# replace anderson windows



## NateHanson (Apr 15, 2007)

Putting in replacement vinyl windows has nothing to do with removing siding. Replacement units just install in place of the sashes of the original window. But, unless you're planning to replace those windows with new construction windows as good or better, I'd definitely leave those in place. The glass units on those windows is still under warranty! If any have seal failures (clouding between the panes) or if the space between the panes is collapsing, Anderson will repair or replace those units for another 5 years! 

And replacing them with anything decent will cost you a few hundred a piece, or more. (sure you can get $100 vinyl replacements, but why would you go from what you have to THAT?)


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## PKHI (Oct 23, 2007)

What you have in your house are Andersen 200 series windows commonly reffered to as "builders windows" These windows suck! We replace tons of these every year in houses that are only 5-10 years old. The nice thing about them is the sashes, and two piece jamb liners pop right out and you can install a replacement window inside of them, OR you can do new construction windows if you replace the siding. As a window and siding contractor i would recommend staying away from the Andersen line, however if you must, MAKE SURE you use the 400 SERIES Andersen and not the 200 which is what you have now.


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## marcusa007 (Feb 16, 2008)

I have to agree with PKHI, If you are going to decide to do the windows do it before you do the siding. Any good siding company will tell you to do windows first since siding is done with watter flow in mind and the siding is brought to the window and sealed. It can be done the other way around but first windows then siding is the best way to go if you have the ability.


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## PKHI (Oct 23, 2007)

marcusa007 said:


> I have to agree with PKHI, If you are going to decide to do the windows do it before you do the siding. Any good siding company will tell you to do windows first since siding is done with watter flow in mind and the siding is brought to the window and sealed. It can be done the other way around but first windows then siding is the best way to go if you have the ability.


It is fairly simple to put vinyl replacements in the Andersen 200's after the siding, if need be.


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## TomK3534 (Apr 21, 2008)

*Andersen Windows*

If you can tell me the code in the corner of the window around the Andersen Triangle I can tell you much more about your windows. 




hobbyguy2002 said:


> we are re siding our house and are thinking of new windows. our windows are Anderson they say high performance on them and are wood. the wood is in bad shape on some of the windows that get a lot of sun. they are only stained not painted as our house has a lot of oak wood work. my question is can i justify getting rid of Anderson windows for vinyl replacments. the house was built in 1992 we did not build and the windows are double pained. I can't image they are Anderson's top product just based on who built the house and all the corners they cut. Are todays windows better than 15 year old windows. I think we could paint the frames to hide the wood fade and dry out, but i just see a good time to do windows is when the old siding is off and makes easy access to the windows. thanks


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## CrossWorks (Apr 19, 2008)

HobbyGuy,

Looking on the "other side of the coin", if you do decide to just replace the Series 200 Andersons, my first and foremost suggestion for vinyl windows would be to:

#1. Get a unit with "Welded Corners" and nothing screwed together at the corners.
#2. If you live where it gets cold/4 seasons, get Low-E/Argon glass
#3. If your on the East Coast, I'd suggest Harvey Windows and or Paradigm

But my opinion on the current windows is two fold: There is still some life in those units. At least 5 years if not a few more above that. However as we know, they don't make anything like they use to these days. It's all about the bottom line and so they cut corners to provide an affordable product, and I'm sure PKHI has dealt with these windows enough too not mislead you. So I believe his point valid. That being said: if it were me and I could afford to replace them I would. Your pretty much going "down the hill" with the lifecycle of these windows.

Now as far as cost, here in Maine, the Harvey windows I just put in cost on average "with all the Bling" [Low-E/Argon-Full Screen-Welded Corners-Grids] about $225 - $250. I'm a firm believer in "You get what you pay for". Go Cheap? You get cheap. It's pretty simple. 

Another consideration is interior trim! You may be able to get a standard size unit to fit the opening, but you will most likely have to put up new interior trim that's 3-1/2" (if you have a standard 2-1/2" colonial casing). This larger trim will be needed to hide either the paint line or wallpaper line.

So....with all that said, unless your prepared to spend on average [material & labor for new windows] somewhere around $500 per unit, keep the ones you have. Again, there's always cheaper labor and cheaper materials. 

It's your choice.


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## hobbyguy2002 (Jan 20, 2008)

*anderson update*

here is my update. thanks for the info on this site. we are done with our siding project and what I ended up doing was replacing one window that was a anderson 200 that the builder put in 16 years ago. I put in a anderson 400 double hung tilt and wash in that spot the down side like stated in the above post is that I have trim work to do now by taking the whole unit out. I was able to take the whole old unit out and put a new in before the siders did their thing. I have also replaced two other anderson 200 double hungs with a anderson converstion kit that changes the 200 window to a tilt and wash 400. I have five more to go. all the new windows are low e glass with argon. the kits went in very easy about a half hour a window. what is nice about the kits it that the trim like stated earlier stays in tact. I have five more windows to go when I save a little more money up. the main motivation for converting them was simply we liked the tilt and wash since all of these windows are on the second floor and tilt and wash sure beats hauling the ladder out to clean them. Most of the window are in good shape so I feel bad taking them out until I tilt them and see how easy they work. we had a few more cold windy days after I put the converstions in and they kept the wind and breeze out. I know anderson windows take some bad raps at times but overall I am happy with how things have worked out.


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## SURFSIDEBUILER (Aug 11, 2008)

*Refurbish B4 going Vinyl*



hobbyguy2002 said:


> we are re siding our house and are thinking of new windows. our windows are Anderson they say high performance on them and are wood. the wood is in bad shape on some of the windows that get a lot of sun. they are only stained not painted as our house has a lot of oak wood work. my question is can i justify getting rid of Anderson windows for vinyl replacments. the house was built in 1992 we did not build and the windows are double pained. I can't image they are Anderson's top product just based on who built the house and all the corners they cut. Are todays windows better than 15 year old windows. I think we could paint the frames to hide the wood fade and dry out, but i just see a good time to do windows is when the old siding is off and makes easy access to the windows. thanks


What ever you do, do not go vinyl. I don't care who the company or manufacturer is, vinyl windows stink. One thing is that they expand and contract greatly which is why the seals are compromised in no time. When its hot they get soft and you'll often see whats called the vinyl smile on the check rails of double hungs. Vinyl also fades, white turns a bit yellowish over time and any darker color becomes faded.Once this happens your screwed as far as astetics because you can't paint vinyl. Lastly, vinyl winows invade glass space. I have ralely if ever seen a vinyl window where there wasn't at LEAST 3" of frame and sash from the jamb to the glass. Basically Vinyl stinks and window companies spend millions on propaganda telling consumers how great it is. They can do this because their profit margins from selling to uneducated and unaware customers are ridiculous. Come on, vinyl is plastic plain and simple. Why would you want to protect everything in your home with plastic? Would you put a plastic dining room table in your home? How about a vinyl coffe table or bedroom furniture. Probably not, so why use it in an opening in your home that that is so important. Plain and simple, vinyl twists, cracks expands, contracts, warps, fades etc. -- So your best bet is to either restore your existing windows or find another solution i.e. window. If you go vinyl you will lessen the value of your home and create problems for the future


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## PKHI (Oct 23, 2007)

SURFSIDEBUILER said:


> What ever you do, do not go vinyl. I don't care who the company or manufacturer is, vinyl windows stink. One thing is that they expand and contract greatly which is why the seals are compromised in no time. When its hot they get soft and you'll often see whats called the vinyl smile on the check rails of double hungs. Vinyl also fades, white turns a bit yellowish over time and any darker color becomes faded.Once this happens your screwed as far as astetics because you can't paint vinyl. Lastly, vinyl winows invade glass space. I have ralely if ever seen a vinyl window where there wasn't at LEAST 3" of frame and sash from the jamb to the glass. Basically Vinyl stinks and window companies spend millions on propaganda telling consumers how great it is. They can do this because their profit margins from selling to uneducated and unaware customers are ridiculous. Come on, vinyl is plastic plain and simple. Why would you want to protect everything in your home with plastic? Would you put a plastic dining room table in your home? How about a vinyl coffe table or bedroom furniture. Probably not, so why use it in an opening in your home that that is so important. Plain and simple, vinyl twists, cracks expands, contracts, warps, fades etc. -- So your best bet is to either restore your existing windows or find another solution i.e. window. If you go vinyl you will lessen the value of your home and create problems for the future


Surfside, let us know when your ready to return from your field trim to 1980 All of those issues have been corrected and perfected within the last 10-15 years

by the way, are you saying that wood doesn't expand and contract?


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## MichaelS (Nov 1, 2008)

*Andersen vs Vinyl ect.*

Opinion. . .I have always admired the Andersen product...yeah, go with the 400 Series. Wood will expand and contract but not nearly to the extremes vinyl will. The Andersen idea of vinyl cladding the exterior of wood windows is, that the wood and vinyl enhance each other for one thing. . .not allowing each other to be as much affected by climate conditions because the vinyl is conformed to the wood. Keeping the wood look sounds like the best investment in this case for obvious reasons. With all that said. . .the many things that should be considered before replacing all the windows is a bit overwhelming for most people.
I believe to really get the best return on investment you have to do your homework and, though alot of research is involved you'll get not only the best window for your BUDGET but the window will only be as good as the company installing it. . .so the formula is. . . 

Window + Window Installer or ( Fitter ) = Return on Investment.


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## rodpaine (Jan 15, 2009)

MichaelS said:


> Snip - Opinion. . .I have always admired the Andersen product...yeah, go with the 400 Series. Wood will expand and contract but not nearly to the extremes vinyl will.


Michael makes some good points and I share the same experience with the 400 series, that I used where I was unable to save our 100+ year old windows, in our Sears type house. I've created a well illustrated website showing what we've done to restore our old windows, for those that may be interested. http://tinyurl.com/9dbzc9
-Rod


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## Paaul24 (Aug 12, 2009)

*Anderson sucks*

Anderson doesn't help customer's who have problems with their orders, they pass the buck to their distributors. I have waited over two months for my screens and the dealer, nor Anderson, will give me any answers or apologies I don't care how good their windows are, I will never buy their product again.


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## brooklynboy (Dec 7, 2009)

I have a double hung Anderson 200 window with a glass crack on my top sash. I was originally going to replace the windows but after gaining some helpful insight from this thread I'm going to replace the glass under the warranty instead. Heres the dilemma. Before I found this site and thread, I stupidly broke the jamb liners. Is there a way I can get those replaced? Or would it be easier and more beneficial to upgrade the anderson windows with vinyl replacements?


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