# American Craftsman 70 Series - Anyone use them?



## buckybadger

Yes, I know these aren't high end windows. I have a modest ranch house so I'm looking for a modest replacement window. (Anything will be better than the original 1953 hanging style storms and screens I have now.)

I can find virtually no information about these online. Consumer Reports had previously given the 9500 series a favorable review, but those don't seem to exist anymore.

Anyone have any experience with the 70 Series?


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## HomeSealed

I would not personally use anything less than that 9500 .

More generally speaking, If your budget is modest, my recommendation would be to either wait until you can afford a product that will offer superior performance and durability, or recondition your existing units and add some nice interior or exterior storms. The latter will serve you better in the end, as well as maintain the value of your property compared to el cheapo replacements.


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## framer52

buckybadger said:


> Yes, I know these aren't high end windows. I have a modest ranch house so I'm looking for a modest replacement window. (Anything will be better than the original 1953 hanging style storms and screens I have now.)
> 
> I can find virtually no information about these online. Consumer Reports had previously given the 9500 series a favorable review, but those don't seem to exist anymore.
> 
> Anyone have any experience with the 70 Series?


Buy them. They are private label products from Anderson.


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## HomeSealed

Just to clarify, American Craftsman /Silverline is not a window that is/was made in Andersen factories and "private labeled". Andersen bought that manufacturer to gain a share of the "cost-effective" replacement window market. Andersen's premium line aside from there wood series' is Renewal, which is what competes with higher quality vinyl and composite products.
To further explain my opinion expressed above, I'd encourage you to review the independently tested thermal and structural ratings of any product that you are considering. Rather than trust my opinion or anyone else's, those ratings will tell you exactly how a window will actually perform when installed correctly, and it will also be a tremendous indicator of quality in design and construction. The most relevant thermal ratings are U value and solar heat gain coefficient, and structural are air infiltration and design pressure. For perspective, here is a rundown of what the best vinyl windows are achieving, versus the low-end performers:


U value (double hung, double pane w/low-e and argon) ---------Best .25-.28 -----------Lower end performers .30+
SHGC (for heating dominated/colder climates) ----------------Best .25-.35-----------Lower end performers .18-.35 (this will vary by region)
Air Infiltration (cfm3) ------------------------------------------Best .01-------------Lower end performers .2+
Design Pressure (structural)------------------------------------Best R50-R70 ----------Lower end performers R25-R35

Certainly there are exceptions to every rule, but that gives you a pretty good idea of where any product that you are considering will fall in the performance/quality spectrum. Also keep in mind, that a product that performs better, particularly structurally, is going to do so over a longer period of time and therefore last longer.... I'll also reiterate that I am not necessarily trying to advocate, disparage, or discourage you from buying a particular product, but repairing your existing window and adding good storms would be a better investment than replacements that are at the lower end of price and performance.


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## buckybadger

HomeSealed, do you have recommendations of where to look for new storm windows? HOBO?  (I'm a MKE native; totally missed that you are from there. You'd probably dig the Packer/Badger tap handles I have on my bar.)

This is kind of interesting. I was looking for some certification/rating information on windows outside of Consumer Reports and came across the AAMA. Then I found this on the American Craftsman website.

http://209.235.193.19/knowledge_aama.cfm

Basically the gist of it is that we're probably going to sell next summer. I either need to rehab what we have or put in some new windows. I guess I could do nothing, but we're in an upscale neighborhood and the rest of the house is in pretty good shape with other updates we've done. It's a single floor ranch with only 10 windows. If I could find somewhere to buy windows besides the big box stores I'd be willing to spend ~$300 per window. 

Here's a picture of what I have now. 
Inside: http://www.patrickdaley.com/windowin.jpg
Outside: http://www.patrickdaley.com/windowext.jpg


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