Sierra Pacific windows…help, please! Why does the glass look "green"?
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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Marvin Windows vs Hurd/Sierra Pacific Windows - which is better?
Comments (75)Moisture between the glass would not be caused by poor installation. Rather, it would be caused by a defective manufacturing issue or due to some type of unusual situation where the normal wear was affected. For instance, extreme variations in temperature due to orientation or something going on regarding the interior of your home. I design and specify windows for homes in Florida almost all of them on the water or close by. Sierra Pacific offers a 30 year warranty on its 2605 finish and 20 year warranty on its patented Coreguard wood treatment and I would consider those windows. Andersen performs well too but they reduce their 20 year warranty to 10 years when on the coast. In my 40 year career, I have had great success with Andersen and SP and would run away from Pella if you are looking for an aluminum clad wood window. Just my opinion based on more than a hundred installations....See MoreWindow help please
Comments (38)I’ve never wanted to throw my opinion in the ring but I guess here goes. I guess some will say that we are building a modern farmhouse based on the items I chose for the exterior. We do have black windows and I will have it painted white and it will also have a huge vegetable garden and a couple horses and a cow or two for us as well on our 60 acres. So it will actually be a working farmhouse but our architect modeled it after the 1800s home that I grew up in that was added on again and again throughout the years. The farmhouse style evokes such feelings of joy of the work that used to go in to every little thing to keep the farm up and running. We have lived all around the country and currently in southwest Florida but inside this little girl from Michigan can’t escape the nostalgic feeling that I get when I think of staring out over the beautiful fields after a long, hard days work from my front porch just like I did on my pa’s lap so many years ago. He’s gone now but the promise that I might get to make those same memories with my grandkids someday is what I’m banking on. I have learned so much from these forums since 2008 but it just seems so negative lately and there’s already so much hate in the world that I just don’t want to contribute, so how about we agree to let people call their homes whatever they want, right or wrong, and just wish everyone a home filled with love because if there’s no love at home there will certainly be less to share. What a blessed group we all are. “Farmhouse-2018”...See MoreSemco vs Sierra Pacific windows
Comments (16)On the recommendation of our architect and builder we went with Sierra Pacific Aluminum clad Aspen Casement 2.0 Windows and are in Colorado at 7500'. We do have a few issues, loose aluminum cladding, some inside corners that were not mitered, some warped inside trim pieces, One set of three windows that are mulled together arrived with a really bad scratch. and the only solution, because of the location, is to dab a little paint on the exposed aluminum. If it was at eye level it would have to be replaced but it is up high and not visible to the naked eye so that will be okay with us. The service manager came out and is having everything fixed. My advice is, regardless of what windows you go with, try to meet the service manager for your area ahead of time. We met the SP service manager at the showroom more than a year ago when we were mulling over the windows and he ended up being the same person who came out to go over our concerns so we had a connection. There was one thing we didn't like that was by design, something we missed. The exterior trim for the Aspen Casement 2.0 Windows is assembled using metal screws that will be visible upon finish. The screws are bright silver and don't match the aluminum color. We are going for a modern look so weren't planning to have trim around the windows. About the only thing we can do is go around and dab a bit of paint on the top of each screw which we would only do on the windows that are at eye level. He said no one had ever brought that issue to his attention so maybe it is just us. Other things we didn't realize about the SP windows Aspen casement 2.0 version is that the inside trim pieces are not nailed in. They are held in by something called a rib. This is also by design to cover up hardware and also make it easy to service the window if needed. Only time will tell if this works out. He offered to nail in all the pieces. The windows themselves look great and all came at the exact correct size and had good labels for the installers to figure out where each window should go. Here is something though I still haven't figured out. We looked at the Cardinal Glass website to help us pick which type of glass to use. We also brought out samples and placed them around the house. We went with the Low e 272 which has a Visible Light Transmittance of 72% (we thought the e366 might make it too dark and unable to grow plants) and a Solar Heat Gain coefficient (SHGC) of .41 and a U factor of .30 (without argon). Yet, the VT range for our windows is 48% - 65%, the SHGC ranges from .28 to .31 and the U Factors range from .29 to .32. So there must be some program that considers exposure and a variety of factors to come up with the individual characteristics for each window. So, even though we thought we would be getting 72% of visible light we are in the range of 48% to 65%. There is still a lot of light because we have a lot of windows. I like to grow houseplants so only time will tell if plants will grow. Yes, window selection is very complicated. So that's part of our story with Sierra Pacific, again, only time will tell. We still have a ways to go, the inside windows need to be stained and none of the finish hardware or screens have been delivered as that is one of the last things that will happen. Sierra Pacific does something they call Lock and Slide where they come out and install the finish hardware, screens and adjust any windows that might be difficult to open and close. Hope this helps....See MoreSF Windows/Doors - Milgard fiberglass or Sierra Pacific H3 or Marvin
Comments (19)Hello! Update: WIndows/Doors Choice is now between: (A) Milgard thermally improved A250 aluminum 16 windows - mixed casements and sliders, 3 sliding patio doors 96" X 82" and 1 sliding patio door 72" X 82". Quote for those installed is $44,000. or B) Milgard Ultra C650 fiberglass 16 windows - mixed casements and sliders, same size and number doors. Quote for those installed is $65,800. My understanding is choice (A) the fiberglass windows and doors will comply with Title 24 for my Bay Area home. But as they are $20K more, with fatter sightlines, we are considering hiring a company to provide us with "as built drawings" (floor plans) for our home, and we then hire a Title 24 consultant. My home will then be evaluated for energy efficiency and given a number. By undertaking other energy saving measures (new furnace, R38 insulation instead of more basic, and other measures I know not of, but hope to learn) we can make up the difference for the U value of 0.38 for Milgard thermally improved aluminum, which just misses the 0.30 of Title 24. Milgard standard aluminum has a U value 0.45. Has anyone else gone the energy survey route with a good result? Are these facts correct? Are these quotes fair for the Bay Area? This second contractor is also installing Hardie Board as I noted in my OP. (The first contractor failed to get back to us in time, and so here we are months later. Marvin still not an option, as he's not a certified installer and we'd have to buy them outright.) We are trying to move fast to avoid yet another price increase. Thanks. Should I start a new thread as Sierra Pacific is no longer in the running?...See MoreRelated Professionals
Safety Harbor Window Contractors · Bluffton Window Contractors · Bay Shore General Contractors · Galveston General Contractors · Greenville General Contractors · Mount Vernon General Contractors · Arnold Carpenters · Littleton Siding & Exteriors · Vancouver Architects & Building Designers · Greenville Painters · Lawrenceville Painters · Leesburg Painters · Fort Pierce Painters · Rocky Point General Contractors · Uniondale General Contractors- 3 years ago
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