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What are the best replacement windows for a house? Wood Vinyl, composite, aluminum?

Public Comments

1. Vinyl. It's not as susceptable to temperature changes like wood, and won't absorb and transfer the heat and cold like aluminum.


2. Vinyl are least expensive, and made pretty well these days. Easy to install. But you really can't paint them. Vinyl-clad or aluminum-clad wood windows can be painted on the inside, are very durable and weather-resistent outside, very well insulated, and best quality. Not cheap, tho.


3. BOB VIla walked up on his carpenter on this old house and said why the wooden windows and he said properly caulked and maintained they have about the same R-Value as the vinyl those wer andersons also he said to make sure you foam the spaces around the window frames but its still up to you the vinyl doesnt need paint for about 7 to ten years to touch up the sun fade or acid rain damage to the white of the vinyl and the wood may need attention sooner make sur the wood windows have a flashing strip above them as thewater willseep into any size crack and migrate into the box and the walls causing mold and wood loss an old dude


4. Dual pane vinyl. They are low maintenance and they offer great energy efficiency. Also, they are far surpass aluminum and composites as far as asthetic value is concerned. They do not rot like wood, they do not oxidize and corrode like aluminum, and they typically last longer and do not need to be repainted like composites. Look around online and do some homework. A great place to start would be to look at the Milgard Windows website.


5. Sorry Orlando, but Bob Vila don't know jack. Vinyl rocks.


6. About 5 years ago I installed argon gas filled, double hung, tilt in VINYL windows. Their performance on a south facing wall (where the sun pours in all day) is amazing. During heating or cooling the inner pane is at room temperature which tells you the insulation is working....it does not allow cooled air or heated air to escape thru the window. A bonus feaature is they reall y knock down the noise of passing traffic. I paid about $400/window for top-of-the-line Certainteed windows. That price included installation, removal from site of old windows and aluminum cladding of exterior brick mold.


7. Okay, theres a difference between replacement windows (vinyl) and replacing old windows with new windows. Since you mention wood and aluminum as options, I'm assuming you mean replacing the old with new and not actual replacement windows, which amounts to mounting a vinyl sash assembly into the old window frame.

   So with that in mind and respect to everyone else who prefer vinyl, in my opinion vinyl is nothing more than a low budget option. Aluminum clad windows are the best option when you factor in looks, functionality, performance, durability and maintainence versus cost. Vinyl, like all polymer based products, degrades when exposed to elements such as sunlight, rain, wind, heat and cold, leaving the vinyl brittle and susceptible to cracking. Not to mention, vinyl windows look really cheap and mechanically, do not function as well as wood or aluminum. If you are replacing old window units with new window units, aluminum clad is the best option.

   If you do indeed mean actual replacement windows, I've only seen them in vinyl, no wood or aluminum options, just vinyl. But, I've been retired a couple of years, and these may be new options that I'm not aware of. If these ARE new options, I'd probably still be inclined to recommend the aluminum for the same reasons stated above.



8. all of the answers are valad just check the (CRF) condonsation resistace factor thats the heat exchange the other guy was talking about


9. i would say wood like andersen,weathershield, or pella. the drawback is you have to maintain them much sooner than say vinyl. if you go with vinyl, make sure the sashes are reinforced with aluminum. that will save them from warping.