John Snow wrote:

I am ready to have my aluminum windows replaced with vinyl, but I am
relatively clueless as to the options and issues regarding window
replacement. I don't just want to replace the existing windows, I also
want to make a couple of them larger (i.e., wider), and want to add
proper-looking casements and trim in and out of the house. I will
probably do the trim myself (wood content!).

Before I get some estimates I want to educate myself. Where do I go to
find
out the current options available? I had an estimate a couple of years
ago, but it seemed out of line pricewise from what I was expecting, and I
didn't know enough about the windows to know when the salesman was blowing
smoke or telling me the truth (although he did start puffing pretty
heavily towards
the end of the session, offering me various incentives and rebates). Can
I
trust books in the library? How is the technology changing? How old of a
book is still reliable? Are there good magazines to research (e.g., Fine
Homebuilding)?

I appreciate all the help you can give me.


John,

I replaced all 12 of my aluminum windows last year with vinyl (lifetime
warranty), but the only improvement I made was to replace two side-by-side
windows with a single large casement window. I have a mix of brick and
wood siding on my house. The brick siding was easier for two reasons.
First, I was less worried about damaging any siding when removing the old
window. Second, since the new window was deeper than the old window, and
the brick framing around the window is significantly deeper than the
windows, I didn't have to cut away the interior trim to make the new window
fit flush.

The wood siding was more of a pain. I had to pull away the framing I had
put up the year before, had to be more careful when prying out the old
window frame, and had to cut away drywall from the interior because the new
window was deeper.

In the end, though, it took me about 6 hours from opening up the workshop to
get the ladder until I finished vacuuming per wood-framed window (sans any
re-painting).

The cost for 11 windows (including the one casement that replaced two) was a
little over $2000. And it cut over $40 per month off my heating bill in
the winter, and keeps the house warmer.
--
Michael White "To protect people from the effects of folly is to
fill the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer