where the weights hide is an energy black-hole. There are alternatives to the sash-weight pocket that will greatly improve this energy dump.

Fact  older windows have lasted as long as they have because they are of simple, uncomplicated construction that had the advantage of using a material (old growth lumber) that is no longer widely available. The pyramids will easily outlast a modern skyscraper  that doesn't make a pyramid superior, it is simply different.

Fact  many people like the look of wavy glass which was the norm in windows made long ago yet the waves and bubbles in glass are technically a flaw in the manufacturing process. Glass producers did their best to avoid such "embellishments", but it was the best that could be produced for mass production at the time.

Actually, for higher-end (spelled $$$$) folks they could produce glass without the waviness, even back at the turn-of-the-century, but it was expensive and few folks wanted to, or could afford to, spend the money for them.

This of course doesnÂt mean that such ornamentation doesn't add charm and character to the window and subsequently the home, however. Lots of "flawed" items have a certain charm and character of their own. And btw, I very much like "flawed" wavy glass  and it is available today, made in the exact same process that was used 100 years ago, only today it is considered decorative and is therefore expensive.

Ultimately, to change windows is a personal decisionÂ.but there are very valid reasons for both sides of the discussion.