Replacement windows
 

Our home here in sunny Tucson was built in 1963. (9" thick burnd adobe walls). The windows were the original single pane sliders. We went to Lowes and had a quote of $2100 to replace the 5 windows that were still the originals. The replacements are Pella double pane, low e tempered glass. Our neighbor (and friend) had a similar job done by a custom window shop and paid $6,000 for five windows. His are triple pane construction. I could not see the benefit given the difference in cost, given the rather mild Winters here. Anyone out there who can list the benefits of the far more expensive units? BTW....four of the five in both cases are the same sizes; the fifth on our case is 4 feet h x 8 feet wide; his half that width. OUrs are U factor 0.35, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient 0.29, Visible Transmittance 0.51. In addition, the south facing wall has a 36" overhang and during the summer receiving no direct sun.

This is what I do for a living, sell and install replacement windows. First off, I wouldn't purchase through Lowes or the Home Defect. You can do better on price and leave a little on the table for a quality installation by an independent contractor. Do your research on any contractor. The actual Pella Window Store is a franchise of Pella and have their own employees in most cases. Not saying they are the cheapest, but they know Lowes is just across town.

Most other brands like Andersen are not franchised with the exception of one Anderson product, Andersen Renewal, a composite material frame.

All glass is the same. You can Goggle all day long about glass and learn a ton of info about noise control, energy, etc. The best thing about ANY new window is the weatherstripping. Think about it. Your cars have single panes of glass, yet the car is much quieter inside (with the engine off) with the windows up rather than even cracked open. Sound travels through air space, even between dual panes. There is no sound in a vacuum.

Yes, the windows can vibrate in harmonics. Sometimes we use 2 different thicknesses in the dual pane assembly to change those harmonics. And, we can use laminated glass (like your windshield) as one of the panes. A single sheet of 1/4" lammy has the STC (sound transmission control, a good Google term) as 2 panes of 1/8th spaced at a 1/4". Go to Safetylite for that info. Definitely get LowE or LowE Squared.

I could go on and on all day about this. Shoot me some specific questions.

Milt:

Thanks.

I did have a independent contractor do the install, arranged by Lowe's. His reputation was very good; we contracted three of his references. We had tried to go the direct route to Pella (I do trust them) and Lowe's was having a sale and I got a price for the same model/part nos that was 15% lower than the company.

We have Davis-Monthan Air Base just a few miles away and the fly boys are always busy playing aeronautical graba$$. We have noticed a definite reduction in transmitted sound. In your opinion, the triple pane advantage over the double pane....Is it worth it in the climate down here? I have my doubts......