| We're replacing our all wood windows with vinyl, 3/4 inch, sill wrapped in aluminum for $384/window. We have an addition with vinyl ones and they are far superior for insulation. Our wood ones are 20 years old and rotting. |
Average, modern wood windows aren't going to have a greater longevity. Pre-war wavy glass with old growth wood frame is a different story, but that's not what people are talking about. |
Nope, that’s incorrect. Even modern wood windows last longer than vinyl. https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/vinyl-vs-wood-windows/ |
No. What is ballpark then? |
| We ordered new windows recently. They came to about 950 a piece, all custom. Good quality vinyl with simulated divided lights. Could have done wood but those would have been a lot more. Hope they look good, they will be here in another 4 weeks. |
Let us know how they turn out! |
They are carcinogenic. |
How many people die every year from window cancer? |
| High quality vinyl, with the grids on the outside and inside, looks ok right? We have a 100 year old house. Hope we’re not making a mistake. We can’t afford 2k per window. Right now the windows don’t function, are full of chipping lead paint, and the storm windows we have to use in order not to freeze in the winter are disgusting. We have two young kids and just want to be able to get fresh air in the house without worrying about lead poisoning or spending more than we have. |
Windows are the eyes of the house. You will be completely ruining the character and look of your house if you replace them with vinyl. Might as well put vinyl siding on the side of the house or painting the brick. You can replace the windows with quality wood windows or have them restored (often with tax credits offsetting some of the costs). Note the original windows were probably made with old growth wood that no longer exists. Restoring them is the best option IMHO. |
Thank you for this, but restoring them isn't really an option because I can't have airborne particles of lead paint floating around. I have young children in the house. I also hate the look of storm windows, and it's too cold not to have them in the winter. |
You can get this addressed with a EPA lead certified restoration contractor. We've done this and we have young children. As long as they're not eating the paint chips or you're in the house while a non-certified painter does the scraping, you shouldn't have a problem. All of our kids have been tested and never registered any levels. |
I should have added (PP). If it's an old home, then you probably have lead in all the base boards and trim. It's not just the windows. You can have XRF test done to actually see where the leaded paint is in the house. It usually runs a few hundred dollars. |
How much did that cost you? And you still need storm windows on top of the originals, right? |
So you got SDLs? This is pretty much exactly what we want, but will have two fewer windows. What was the name of the window you went with and what company did the install? |