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I have an old building/investment property that I’m slowly renovating parts as funds/circumstances dictate. This wood-ox year, I would like to replace some of the old wood windows with new ones. Replacing the windows:
1. Can make my lead-paint inspections more painless (no more painting windowsills)
2. Possibly save me $$ since I pay for the heating. I may save $1000 per year.
3. Remove some maintenance since I can skip some exterior painting.
4. Can be done this year because the units will be empty for a month or so.
I’m a little lost with deciding which windows to get:
Vinyl,
Wood/Aluminum clad High_quality windows
fiberglass windows.
I fell in LOVE with the wood windows, but my husband said why waste so much money? He’s pretty good with money matters. Nevertheless I plan to keep the building, and I wonder if I should make saving $$ a priority or try to make the building look nice. I’m not in a “historic” area, so I can use whatever windows I want.
Vinyl
I think Vinyl is crap, and I don’t know of a company that would do a good job installing the Vinyl AND preserving/replacing the trim on my original windows at the same time. I had some other windows replaced with Vinyl and they did a terrible job. I wouldn’t do that again on purpose. I also fear that materials like Vinyl are dangerous if there’s a fire. I mean I bet that stuff burns and melts like plastic and releases terrible fumes. The upside is that it’s fairly cheap, but I would STILL spend thousands for the windows.
Fiberglass
The wood window company has a Fiberglass window as their alternative “cheap” material. Is it really worth paying more than for Vinyl?
Wood
The wood windows look sweet, and I plan to treat the inside wood with oil-based finish or poly. The company I plan to use has a high quality maintenance-free exterior aluminum cladding. They have also done some houses in my area and have happy customers. The downside is they may cost 2X-3X the Vinyl.
Borrowing $$$
I haven’t gotten the quote yet, but I’m pretty sure I’ll have to borrow some $$ to cover the entire cost. I am not sure I want to incur additional debt during this economy. I also love and respect my husband’s opinion in terms of spending money because he’s saved me $$ on repairs in the past.
I also have other work that I have chosen to do this year to the tune of several thousand dollars. That’s Kitchen and roof. I want to keep up with comparable rentals by updating the 1930’s kitchen. Also, the units will be empty for a month or so and I think this is a great time to get a big job like the windows done.
What do you guys think? Can I honor my hubby and also spend massive amounts of money on wood windows, too? Am I being a fool for spending in a bad economy? I am assuming I will be able to easily re-rent the units after spending so much money. What if I’m wrong?
Most of my Rentals are in a mild climate... I've regretted replacing good functional single pane windows with double pane because of the higher cost and inconvenience to replace double pane glass when damaged...
The cost is 4 to 5 times higher and often takes a week to 10 days before the replacement double pane in installed.
I also had some trouble with my first batch with "Fogging" between the panes... the warranty took care of it... now that the warranty is over, I'm on my own.
I have single pane glass now, and it seems the salespeople I get assume I want double-pane. They haven't shown me any double-pane glass. Also, all of teh windows will be easy to clean and more energy-efficient than the current ones, which are original. I'm just not sure if I should spend the money on wood versus Vinyl (ick).
All of your reasoning says- vinyl.
But your personal prefrence says- wood.
Keep to the business side of your brain (it is investment property)- use vinyl. It doesn't have to be painted, and if installed correctly, it should provide many years of trouble-free service.
Most windows today are IG (insulated glass). You can get single pane- but it would have to be special order (more $$).
All of your reasoning says- vinyl.
But your personal prefrence says- wood.
Keep to the business side of your brain (it is investment property)- use vinyl. It doesn't have to be painted, and if installed correctly, it should provide many years of trouble-free service.
Most windows today are IG (insulated glass). You can get single pane- but it would have to be special order (more $$).
Hmm Okay so far that's 2 for vinyl and 1 for wood. Sigh.
Okay if I do go Vinyl, what about my trim? Can I get a Vinyl person to do a nice job replacing and repainting (if needed) the lovely wood trim around my windows? My windows also aren't square so how can I make sure they don't stick in 2x4's in a cheap way to make the windows fit? Okay (hyperventilating) it's an investment property. (gasping for breath at the thought of vinyl windows). I mean what if I ruin a beautiful old building with cheap windows?
I installed new Marvin windows in my brother's home that are white vinyl on the outside and stain grade verticle grain wood on the inside...
His exterior trim color is white and the vinyl looks very good.
Installation was the hard way because he opted to change some of the window sizes which necessitated chipping out the old stucco, removing the old windows, some framing and then installing the new windows and stucco.
Personally, I don't like the look of some of the one day window replacements with the wide vinyl trim and gobs of caulking...
I installed new Marvin windows in my brother's home that are white vinyl on the outside and stain grade verticle grain wood on the inside...
His exterior trim color is white and the vinyl looks very good.
Installation was the hard way because he opted to change some of the window sizes which necessitated chipping out the old stucco, removing the old windows, some framing and then installing the new windows and stucco.
Personally, I don't like the look of some of the one day window replacements with the wide vinyl trim and gobs of caulking...
Okay I should have double quoted, but to answer both previous posters, my house is a beautiful stone in the front and brick in the back. I have decorative wood trim around the windows on the inside. For a previous window installation (vinyl, may God forgive me) the creeps damaged some of my molding. The windows were cheap and I don't like them
Marvin doesn't sell vinyl to the best of my knowledge. Their low-end window is fiberglass. The windows they showed me are wood with aluminum cladding on the outside and I also looked at the fiberglass. And they will actually replace my trim if they break it. They have also done work on other old homes in the area, and I have heard only good things.
I think I'm just getting the insert part of the window.
Marvin doesn't sell vinyl to the best of my knowledge. Their low-end window is fiberglass. The windows they showed me are wood with aluminum cladding on the outside and I also looked at the fiberglass.
Oops... it's been awhile since I installed them... I didn't have anything to do with ordering them... you are correct...
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