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Choosing a Wood Window
There are four choices: A) wood
window, B) Milgard fiberglass with interior wood veneer, C) vinyl window with imitation wood vinyl appliqué on interior, E)
German (European) windows with imitation wood vinyl appliqué on interior and also exterior, or Kynar painted exterior.
A). The major
brands in Southern California are Eagle, Pella, Anderson, T.M. Cobb, Weather Shield, Marvin, Jeld-wen, and Sierra Padre Millworks. All
are wood windows that are essentially constructed the same. Eagle
and Anderson offers a paper-thin vinyl coating on the exterior and Pella and the other brands a soda-can thin aluminum clad.
Weather Shield also offers an all-wood line of windows. Eagle is the leading one for new construction in metro San Diego (a result of aggressive marketing). Anderson and Pella are the leaders in the replacement market (a result of aggressive marketing). They all offer a 20 warranty on the glass and 10 on parts. Putting a thin aluminum or vinyl exterior over a wood window eliminates for at least 10 years the need
to paint. However it is still a wood window, but unlike the old-fashion wood
windows they shut tight and have rubber gaskets to prevent air infiltration. The
rubber gaskets give them a great thermal rating, but they also keep the dew and dampness in.
This dampness causes the all too common problems of binding, warping, and wood rot, and THESE ARE NOT MANUFACTURER’S DEFECTS (not covered by warranty)! Only
one company offers labor with their warranty.* And being on a wood block without
drainage holes, the dual glazed glass is 20 times more likely to fog up than the Milgard alternative.
B). Milgard has solved the problem of wood with their line of
fiberglass windows with a wood veneer. The wood is ready to be stained to go with your interior. They are distinguished from the wood-core windows, but they won’t warp, bind,
have wood rot, and are unlikely to fog up, which is why they come with a lifetime warranty that includes labor.* There are 9 standard exterior colors.
C). There a couple of brands which offer a thin wood-grain plastic interior skin. At a distance they look like wood; close up like imitation.
Market acceptance has been poor.
D). Bede a leading European window company has a heavy commercial line (thicker glass, steel reinforced frames,
etc) with a wood laminate that is offered both in the interior and exterior. Having
a steel reinforced frame and sash permits them to offer the top quality European Kynar interior and also exterior. Wood laminate and paint are warranted for 10 years, the windows for lifetime with labor. Their distribution center is in Oceanside.
You get German/European engineering and designs.
* Labor
puts the manufacturer at risk. Typical service charge is $100/trip, and a service
technician can make 6 to 8 stops per day. That more than covers the cost of parts,
his salary, etc.
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A). The major brands in Southern California are Eagle Pella, Anderson, Jeldwin, T.M. Cobb,
Weather Shield, Marvin, Superior. All are essentially constructed the same.
Eagle & Anderson offers a paper-thin vinyl coating on the exterior and Pella a soda-can thin aluminum clad. Most
of the other brands offer the aluminum clad. Some offer a second and third line
of wood windows. Weather Shield, for example, also offers an all-wood line of
traditional windows. Eagle is the leading new construction windows in metro San
Diego (a result of aggressive marketing). Anderson
and Pella are the leaders in the replacement market (a result of aggressive marketing). They all offer a 10 warranty on the glass and 20 on parts. Warping and wood rot are not a manufacturer’s defects.
And since there are no drainage holes below the glass unit, they are at least 20 times more likely to fog up. Moreover, the single and double hung
(sash moves vertically) are at least twice as stiff to operate as a similar vinyl window (this is particularly true after
a couple of rainy seasons.) They are all similar, around twice that of a vinyl window.
B). Superior Millworks is distinguished in three ways from the pack.
First their windows are built far more solid and massive (and this respect resemble the European windows). Second, they have an LVL wood core. This is far more
resistant to becoming warped. Third the aluminum exterior is a true extrusion (ran through a die) and is thus as thick as those found on aluminum windows. They are very competitively priced
D). Milgard has a line of fiberglass windows with an unfinished cedar veneer interior. They are
priced comparable to wood windows. They are distinguished from the pack by all the advantages of vinyl windows including a
lifetime warranty that includes labor. They won’t warp, rot, and are unlikely
to fog up. Moreover they come in 5 exterior colors plus custom colors, and their
surface offers good paint adhesion for repainting (unlike vinyl and aluminum clad windows).
It is the trouble free, easy-to-operate alternative.
E). Bede, a European commercial window, comes with wood grain laminate over vinyl. The laminate is made by the same company that Mercedes Benz uses for their dash. They are built even tougher than vinyl windows, for their sash is steel reinforced and their glass is 1/4th over 3/16th which
gives you better thermal and sound reduction properties than the standard 1/8th over 1/8th . There are over a dozen wood laminates made by the same company that Mercedes Benzes uses for their dashboard. They will match colors for the exterior painted finish. Their
North American Distribution center & showroom is in Oceanside.
Bede offers an assortment of European window and door types as well as the traditional American windows.
WHY
NOT WOOD: (1) cost overt $300 more than a vinyl window; (2) 20 times more likely
to fog up; (3) warp, wood rot, and termites; (4) limited 10-20
year warranty; (5) stiff operation.
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Enter supporting content here
| Link to BBB report |
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