Advice on replacement windows in CA? Anderson vs. Milgard?

11 years ago

We just bought a fixer upper that has 20+ year old aluminum windows that are very difficult to open. I'm hoping to start replacing some of the windows immediately in and near the kids bedrooms before winter. I've been going through old postings and it seems like a lot of the recommended brands are not available here on the West coast. The big box stores have Pella and Cascade but it didn't seem like they were rated very well. I'm having local window stores come out to bid so I'm not sure yet what brands they will offer. I also received a flyer from the replacement window division of Andersen. At our last house in the same area we went with Milgard and never had any problems but we only lived there for six years and hoping to stay here for the long term. I could really use advice on good brands that are available here. Also any reason not to go with all vinyl windows?

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PRO

Out of the Woods Inc.- Window & Door Specialists

11 years ago

WindowDistributor, we aren't suppose to advertise our own businesses on this forum. Only offer advice and guidance in window questions and issues.

As far as your question. FixerUpper18, I'd stay away from big box stores for windows. They generally don't know as much about the products they sell and the brands/lines tend to be lower end. For the west coast vinyl brands Milgard and Simonton are pretty prominent. There are lots of random localish brands especially in the LA area, but I'm not as familiar.

The vinyl question just depends on what your budget and design goals are. Vinyl is lower budget and therefore have less colors, more basic look and less design options. Thermal numbers on vinyl are good though.
Fiberglass tends to have more color options, some say more sturdy than vinyl, slightly more high end on the west coast it's pretty much Integrity or Milgard for fiberglass, Integrity being a bit nicer imo. And the top of the heap is wood/aluminum clad which is the the most money, many exterior color options, wood interior for higher end look, simulated divided lites etc. Brands for aluminum clad/wood I'd recommend Kolbe, Marvin, Andersen E Series/Eagle.

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Comments (7)

WindowDistributor
11 years ago
Here on the west coast there are lots of other brands that I would recommend. Everything depends how much you are willing to spend on the replacement. If you want to go with the vinyl windows Milgard is a good brand, but the price is pretty high for the quality. I would recommend Simonton windows, the price is lower than Milgard and Simonton has a glass breakage warranty. I am a distributor for Simonton and have been installing them for the past ten years. They are made in CA.

Here is a link that might be useful: Simonton
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PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
11 years ago
What does the exterior of the home consist of?

Vinyl should be your most cost effective option followed by composites/aluminum, and lastly wood.
FixerUpper18
Original Author
11 years ago
The backside of the house is stucco and the front is wood. It sounds like replacing the windows on the stucco side will be more expensive to install. Any recommendations on replacement vs. new construction windows? Cost is a big factor since we have so much work to do to make the house live able so definitely vinyl. I want to make the best choice with our budget. There are no Simonton distributors here, just one local place who has a high end installer so I'm worried about costs. I think that will leave Milgard or Anderssen. Are Anderssen replacement windows by their revival subsidy a bad idea? Thank you so much!
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
11 years ago
If you are on a tight budget, a stucco frame jump will be a more cost effective option and when done properly, is just fine.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stucco Jump
PRO
Out of the Woods Inc.- Window & Door Specialists
11 years ago
Be careful when you do short or narrow windows with the stucco jump method. The glass size of your window becomes smaller and smaller units that tend to be in bathroom can be almost no glass by the time you put a replacement window in.
User
10 years ago
I'm not sure where WIndowDistributor is from but Simonton here in Texas it is difficult to buy Simonton w/o installation and when you can get it w/o installation the prices are 30-40% higher than Milgard.