Window Replacement
 

My folks are looking to have the windows replaced throughout the entire house.

House is about 30 odd years old, and we feel that it's time to replace them with something more energy efficient, in terms of cooling and heat retention.

Looking to see if anybody has any experience and/or recommendations for contractors. My parents called one company in Richmond, but they didn't want to do it. Thanks in advance!

Centra did all my windows and front door in January, no complaints so far. The difference in sound and heat transfer is huge. My place is the same age and the windows were original. From memory I believe Centra actually makes their own windows which is nice.

We replaced our windows last year. I looked at Centra but we ended up going with West Coast. They also make there own windows and like Centra, their windows have a lifetime warranty. Price was similar but I believe WC had a slightly higher Energy Star rating when I looked.

I know pricing will vary, but did you guys look at other contractors/companies to compare product and pricing?

More so, are there any rebates that are offered for specific types of windows? (i.e. Energy Star etc.)

Yes, I went to the Home Show to talk to the various window manufacturers and to see their products. I got mutliple companies to come give us quotes. I don't remember all the companies, but the prices were fairly comparable. LongLife was the most expensive. I liked the process that LongLife uses to install windows (they install Vinyltek windows), but didn't think it was worth the 35% premium that they charged over WC.

A friend recommended WC to us, I went to their place to check out the windows and they looked really nice. My friend's parents and most of their neighbours were the first to go with WC about 5-6 years ago (older Richmond subdivision) and they haven't had any complaints. So, aside from the price, warranty and Energy Star rating, seeing the windows installed also played a factor for me. The fact that they had a spring promotion of 15% off actually gave them the lowest price too (only by a couple hundred though), without the discount maybe I would've chosen Centra. Not sure if you can get that promo though (don't see it listed on their website, mind you I did this over a year ago). My friend did suggest that I stay away from C-Sky though, her friend went with this cheaper option and she said their windows leaked within the first year, ymmv. I have no experience with them b/c I never asked for a quote from them; I do notice their advertisement inside the coupon envelope that gets delivered to my neighbourhood every so often.

After seeing my windows, my friend also went with WC (he also got the 15% off, but I think the promo was still on). He moved near the airport last year and he said his house is quiet (perhaps he just got accustomed to the sound, lol).

One thing to note, I definitely think new windows are a good investment, I noticed that my house is much cooler with the new windows installed (our windows do have a slight tint to them).

Also, I don't work for, get any referral fee, nor have I had any contact with WC since my windows were installed. I'm just a consumer that has been happy with their work, but for the shitty job they did clearing my driveway of nails from the old windows. :rukidding: I got more than one nail in my tire. FailFish

My folks went with C-Sky years ago to have all our windows and sliders replaced. They've held up fine. No leaks. There was a nice gov't energy savings rebate at the time for something like 5k. Made a huge difference as the house originally had single panes from the 70s

Westcoast lead time is 2months+

I got quotes from a couple other companies, there's fewer options up here so you likely have more selection than I did. From memory Centra were the only ones that made their own windows so they could make the openings and things exactly how we wanted them, the others were supplied from other companies in the US so we would've had to go with what the suppliers had to offer.

As for rebates there weren't any from the gov't or utility companies but they did offer us a discount which increased with the number of windows and doors we did. I believe they offered us something for any referrals we gave as well.

Great info, guys.

Keep the comments coming. This is excellent stuff.

I have a 70 year old house, and am looking to get 2 bedroom windows replaced. There is absolutely 0 reason for me to get anything other than the cheapest windows available. Do you guys have any recommendations for a small job like this?

if they're standard sizes check home depot

i think they carry jeldwen, might be able to get custom sizes?

Centra is doing all of my windows in Oct and I have been very happy with them so far, I found them at the Ridge Meadows home show and received 10% off plus and extra $120 off per window for the show special. I went to the office and they took me around the plant which was nice to see everything being made local.

Can't wait for 16 new windows total, French doors in the back and a new front door as well.

I'm not sure if they're still offering it, but unless you don't have a better option for financing then avoid going through FinanceIt. Yes there's 6 months with "no interest", but there's a $100+ fee to set it up and if you want to make payments with a credit card they charge 3% of the payment you're making, which is probably more than you'll get back in CC points or cashback or whatever you have.

I too need to replace my windows. My house is 20 years old and many of the seals have been broken. There are so many window companies out there so definitely need to do research. Any recommendations is appreciated.

Centra no questions asked

The way windows look in person is irrelevant if they leak. There are some really shitty window suppliers out there and anyone locally who is installing windows from Asia I would avoid completely.

Centra is good and centra specializes in building envelope so they would probably be my #1 choice as I’ve had good experiences with working with them and their managers.

Again though, how a window works/looks is irrelevant if the people installing them don’t know how to work the building envelope correctly. If the flashing and building paper etc isn’t done correctly, a cheap contractor could cost you thousands of dollars down the road

We are looking to renovate a house, and seems like thr is damage due to weep holes in Windows being clogged. Is this repairable? Can tracks be removed and cleaned? Rather than replacing the whole window? House is about 17yo.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...sful8rfdq.jpeg


:moderatorban: cant imagine how people live without properly maintaining thr homes

well whats going on? Weep holes are clogged and then water is backing up so much it's overflowing into the house?

That's what it seems like. They has a student living thr who put out cigarettes in the tracks and sh.

the window is probably fine if its a vinyl window but the floor is done.

is that a sliding glass door or what? why is there a window so close to the floor?

NA, the window has a bench design. so guessing water just pored over and pulled into the wood, are vinyl window tracks removable?

yes, it should easilly be removable with a flat head screw driver or the like.. if its the track the window slides on it should pop right out

hard to tell from that pic though but to me it looks like there is no bottom track or removable section there.. it should be pretty evident if its removable or not

that looks like that's the main frame, nothing is coming apart there.

you said that's a bench or is that window on the floor?

what a stupid design.

you better pull up that flooring and see how bad the subfloor is...if it looks bad the sub structure is probably going to be rotten too.....not good news.

Update on my window issue.

I don't know what retard designed this window. But here's the problem. They have window that slides up and down on the inside of the window. Front is empty (maybe place for bug screen). Why the hell would u want sliding glass on the inside not out. This is same for the whole Damn house

can anyone guesstimate cost 58x81 size window cost?

Somthing doesn’t look right there..

Btw in reference to the original question, there is a difference between companies who are actually going to replace windows properly and make sure proper flashing etc is in place and the window is rain screened properly and companies who will just come and cut out the old window and slide the new one in its place. The price difference typically reflects what is being done