Custom Wood Windows
 

Anyone been down this route?
I have a 30+yo house with original Pella windows, double hung and casement.
I replaced a pair a few years ago and bought Pella ProLine from Lowes for like $150ea and they have been great.
So we need to replace several more of them but the sizing is no longer available so they need to be custom manufactured. I looked at several other manufacturers and no luck.
I called Pella and they sent in a contractor rep to take a look and quote them. Their pricing was ridiculous. Like $7k for two installed or like $3400 for just the windows.

So, does anyone have a recommendation of who can make the custom wood windows?

Thanks

Might be cheaper to have a carpenter enlarge the openings a little to fit the next stock size up. You might also be able to enlarge the trim a tad and put slightly smaller windows in. Third option is to just put the replacement inserts in the original openings rather than a complete window, this will only work if your frames are in good shape.

I was in a similar position when we bought our house seven years ago. Replacing the previous owner installed vinyl windows with Pella was ridiculous. For a couple grand more we went with Art Glass Millwork custom wood windows. They even blew out wall and installed taller arched wood windows across all the bedrooms and much larger view windows in the living spaces. The difference in cost was surprisingly small.

The only PITA is that seven years in, the wood frames on the south facing side could use painting...$3500??? :confused:

AG Millworks : Windows

Why are you replacing them? Is it possible to have your existing windows restored?

If not, I would bet that if you looked around you would find a local carpenter that would be able to make you new windows from scratch.
And because this would most likely be a smaller business could do it for reasonable money.

Certainly not as cheap as a standard windows from a big company but it would have to be cheaper than enlarging the openings or mucking around trying to fudge standard windows.

The frame bottoms are all rotting.

I have Andersen Windows in my house. They are very similar to Pella.
Andersen Windows & Doors

What kind of siding do you have? If you have brick or stucco, changing the size of the opening will be much more difficult, if it's wood siding, going a little larger is fairly easy.

In my opinion, the replacement window business is one of the biggest rip-offs in home improvement. Amazing what they charge and a couple guys can do a whole house in a day or two.

When I built our house, I bought JELD-WEN windows. The quality is OK, but if I had it to do over again I'd take a look at Anderson or Marvin. At the time, I didn't think about whether the windows were standard sizes or not. I just ordered them in the sizes I wanted (5X8, 5X6, 5X4 & so on). I guess what I ordered are all standard sizes. They have wood on the inside and are metal clad on the outside in the color I ordered. If I had to replace windows, I would want metal clad on the outside. It eliminates or reduces weathering & rot. Shop around for different brands with the same style or similar style.

+1 Marv points to a real issue. I wish I had done metal clad exteriors. Mine are hardwood, so there's no rot yet, and they looked beautiful for about five years. It's been only seven years now and they need to be completely refinished.

Welcome to CA paint. better if you spat on it for better protection. That's the way it is. Sorry to tell you that.

I have no clue what size or type window the OP is after but the quotes are probably jacked with a cripple.... pun. Pella is trash and over rated.

Marvin is excellent. Call a rep and give them the rough opening dims. If its really an oddity, push to see if they have other odd sized or something close in a warehouse. There's ways to make them work, even if it involves opening up a bit or downsize and re-trim. Get a contractor and provide them with your research and get that sucker for wholesale.

I've done new Marvin sliders doors, enlarged the opening - requiring siding strip, new header, misc. electric, re-trim, re-install siding + trim for $1200.... out the door (pun :). Good night.

BTW: Ask the Marvin rep for display showroom samples. Take 75% off.

I get top quality Marvins for around 900 a window. A local installer can buy and install them for cheaper than my buy price.

Keep calling.

How bad is it? Got a pic?

you might be able to buy some time by cutting and gluing another piece of lumber to it depending how bad is the rot or use this stuff.

I have had great result with their products. The us forestry uses it on their buildings Abatron Building and Restoration Products - Adhesives, Sealants, Coatings & Epoxies. - Abatron, Inc.

Wood Restoration- Abatron - YouTube great stuff

The "contractor grade" crappy wood windows in my house were all shot, we went with exterior clad Andersen windows and had the same issue with custom sizes. We were able to go marginally smaller or bigger by an inch or two depending on the windows and use their stock sizes, which saved thousands. To compensate we had to replace the interior trim with slightly wider (which looks better anyway), and custom rip the exterior trim to fit.

Andersen makes fantastic windows, my father in law is a contractor and has been installing them for 30+ years. Very rarely does he have a callback, and when he does their warranty is excellent.

Paging Zeke, PPOT Poster Zeke!


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Since you have existing openings and they are not a "standard" size, you will need custom-sized windows for your openings. There are two excellent options you should consider. First, as mentioned, Andersen makes an excellent product. Their main line brands are all made for standard size openings, but they have a custom line for existing homes called Renewal by Andersen. Renewal by Andersen is made for projects like yours. You would call them directly to get a quote.

The other option is Marvin. Marvin makes a similar wood window but their windows are all custom sized, so you can use any of their brands. They have a broad range of wood, fiberglass and vinyl. You can call any local Marvin distributor to get a quote.

EDIT: I didn't see that the reason for replacement was that the frame bottoms are rotting. This means one of about three things. First, check with Pella to make sure the windows aren't defective. From time to time window manufacturers get batches of wood preserver that doesn't work, or wasn't applied correctly, etc. I don't know of any issues like that with Pella, but it's a possibility.

The second and third issues are more serious. You may have a water infiltration issue with your house. Since the house is 30 years old and you haven't noticed anything else, it seems unlikely that you have a significant water infiltration issue, but you should not have rotting windows, even at 30 years old. Have you done anything to check the rest of the wall to make sure it hasn't been damaged? You might be getting water in around the perimeter of the window where the frame meets the siding or cladding. Make sure the perimeter of the window is caulked where it meets the house.

The third issue that comes to mind is condensation that comes from humidity in the air condensing onto the relatively cool surface of the window glass and then draining onto the frame. What level of humidity do you keep your home? It needs to come down as the outside temperature gets colder.