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Pella Designer vs. Weather Shield Signature Series

8 years ago

We are building a new construction in the midwest. We are deciding between Pella Designer vs. Weather Shield Signature Series. Our builder prefers the Weather Shield and brought us both windows today. The Weather Shield were easier to use and heavier. But I don't know much about them. Help!

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Comments (5)

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Windows on Washington Ltd
8 years ago
Are those the only two options? If you polled most of the posters on here that deal in windows, I would reckon that most would have another suggestion. In that comparison, I think the Designer probably gets the nod in my book.
millworkman
8 years ago
As WoW said, in that comparison the Designer series would win but in my opinion still be pretty far down the list of what I would use. What type of windows (double hung, casement)? All Wood? Wood Clad? Custom build or a developer? What type of house?
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Loewen is the best of what you have listed. I know the Loewen dealer in Huntsville. Loewen makes really good stuff, but its pricey. Burt Dale owns the Marvin distributorship in Huntsville and he is also pricey. Pella in you market use to be Frank Day, but he sold out to a company in Indiana I think. Rumor has it, they are a train wreck. The Loewen dealer in your market is relatively new. Loewen practically pulled out of there when the market went bad. The current dealer runs pretty lean and I doubt they will have nearly as much of a mark-up as Marvin (Dale inc). Windsor is not a quality product. Its mid-level builder grade. The sales rep is pushing it for a reason. Could be they get higher margin/commission. Could be the manufacture is paying a spiff directly to the sales rep (not uncommon). Weather Shield use to be a good product when the old man was still running it. His sons took over and pretty much gutted the quality control. When Ed Schield still ran it, they made good stuff. I think Ed is still alive but not active in the day to day operations. Give Loewen a call. I would use them on my projects, but they are made in Canada and if I need parts this time of year I'm pretty much out of luck until they thaw out. I they had planned on building a plant/warehouse in South Carolina before the recession hit just to address the issue of weather delays and service, but I don't know if that ever happened.
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i agree that's why they buy them - they are cheap. but they must be a decent window without any problems even though they are cheap and ugly. my cookie cutter house had the cheapest windows ever, but we never had problems with them. they were ugly, but they worked. so my dilemma is finding a window in the same price ballpark that is a decent window but not so cheap looking. i gut is telling me that there's no such window and we are going to have to bust the budget on windows.
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I just installed 27 Anderson 400 Series, double hung replacement types, in my 95 year old home, and 1 patio door too. Love them. All of the subs working on my job have complimented them. I went with a terra tone finish on the outside, and they have wood on the inside. They glide very nicely, were installed really well (having a good contractor is everything!), got the screens with them too. It came out to about $700 per window plus or minus (I had odd sized windows - being an old home). Love the tilt out function for easy cleaning. The patio door was about $2500, including the cost of the hardware (6' door) and installation. It would have been more but my regular contractor as opposed to my window contractor offered to install it when he heard that it was going to cost nearly $4000 for the window contractor to do it (it would have been a special order door in that instance and I went to Home Depot to get the one I purchased instead). They have been through several heavy rains already and so far, so good.
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@Windows on Washington Ltd and @quasiexpert Sorry if my last message came through in a different tone, I'd been up for awhile and was just stream of consciousness posting. From my research here on this forum, it just seems that invariably quite a few posts discount the entry level windows and recommend the Anderson 400 or Marvin Integrity ++ type windows. Hoping that I can learn from you all. Our situation is a new construction in the deep South (Birmingham AL). About 60 windows on the house. Front facing windows I believe have to be aluminum clad, the rear might be able to get way with a vinyl window. Rear will be facing the South West, but looks like there will be some tree coverage as well as decks/roofing for the majority of the windows. The builder has spec'd Piva Group vinyl windows. They are Argon filled, double glazed, Low E 366. U-factor 0.26, SHGC 0.21, Visible Transmittance 0.49 and air leakage < 0.3. He mentioned that the Anderson 100's might be within the same price range, and we would be interested in the Smart Sun if it's available with the low E4 coating to help protect the wood floors. While I can appreciate the beauty of the wood interiors, our preference is for something low maintenance and can handle sun without fading. We've never had a double hung window before and a single hung is fine. We open the windows in our current house maybe 8-10 times a year to air the house out, otherwise they stay shut. Sadly, we wash our windows even less times /duck Given the above criteria, might you have some thoughts or recommendations, or are there any additional questions I might answer?
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Dana S
Original Author
8 years ago
The Pella Designer is what is in my contract. My builder is trying to work with another salesman that sells Weather Shield as he does not like Pella. So I feel pretty limited to those two as the window order on my custom house needs to be made on Monday. The info in my contract states the following: "Pella Designer Series with internal grills. Clad exterior. Windows to be painted to match the inside trim of the house. Pella Designer Sliding patio doors per plan." Are there other windows within that budget range that you would recommend?
millworkman
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Personally since you now tell me they are Clad I would chose neither as both are a poor choice. The aluminum cladding used is "roll form (think coke can), and inside of 10 years will look nothing like the window frame (which will be extruded). This is a custom build, so why are these your only options? Are you small town or in a city? This is your home, personally I would slam the brakes on were I you but the choice is yours. As far as within budget I am not currently in the residential business and have not been for a few years so I am not up on current pricing, especially Pella.
friedajune
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Pella Designer series windows are actually quite expensive. I am replacing some old Pellas, and my contractor quoted me both Marvin Ultimates and Pella Designer (though I only asked him for Marvin). I am not getting any grids (those do add to the cost). The Pella Designer windows cost less than Marvin Ultimates, but not a lot less. The increase in quality of Marvins is greater IMHO than the cost difference. However, to do an entire house in Marvin Ultimates would be very expensive.

You could look at Kolbe Ultras to see if there is more of a savings. They are better than Pellas. Or, some people do combinations to save money of wood-clad on some windows, like in the front, with less expensive vinyl or fiberglass windows in less visible areas or on top floors.
Dana S thanked friedajune

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