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I currently have wood sash windows. Does replacing them with vinyl windows help or hurt my resell value?

My house is 15 years old and most of the seals have broken and the windows are fogged. We are looking at replacement options and have found that vinyl is a lot less expensive than wood or composite. Our house is worth about $500k and we don't want to hurt our resell since we will be moving withint hte next 3-5 years. Will vinyl windows hurt the resell value in a house in our price range?

Public Comments

1. The wood sash is way more interesting than vinyl and adds character to your home. Can the wood be repaired? I think that you should try your best to save it. Vinyl is so boring, ordinary, and "Un-green."

   I would like to see some pictures of the problem. I think there is a viable solution to repairing the wood. I know a guy who is a magician at repairing stuff like this. I can show the pictures to him for you! He will have an idea, for sure.



2. Yes it will, because most vinyl windows have the vinyl showing on the inside also-since they are all vinyl. Some are available in a woodgrain color like honey oak, dark pecan, but it does not take "Bob Villa" to tell the difference.

   It's sort of like putting an addition onto a all brick house and putting vinyl siding on the outside of the addition instead of brick.

   I would think your home now has probably Pella,Andersen,Marvin,Peachtree,Hurd, or another brand of good quality.

   Wood is a good insulating property, most of the all vinyl windows are hollow inside the frames. Vinyl does expand and contract a lot also. They do have their purpose.

   I have Andersen windows and have experienced seal failure on one window. Andersen had a 20yr seal failure warranty when i purchased mine, they had a field rep come out and did send me a new sash that I replaced myself, they offered to replace it but I knew the process and did it myself. Many windows have the brand name etched in small letters and codes in the corner of the glass. You may have some time left on your glass warranty on these.

   Check it out. Also sometimes if you have any patio doors,french doors the builder would have used the same brand as the windows, look on these doors for a brand name and look on the screens of the windows, sometimes there is a brandname on these.

   It's tempting - but I would not do this.



3. Stick to the sash windows, they are an asset not a hindrance.


4. Vinyl although , in my opinion, looks cheaper than wood, metal, or composite windows will probably not hurt the value of your house. Wood deteriorates and it swells and contracts which compromises the workability of the windows. Vinyl windows are fairly stable. The only thing that might hurt the resale of your house is if the buyer prefers wood to vinyl. If you can find windows made of cypress wood they will not rot. Cypress trees grow in the swamp. I recently rebuilt someones sache windows and replaced the rotten wood with cypress.