thewindowdog, Author at TheWindowDog | Replacement Windows Reviews

Understanding Window Prices

Recently the owner of one of our favorite window companies told me that a customer who had found him through our site was confused or unsure about my pricing examples so I wanted to clarify things a little bit.

This potential customer met with the owner of the company and when he showed her how the pricing would work for her project she said that Dan at TheWindowDog.com told her it would cost less and she thought he was offering a bad deal. I know him to be an upstanding guy, so I need to try to fix this situation.

It’s important to keep in mind that when I’m throwing out examples of what a window project should cost I don’t know anything about your house, your old windows or the options you’d like in your new windows. I know a lot of things, but I don’t know as much as the person who has taken the time to learn the details of your specific window replacement project.

As you’re reading my reviews it’s important to remember that most of the time when I’m talking about prices I’m talking about a plain, simple project with white double hung windows as that’s the most common scenario we deal with.

If your project requires extra work to fix a problem or if you’ve picked out windows with fancy options the prices will be higher. For example, if you’re ordering triple pane windows with a nice exterior color, a woodgrain interior and etched glass it will cost a bit more than any estimate I’ve thrown out there as those are expensive options.

This is why I repeatedly suggest starting with either the companies that we recommend here. You can be pretty confident that they’ll treat you well and give you an honest assessment of your actual project.

Folks do contact me with questions regarding specifics relating to their project and I try to help as much as I can, but without being directly involved in your project all I can do is guess.

I hope that helps to clarify any misunderstanding. If there is ever anything I can do to help just drop me a line with the contact link at the bottom of every page.

Thanks!
Dan

In Defense of Salespeople

Since starting this site I’ve attracted a bit more attention than I anticipated. As is often the case on the internet, there have been many people with questionable spelling skills who have criticized me for one thing or another. For the most part I have a chuckle, forward their emails to my friends, and move on with my life.

However, there has been one criticism that struck a nerve and it has to do with salespeople. Some of my most popular posts have been explaining the common sales tactics used in the shady corners of the replacement window business specifically and the home improvement business more generally. I’ve tried to shine a light on some of the methods that salespeople use to get folks to overpay for new windows and judging by many of the positive comments, I’ve been able to help quite a few people. That really feels great.

The criticism that has stood out to me has to do with the reasoning that because I’m exposing these tactics I must not like, appreciate or understand salespeople. This bothers me for several reasons, but most specifically because I have a deeper respect for a serious professional salesperson than just about anyone you’ve ever met.

I’ve worked in professional sales for almost 20 years in several industries. I’ve known great salespeople and sales managers and of course I’ve known the bad ones too. There are several important misconceptions relating to what it means to be a salesperson and this feels like a good time to address them.

First, misleading someone into making a bad purchasing decision is not the job of a professional salesperson. I’ll tell you why.

Sales is a craft. It’s a hard job that many people are afraid to do. It takes work and it involves failure; often quite a lot of failure. The failure is different than a baseball player who strikes out. That is done on the field in front of the crowd. Everyone knows you put in the practice and tried hard. You still might get cut, but your efforts are seen.

The failure that you’ll experience in sales is solitary. It’s you sitting alone in your car on a cold rainy night listening to a voicemail from a customer saying they bought elsewhere. It’s knowing you needed that sale to hit your numbers and remembering that customer shaking your hand and looking you in the eye just last week saying he was going to work with you. It can take an emotional toll that folks with regular salaried 9-5 jobs just don’t understand.

Folks deal with that kind of pressure differently and unfortunately some choose to take the easy road. You can lie or mislead your customers and if you’re half way good at that you can make a living. Being good at deception doesn’t make you a good salesperson. Why not? It’s too easy.

James Brown once said there’s a big difference between a lounge act and the main stage. If you need to mislead your customers to get a sale you will never make it to the main stage. You may be able to pay your rent, feed your family, buy a nice car, and you may even pickup a few “salesperson of the month” trophies, but you’ll never really be successful if you base your success on lying to your customers.

After college I was a finance manager at a car dealership in Indiana. We helped to arrange loans, sold extended warranties and other insurance products. During that time an undercover piece aired on a national news magazine show (Dateline or 20/20 or one of those). The show exposed some shady dealings amongst finance managers and it included hidden camera footage. It was pretty bad and as an insider it was completely unsurprising.

I knew that I never wanted to be the bad guy featured on one of those shows. I also knew that some of our transactions were not always the type that would make my mom proud. The pressure to hit our numbers was strong and we had to face the music in the managers meetings every month. A professional salesperson faces a level of accountability that Jill in customer service or Mike at the sandwich shop will never understand.

I was faced with a choice. I could keep doing things the way I had been taught and hope Stone Phillips never came walking through my door, or I could find a better way. I hid a tape recorder on my desk (this is back when recorders actually had tapes) and I listened to my interactions with customers, the successes and the failures.

I asked myself if I would be comfortable with this tape being played on the nightly news and at first the answer was a resounding no. To keep things short here I’ll let you know that I made it my business to solve that problem. I sought additional information about my products, met with experts, and focused my efforts on selling the products that created the most value for my customers. Within just a few months I was generating the second highest profit per contract in the dealership group, I was making more money each month and I was doing it with my head held high. There’s nothing wrong with making a lot of money when you’re not deceiving people.

Unfortunately in the window business it’s not uncommon for a salesperson to be in a no-win situation. There are many companies out there offering bad deals every day and the salesperson often has little to no say in the matter. A company offering typical vinyl replacement windows at $1,000 – $1,200 per window is offering a pretty bad deal and that salesperson is faced with a difficult choice. They can tell you it’s a bad deal and quickly find the unemployment line or they can follow the script and try to get paid.

In cases like that it’s common for the sales manager to recruit salespeople who are not familiar with the business. That way they can teach them that all of their claims are actually true. The inexperienced salesperson will believe this for a while which of course makes his job much easier. You can see evidence of this in the comments on my posts. We have industry people posing about how their windows really are so great that they are worth that cost. I ask them what makes them so great and they say things like virgin vinyl, special glass, fully welded frames, “top quality”, or they just don’t respond.

In many if not most cases the salesperson actually believes that his products are better. Why wouldn’t they? Their boss seems like a knowledgeable guy and he’s explained all of this very thoroughly. Once the salesperson realizes that many other companies are offering the same or very comparable products with similar installation and similar warranties at a fraction of the cost they’re faced with a pretty hard choice. If they’re going to keep their job the only option is to lie to the customer, try to sell the contract and justify it as being a “good salesperson” in order to sleep at night.

The job of a professional salesperson is to understand the wants and needs of their customers, provide a solution to a problem and to do it in a way that represents a real value to the customer.

Of course if you’re the salesperson you’re going to emphasize the positives and downplay the negatives. You’re going to know what your competitors are offering. You’re going to show that customer why your solution is the best solution and you’re going to continue to put yourself out there facing rejection every day.

You’re going to offer a professional demonstration of your products and you’re going to present information clearly and accurately in order to make sure that customers know you’re the best deal going.

If you’re going to make it to the main stage you’re going to work on your craft over and over and over again. How are you presenting this option? What caused you to lose that deal? What caused you to get this one? What could have gone better today? You’ll need to put in a lot of work that never gets seen.

When your coworkers spend 2 hours in a Starbucks waiting for their next appointment you spend that time in your car listening to a recording of your last sales call and talking out loud to yourself as you’re role-playing a different customer interaction. Does that feel awkward at first? Sure. Is it effective? Absolutely. Is it harder than drinking a mocha latte and talking about football with your friends? Yep.

When I started my company I knew I wanted to create an environment where success could be achieved without compromising our character and we’ve been lucky enough to achieve that. We have any great salespeople on our team who work hard every single day to help our customers. I know as the owner of a business I have the opportunity to control my own environment in a way that many people do not.

Ultimately if you find your self in a sales position that is a lounge act you have a responsibility to yourself and your family to find another job. Chalk it up as a life experience, and put those sales skills to work in the job market. As someone who has hired a lot of people I can tell you there are great jobs out there regardless of what you hear on the news. Staying in a bad sales job is nobody fault but yours.

Sales is a great profession. It can offer earning potential unmatched by many other professions and it comes with a freedom and a level of control that many people will never experience. Don’t be the guy out there lying to customers at 10:00PM about the managers special that expires today. It really is unnecessary and it gives us all a bad name. The really great professional salespeople in our industry make a whole lot more money up there on the main stage than any lounge act ever will. I promise.

If you’re looking for a window company right now, the best advice we have is to check out our list of the best window companies all over the country. You can find it right here.

Bow vs Bay Windows – What’s the difference?

We get asked about the differences between bow vs bay windows all the time. We finally decided it was time to whip up a post with the correct answer for all to see.

To put it simply the difference is in the layout of the windows. Both bow and bay windows stick out from the house, but they have a different look. Bow windows are made up of equal sized lites or panels while bay windows have a center section that is larger than the sides.

We may need a picture for this one. First we’ll start with a bay window.

Ok, so that’s a bay window. 3 panels, and the center is larger than the sides.

Now, here’s a bow window:
See the difference? The bow has several panels and they’re all the same size. A bow window can have 3, 4, 5, 6 or more panels, but they’re always the same size.

Is a bow window better than a bay window?

Nope, it is really just a style difference. Do you prefer the look of the larger picture window in the center or a bay window or would you rather have several symmetrical panels? One is not better than the other, they’re just different.

What is the price difference between a bow and a bay window?

The difference in cost is typically pretty small. Many manufacturers will charge more for a bigger window, but the difference between a bow and a bay is typically not a huge driver of the cost. A bow window with many panels (called lites) will typically cost more than a bay window with only 3 lites.

A cost difference of a few hundred dollars wouldn’t be unusual, but you shouldn’t see much more difference than that.

As you’re shopping for new windows be sure to check out our detailed window reviews here. If you’re looking for anything that you can’t find be sure to post a comment or send us an email. We read every single one and we’ll do our best to respond.

Single Hung vs Double Hung Windows

Here’s a little bit of terminology that is often misunderstood. What are the differences between single hung vs double hung windows? Here we’ll take a look at the basic definition and we’ll look at some of the other advantages and disadvantages including the cost, the operation, the screens, how they function and the typical price.

First things first! The basic definition:

Both single hung and double hung windows open up and down. The difference is that in a single hung window the bottom sash opens up and down, but the top does not move.

In a double hung window the bottom sash slides up and down AND the top sash also opens and closes.

Perhaps this picture will help:

single hung vs double hung windows — Here is the difference between a single hung and a double hung window.

So there it is, the difference is in how the window operates. People often confuse double hung with double pane. For the difference between double pane and triple pane windows check this out.

Ok, so how important is this difference?

Well, that’s really up to you. One important thing to keep in mind is that a single hung window does not allow the top sash to tilt in for easy cleaning. That means the bottom will tilt in, but the top will not. Is that a big deal? Only you can decide.

Beyond that many people don’t open the top very often so the difference is not important to them. We open the top quite a bit in my house as the window dog is a redbone coonhound from the hills of West Virginia and he would go straight through a screen if he saw a varmint in the yard. For us it is very important that the top opens, but you may have different priorities.

What is the price difference between single hung vs double hung windows?

This is a question we get asked a lot. The difference typically isn’t huge, but it can add up. The two windows are essentially the same with the single hung having less hardware. The cost difference between the two will depend on the manufacturer, but it wouldn’t be uncommon to see a price difference of $20-$40 per window.

If you have 20 windows in your house that amount can add up. We’ll often suggest switching to single hung windows as a way to save a few bucks, but it really just depends on how you plan on using them.

We hope that helps, for more detailed info on the greatest replacement windows check out these reviews. If there is anything you’re looking for that you can’t find just post a comment or send us an email. We read every single one and we do our best to respond!

Replacement vs New Construction Windows

Folks ask us all the time if they should get replacement windows or new construction windows. Are the windows the builder uses when they build a new home really any better or worse than the replacement windows that are sold by companies all over town?

We’re going to get to the bottom of this great debate right here. Get ready!

Before you can understand which option is better for you, you’ll need to understand what the terms mean. Basically a new construction or new home window is designed to be installed before the siding or brick is installed on the exterior of the home. A replacement window is designed to be installed after the siding or brick is already on the home.

Take a look at this picture. Here you can see two Pella windows that I bought from Lowes. The two models are very similar, but one has a fin that goes around the perimeter. This is called a nail fin and it is the only real difference between replacement vs new construction windows.

new home vs builder grade vs replacement windows. — This nail fin around the edge of the window is the only difference between replacement vs new construction windows.

That’s the only difference. Now, some people of varying degrees of honesty may tell you there are other differences beyond the nail fin (also called a nail flange). Let’s take a look at what someone might say.

New constriction windows are builder grade windows. They’re cheap and flimsy.

This is often true and it’s something to watch out for, but it’s not always the case. You can see in our review of the ThermaStar by Pella Series 10 new construction window that many of them are cheap.

Manufacturers build new construction windows with builders in mind. Believe it or not they’re more focused on the builder who buys thousands of windows than you, the guy looking to install 15 new windows in your home.

They know that builders want windows fast and cheap so that’s what they make. Builders know that when you’re buying a new home you’re looking at the fancy tub and the shiny kitchen. The windows are often an afterthought so they don’t spend any more money than they need to.

Here’s one way to think about it. When you’re buying a new home you’re buying a whole lot of things all at once. You’re less focused on each individual thing. When you’re buying replacement windows you’r just buying windows. You’re focused on the windows and you’re trying to get the best products you can.

Manufacturers of both new construction and replacement windows know this very well and they prioritize quality and costs based on the typical customer for each product.

If you’re buying new construction windows and you’re looking for quality be careful. It’s easy to go wrong here.

New construction windows will give me more light than replacement windows.

This may be true, but it may not. You’ll need to have a good idea of how the windows will actually go in before you can make that determination. Remember, the only real difference is the nail flange. The window itself is the same.

Often times replacement windows are installed inside the existing wood window frame. This is called a pocket installation because the window is placed in a pocket in the old frame.

There is nothing wrong with this installation method. In fact all new vinyl windows have a 3.25″ jamb depth because they’re designed to be installed in a wood frame.

Could you get more glass area by removing the existing wood frame? Maybe, but maybe not. If you remove the wood frame a new wood frame would typically need to be installed. Sometimes this comes with the windows, sometimes the installer will build it on site, but it is typically part of the installation. Is the new wood frame any thicker or thinner than the old wood frame you removed?

I have no idea, it depends on your house and you’re installer, but the difference is probably not dramatic. This is often used as a sales tactic, but it typically doesn’t make any noticeable difference.

New construction windows form a better seal than replacement windows.

I would expect this idea is spread by folks who are more familiar with new construction window installations. When installing a new construction window it’s easy to see how it’s sealed. Typically the nail flange is fastened to the sheathing then there is a moisture barrier (like a house wrap) and flashing tape applied in a specific manor around the window. When done properly it looks solid and it’s easy to see that it’s done.

In a replacement window installation it’s harder to see because you’re relying on the seal of the existing frame behind the siding. There are literally millions of replacement windows installed each and every year with no epidemic of leaks so it’s safe to assume that if they’re installed properly there is no greater risk of a leak from a new construction or new home windows compared to replacement windows.

So, which one is better?

Like most things in the window business there isn’t necessarily an easy answer. In general new construction windows are cheaper and of lower quality than replacement windows, but there are nice new construction and cheap replacement windows. The best strategy we can suggest is to find some local experts to take a look at your home and make a few suggestions.

We know the window business can be difficult to navigate and we applaud you for taking the time to do your research before making a decision. We would suggest doing the same thing when calling local window companies. We’ve done some of the work for you. For starters you can find our list of the best local window companies right here.

ThermaStar by Pella Series 10 Windows Reviews From Lowes

The ThermaStar by Pella Series 10 window is a new construction vinyl window and it offers a great way to illustrate the differences between new construction and replacement windows.

It’s not a fantastic window, but it is widely available. This model is distributed at Lowes stores all over the place. We bought one at a store in Northern Virginia and you can probably find one at a store new you too.

We’ll get deep into the physical and philosophical differences between a new construction window and a replacement window in a future post. For now, here’s what we mean by new construction.

new construction vinyl window — You can see the nail fin in this picture. The nail holes are circled in green.

If you can see past my poor artwork, the nail fin is the part that sticks out all the way around the perimeter of the window. This fin goes behind the siding or prick on your home. It’s easy to install a window like this when you’re building a home, harder when you’re remodeling an existing home.

You’ll also notice this is a single hung window. That means the bottom opens up and down, but the top is fixed. The top section does not move, it does not tilt in for easy cleaning, it doesn’t really do anything at all. That is common with new construction windows and it’s a way they keep the costs down.

What’s good about the ThermaStar by Pella Series 10?

Well, it’s not expensive and that’s good. We found a pretty good selection of sizes at our neighborhood Lowes store. I bought a smaller on for this example because I was going to put it in the trunk of my car. The size of this one is 23.5″ x 37.5″ and it cost me something like $115. It includes grids in between the panes of glass and a full screen. Bigger windows do cost a little more.

A window “expert” might tell you why they don’t like this window (I will too), but everyone will agree that it’s not expensive.

Ok, it’s inexpensive, what else is good about it?

Here’s one you may not have expected. It’s pretty energy efficient. This is the NFRC sticker from the window I bought.

Thermostat by Pella Series 10 — These are the efficiency ratings for the ThermaStar by Pella Series 10 new construction window.

You can learn more about window efficiency ratings here, or you can take my word for it. These ratings are pretty solid. It has a decent U-Factor, good Solar Heat Gain Coefficient for the area and a reasonable Visible Transmittance rating. Overall, a solid performer, especially considering the price.

What’s not so good about the ThermaStar by Pella Series 10?

A cynic might say that everything is bad about a window like this, but I’m really trying to keep an open mind in dealing with products like this so I’ll be specific.

First, buying windows from stock sizes is risky. As you’d expect Lowes stocks a range of sizes, but they’re not likely to have every exact size you need. If you’re building a shed and you can cut the hole to match the window, but if you’re installing windows into an existing hole in y our house these might not fit right.

You can do your best to make them fit by modifying the opening, but you’re likely to end up with something that doesn’t look great or doesn’t seal as well as you might like. If you’re considering buying windows from Lowes you’re likely pretty handy, but the result might not be what you’re looking for.

Next, the finishing just doesn’t seem to be too great. As you can see in the picture here, the welds are HUGE.

Thermostat by Pella Series 10 quality — Notice the giant weld in the corner of the ThermaStar by Pella Series 10 window.

The lack of attention to finishing touches like this is common on many inexpensive new construction windows. It is not specific to the ThermaStar by Pella Series 10 window. It is ugly and if you’re going to be living in this house for years to come details like this may be important to you.

Next, the screen is really flimsy. It comes with a half screen that is fixed in place. You may or may not prefer a screen that slides up and down, but this screen doesn’t move at it feels flimsy.

Thermostat by Pella Series 10 Screen — Here you can see the flimsy screen and the weep holes on this ThermaStar by Pella window.

We could go on and on about why this is a cheep screen, but we’ll spare yo the details. If you get these windows just be really careful with them.

In the above picture you’ll also see the weep holes in the bottom of the frame. It’s that rectangular hole in the bottom center of the picture. That is a channel for water to get out. It’s a bit of an older design, and they have the opportunity to get clogged or filled up with junk.

So what’s the bottom line?

Well, if you decide this morning that you want to install some new windows in the shed you’re building this afternoon these would be an easy and cheep way to get the project done.

If speed and price are your two driving factors you might want to go for it. If you’re looking for a great fit and great quality you can probably find a better value in a nicer custom made window without braking the bank.

For now, you can take a look through the rest of our window reviews here or if you have a great suggestion for a future Pella window review or window related article just post a comment right here.

Indianapolis Home Show – Special Offer Come Visit Us!

Hey all, we’ll be headed to the Indianapolis home show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in the next few days. The show starts on Friday January 23rd and runs through Sunday February 1st. Right now it looks like I’ll be getting there on Monday the 26th.

I’ll be at the booth along with several of our other fantastic team members and we have a special offer for readers of TheWindowDog.

Every day after being on our feet for a long time we typically treat the other vendors in our row to a nice cold beer during the last hour of the home show. We call it home show happy hour and as you might expect we typically have a lot of friends in our row!

If you’re going to be coming by the Indianapolis Home Show between January 26 and January 31 come on by and say hi. If you come by for happy hour we’ll get you a FREE coozie. How’s that for a fantastic deal!

Of course we’ll be available all day long to answer any questions you may have about your replacement window or door project. Our team in Indy is a good as they come and I’ll be there too.

We don’t talk about our company much on this site as we’re typically just focued on helping people navigate this business. Home shows are such a fun thing to do so it’s hard for us to resist the chance to meet our fantastic readers.

The team is out at the fairgrounds setting up for the show today. We’re excited for the opportunity to show folks why we offer the absolute best value in Indy when it comes to new replacement windows.

We love meeting our readers in person. If you’re coming by the Indianapolis Home Show be sure to swing by our booth.

Have fun and we hope to see you at the show!

Chickens, Eggs & Online Reviews

We were recently contacted by the president of a window manufacturer with a concern about the way we were reviewing her products. We know running a business can be stressful and the thought of less than positive info about your company isn’t thrilling. We get that, but the point of the site is to provide our thoughts on various products to folks considering a replacement window project. It’s not our job to be nice.

We’re in touch with manufacturing folks all the time and we typically don’t write a post about each one. The reason we wanted to write about this one relates to this specific comment she made:

“I’m certain the manufacturers you carry enjoy the benefits of a favorable review on your site, while those of us you compete against mysteriously have less than stellar reviews.”

This misses a really important point and it occurs to us that other reasonable people might come to the same errant conclusion. For that reason we wanted to make sure we address it. While it’s a bit of a chicken an egg scenario, the ultimate answer is pretty clear. I hope.

Do we give favorable reviews to the products we carry as she suggests or do we carry products that compare well with the other offerings in the marketplace?

There is really nothing mysterious about it. Like most businesses our only goal is to grow the business. We work hard to earn more customers every day. In that effort we know we need to offer great products that will hold up over time from a manufacturer that is likely to be around for the long haul.

We don’t want to send our reps into a customer’s home with 25 window samples so we evaluate the options ahead of time and we make recommendations based on what they’re trying to accomplish.

There is a lot of effort that goes into deciding which products to offer. Much more than most customers probably realize. That’s ok. We’re supposed to be the window experts and we take our job pretty seriously. We routinely evaluate new window options to make sure we’re aware of what is going on in the marketplace.

I would bet we spend 50-100 hours per year evaluating window options to decide if we want to offer them through our business. Even after doing this for years we still routinely compare window options. We do it all the time; we’re crazy like that. Our customers are hiring a professional window company and they want our expert advice. We take that seriously.

At the end of the day we offer a rather expansive range of replacement windows. We have basic double pane single hung vinyl windows for a rental property, we have fancy triple pane options for the greenest of customers, we offer a complete line of historic wood and aluminum clad windows and we’re about to bring on a new composite window line. The shortest warranty we offer is 20 years and most everything we offer comes with a complete lifetime warranty.

There are quite a few windows that we don’t carry because we’re not thrilled with some aspect of the product, the company, the warranty, etc. Sometimes customers specifically ask us to install a model they want. We will do that when we can, but we often refuse those requests as we know we’re the ones that will be blamed if/when something doesn’t perform as expected. We stick with quality because we want happy customers. I would much rather lose an order than have an unhappy customer. That very scenario played out yesterday at our Alexandria, VA office.

We do carry some of the products that we’ve reviewed on the site and we’ve made note of that. We’re offering the best products we’re aware of and we’ll continue to do that as long as we’re in charge around here.

So what’s the bottom line?

We carry the best replacement windows that we know of. If we find better products we’ll carry those. If we knew of better products and didn’t at least offer them we’d be doing our customers a great disservice. That’s what you would want from any professional company, isn’t it?

NFRC Ratings Explained

As you’re shopping for new replacement windows you may have heard of NFRC ratings. It’s important to understand what these ratings are and what they mean about your new windows. First of all NFRC stands for the National Fenestration Rating Council. They’re based outside of Washington DC in Greenbelt Maryland. They are the national body that sets the standards for replacement window ratings.

Just about all new windows and doors offered today are NFRC rated as they need to be in order to qualify for the Energy Star program. The mice thing about NFRC ratings is that they are clear. Every new window will come with an NFRC sticker which clearly displays the ratings for that individual window or door. There is no room for salesperson trickery.

champion window prices — Despite claims of their salespeople and long heat lamp demonstrations, Champion windows have average efficiency ratings.

The NFRC stickers will look like the example above. As you can see they display the U-Factor and the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) on the top line and the Visible Transmittence (VT Rating) on the bottom left side. These are the ratings that MUST be on each window.

On the bottom line this window from Champion Windows also shows the Condensation Resistance which is optional. Some windows, like the Simonton window pictured below, will have a blank space in the lower right side. There is nothing wrong with this, but it does indicate that they don’t want to advertise their rating.

Simonton Reflections 5500 window ratings

Why are NFRC ratings important?

These ratings are important because they are solid. They are not up for interpretation or subject to change at a moments notice.

We hear stories about salespeople with all sorts of bogus info. We see R-Values getting thrown around and hear about promises made to customers that are just plain impossible. The NFRC ratings provide a way to really evaluate what you’re actually getting to make sure it meets the promises you were made.

What should you do it the sticker does not match what you were told?

Whatever claims the company makes about the energy efficiency of their windows make sure to get them in writing. Let them know you’ll be checking it agains the NFRC stickers. If they match you’re doing great and if they don’t somebody has some explaining to do.

If you feel like you’re getting fishy numbers during the sales phase ask them for the real NFRC ratings. If the ratings you get don’t match what you were previously told then you know they were being tricky with you. If they were I would suggest you find another company. There are plenty of fish in the sea as they say.

Hopefully you caught these shenanigans during the sales process. If they’re not caught until the products are installed it will be harder to figure out a solution.

What if the windows do not come with NFRC stickers?

This probably means that the company removed them prior to installation which is a huge red flag. it may mean that they’re trying to hide something from you and there may be very little you can do about it at this point.

What’s the bottom line?

NFRC ratings are a great way to evaluate the differences between various window products. We see customers struggling with these evaluations all the time.

In fact, just today I got a call from one of our reps who was out meeting with a customer. The customer had asked our guy how thick the gap between the 2 panes of glass is. Before we go answering that question it’s important for us to identify what the customer is actually asking.

Does the customer care if there is 1/2″ or 3″ of space in there? Nope. What they want is an energy efficient window and some other company probably told them that you need to have this much space or that much space in order to be efficient. Of course the simple way to tell how efficient one window is compared to another is to look at the U-Factors on the NFRC sticker. If one is lower than it’s better and if it’s higher than it’s worse.

Does the space in-between the glass make any difference? Who cares. Either the ratings are better or they’re not better. The measurement of this dimension or that dimension don’t matter one bit. This is how NFRC ratings make window shopping easier.

Find more info on replacement window ratings here and you can find the most comprehensive and detailed replacement window reviews on the internet right here.

Have fun!

If you’re looking for a window company right now, the best advice we have is to check out our list of the best window companies all over the country. You can find it right here.

Home Advisor vs Angie’s List

We get requests literally every day for recommendations for honest local window companies. While we have a pretty good amount of experience working all over the country we can’t recommend local companies in every area. We just don’t know who the best company is Tulsa is, but we know 2 great ways to find out.

If you’ve been reading through the site for a bit you’ve probably seen that we frequently recommend Angie’s List. We do think it’s a great way to get feedback from folks on the companies operating in your area.

Of course Angie’s List is a site that collected feedback from real customers. On the site you can find info on the companies, detailed reviews from real customers all over your area. They do charge a small membership fee .

We do know some folks just don’t want to pay to join a list like that. They want to find local window companies and they want to get a couple of free quotes.

Fortunately for you there is a company called Home Advisor that will put you in touch with screened and approved local contractors who will be happy to give you a free quote for your project.

Home Advisor verifies all of the licensing and insurance info of all of the contractors in their system so you can be sure you’re being connected with someone who is reputable in the area.

It’s important to keep in mind that you’ll likely be contacted by 3-4 companies regarding your project. It’s our suggestion to talk to all of them, but to still be skeptical. If they throw up any red flags, just move on to the next one. If they tell you that need both the husband and the wife to be present, I’d move on to the next company. If they sound helpful and like they know what they’re talking about I’d suggest scheduling a free quote to see what they have to offer.

It’s an easy way to get the ball rolling on your project and you can get started right here. Have fun!