Pella

Here is a link that might be useful: pella windows

I believe pella is the only mfgr. that makes these windows. On another forum, there is a post concerning older pellas and rot issues due to outside cladding being defective and allowing moisture in.I would like to think that with newer pellas this has been solved, but a little heads up for you to do your homework on this before making a pella purchase.

Thank you. Are these new? When we asked my architect about this, he said they didn't exist!

We must have been writing at the same time. Thank you for all your help. I will def do some research before purchasing.

They have been around for a couple of years now. My wife and i looked into them and thought they were a great idea, but we are going with another window outfit.They have them in their website.

lowes carries the pella line. If you check out pellas website, click on windows,then casement. It's the designer series that has the internal blinds.

These have been on the market for a number of years, but I've always avoided them because I figured there are more things to go wrong, and replacement would be a pain in the butt and very expensive. Has anyone on this forum had them long enough to convince me that they'll hold up for a reasonable period of time.

My mom in law put one of the pellas up over her kitchen sink. In the five years she's had it, it's fogged twice. Once because of a manufacturing issue with pella, once because her painters painted over the vents on the window. She says Pella customer service is awful. Her new vacation house has all Jeldwen windows-she won't use pella again because they're such jerks to deal with on repairs, even when it's their fault.

We have Pellas with the internal blinds in a couple of windows for 2 years. They work great. My parents have had them in some of their windows for many years and I have never heard of them having any problems. I believe that Pella dealers are locally owned and YMMV depending upon the owner. Our local dealer gives great customer service. I have had my retractable screen adjusted very quickly with just one phone call. They even fixed my roll screen that the painter messed up by dripping stain inside the channel - no charge.

We have several of them, the first ones being installed about 5 years ago, the most recent, about 18 months ago. My only complaint with the first ones is that the blinds didn't work smoothly and effortlessly; you could adjust them, but they tended to stick a bit. They were great for 'a bit of screening' but not for a situation where you would adjust the blinds several times a day. The newer windows have a slightly different blinds system that works much better.

Mechanically, the blinds assembly is a separate piece from the 'regular' window -- a sheet of glass, blinds, and clips that fasten into slots in the window frame on the inside of the house. Given the way they're installed, I can't see how the blinds would make the window more vulnerable to moisture problems, though I could see how the extra layer of glass might trap moisture inside the frame if the window itself was faulty.

Are you shopping for wood only or is vinyl an option?

Michael

I thought new construction was almost always wood. Is vinyl an option or is that just for replacement windows? We'd be open to both.

Just had the Pella people come and give me an estimate. Love the windows but would like to hear more from people who have them. I'd like to have the shade rather than the blinds. Anyone have and like them?

Hi.

We had Pella windows in our first house. They were probably installed 13 or 14 years ago. We had both pleated shades and aluminum blinds. They worked great. Only one caveat---if you have the blinds in the window and you have the window open, you have no privacy. It was a little annoying to have to close the casements at night just to get dressed. If you live in a climate where you don't open windows much, this probably won't be a problem for you.

I have the shades (and muntins) and am very happy with them. The house is five years old. If you will have muntins, be sure they are snapped in all around or the shade will catch on them. I love that the shades are virtually dust-free and can fold up to such a little space at the top of the frame. Remember you will have to wash *four* glass surfaces from time to time.