I have vinyl clad windows from andersen and some pella aluminum clad
windows. Althought very popular, I am not impressed by the Andersen vinyl
clad. On the south side of my house the vinyl has clearly stiffened and
changed color. Also we had an accident requiring replacement of some vinyl
on a window and it was almost impossible. Pella are easier to repair.


wrote in message
oups.com...
D4 wrote:
The Pella windows at Lowes are very cheap. The warranty is short term
and tells the quality story pretty well.

The warranty appears to be the same as it is on all the wood windows
Pella sells... 10/20/5-10.

Seems like there are a lot of anti-Lowes people here but so far it
doesn't seem like anyone has so much as taken the time to look at their
web site and see what they actually offer. So, here you go:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...brandpage=pell

On the left is the wood line, on the right is the vinyl. Click through
the "windows" link and you can then click again between wood or vinyl
(left side/right side, same as before).

Lowes offers an "850", "450" and "250" series in wood. These don't
correspond to anything on Pella's own web site BUT, surprise surprise,
Pella does offer three lines of their own called "Architect",
"Designer" and Pro-line".

Lowes offers one line of replacement wood window from Pella
("Renovation"), which is listed as a Consumer Digest "best buy". And
again, Pella also offers one model of replacement window, with a
different name ("Precision Fit"), but it's also listed as a "best buy"
with the same logo. Do you really think Lowes' own window was
*separately* named a "best buy" from CD?

It seems to me that Lowes probably offers the exact same windows Pella
does themselves, under a different name. (The fact that the Pella
frame on Lowes' web site is actually hosted by Pella and uses the same
pictures may or may not also mean anything.) This is not unlike what
Lowes does with a lot of their products, which just have different
model numbers than other retailers so they can claim an "exclusive".

The "Precision Fit" line was what I was shown by the Pella guy at my
house; I wonder what the "Renovation" replacements - which I have
little doubt are the exact same window - would cost from Lowes. I'm
heading up there to buy a window a/c from them tonight; maybe I'll find
out.

Do yourself a favor before you buy. If there is a Champion Window
store in your area, let them come out and do their dog and pony show.
Right now it may seem to you like a waste of time, but you will know
every little thing to look for before you make a purchase. And don't
let their "suggested retail" price scare you off. You will find out
just what a high quality window like Pella would cost (about the same
as Champion's suggested retail) and be able to buy them from Champion
for about half to 2/3's that price

Does Champion do wood? I looked up their web site and they advertise
only vinyl.

For myself, after having a guy come out and show me some Quantum2
windows and getting a price quote pretty far below Pella's, I'm about
50/50 now on wood vs. vinyl for my second floor (I'll still definitely
do wood for the public areas on the first floor). I'm trying to
convince myself I can live with vinyl if it means I can afford getting
the whole second floor done. But the original poster here seemed to
specifically be looking for wood, if I remember right.