"calhoun" wrote in message
.. .
There is a difference between installing replacement windows and replacing
windows.


(other comments deleted to save space)

IMHO, even the best 'replacement windows' are cheap and nasty compared to
replacing windows with good quality 'new construction' windows. A window
installer can install a 'replacement window' in about 45 minutes to an hour,
whereas it takes about 3 to 4 hours for a carpenter to replace a window with
a 'new construction' window, if you include the time to make the new casing
and do other related trim work. But in the end, a 'new construction window'
will look better and let in more light (because it has more glass area) than
a replacement window.

If you consider the cost of the windows versus the value of the house, then
if you live in a house worth about $200,000 or more in year 2004, then I
think that it is worth replacing windows with 'new construction' windows
instead of 'replacement windows' to maintain the value of the home. If you
live in a low cost house (worth, say, about $100,000 or less in year 2004),
then you might be 'over improving' the house if you get 'new construction'
windows. For the range $100,000 to $200,000, it's more a matter of your
budget as to which you might choose. It's just like any other home
improvement -- you would spend only $2,000 rennovating a bathroom in a
$100,000 house, whereas you might spend $5,000 rennovating a bathroom in a
$250,000 house.

By the way, both types of windows can be equally energy efficient and
durable, assuming proper installation and quality manufacturing, so if
someone claims that one type of window is more energy efficient than the
other type, then it's just sales talk.