Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada where Inline Fibreglass windows are manufactured. I chose fibreglass because I think that they will have less expansion/contraction over time and therefore the seals will be better. They are recently installed in my new home, but we are not moving in until April, so I will be better able to make a recommendation then.

Cheers,
Sandy

FYI: Omniglass is the pultruder for several companies mentioned in this thread. http://www.omniglass.com/links.asp

FYI. Tecton is the pultruder for Marvin.

Because of our altitude we can not have an argon fill, and we also have 10,500 HDD.

Just wondered how the lack of gas fill changes things.

Hi sarayale - I apologize getting back to you so late - just not on-line lately.  The first dealer (SC) I contacted never replied actually and I found out from Corporate that he had worked for a vinyl manufacturer and really didn't know fiberglass - so really wasn't interested in selling Serious?!  Anyway, I hope Joe has been able to help you - atleast with comparible information.  He was extremely helpful with me.  I feel fortunate that I've lived in such a cold climate for 30 years (originally from N.Vermont) that I appreciate energy efficiency and am willing to pay the little extra for the bottom line.

I've not started building yet, unfortunately.  I'm on my 2nd builder with problems.  Not sure when I'll be building - this year or when, until problems are settled.  I had my geothermal wells dug last summer (vertical - lot not large enough for horizontal).  I went GEO (always wanted to) due to Fed Tax Credit (less expensive than conventional AFTER rebate), foolish I feel not to now.

You can email me at [email protected]

No, I don't know an  Alan Green in Anchorage, sorry!  Fairbanks is 365 miles form Anchorage, and I've not actually been there for prob 10 years!

We are building in Western NC like marlyrh. After researching carefully, I too chose the Serious 925 series. The windows have just been installed and I can say that there is a noticeable loss of visible transmittance. We have only been able to look at snow through them so far (truly awful winter this year) and I have actually appreciated the fact that the glare is reduced. My builder had several issues, not yet resolved, with the quality of some of the miter joints on the frames, several of which were open. We went with the fir interior cladding, which is beautiful, but have had some problems with mildew, we assume because of the cold, damp weather. Hopefully that too can be resolved.

Our quote for the windows (without cladding or grilles) came to $4000 more than Marvin Integrity Ultrex. That is for 27 windows in a combination of casement, awning, and fixed. With the Serious windows we customized for solar orientation.

Our dealer is based in Asheville, NC and has been, I am sorry to say, less than stellar. We think we are the first to order Serious windows from the dealership which has to date handled primarily vinyl replacement windows and gutter guard systems. The ordering process was trying, as the appropriate questions were not forthcoming, leading to many delays in order placement. We ended up having three separate deliveries from the single order. Hopefully, experience will improve performance for later customers.

We expect to be able to move into our new home early in the summer. Our small 1500 sf house will have r-30 walls and r-50 roof insulation and geothermal heating/cooling and water heating assist. We have about 5500 HHD here. We expect to end up being "sun-tempered" rather than true passive solar due to an unwillingness on our part to wipe out all of our beautiful hardwoods, but have an excellent southern orientation, especially helpful in the winter.

Check out Owens Corning fiberglass windows called Innovision. New product, great pricing, flexible window packages to accommodate solar differences (you may have to ask for high solar heat gain, it is not advertised), warranty by US company, great u values.

I think I have finally found after more than a year the perfect window. The only negative is that it is new, but I will take a chance with an Owens Corning warranty. Contact me privately at [email protected] if you are having trouble finding a dealer or getting a good price. Pricing I got was better than almost all other comparable windows.

Look at Owens site the Solace® Windows looked more interesting. I'm in Texas Austin area did not see any dealers. does anyone have any experience with these.

Who covers the warranty because the window is manufactured by Sound Solutions out of Chicago not O.C. Solace is a vinyl window not fiberglass.

I recently finished construction of an 1800sf "walkout" style home that is very similar to what Steve(altovintner) is planning. ICF subgrade and surrounding the insulated slab which has radiant floor heat. 150sf of south facing glass which is all Serious 925 series, stained/stamped concrete floors, superinsulated, very airtight walls and R50 lid.

The 925 series is actually a quad "Pane" window, as it has two suspended films in between the outer and inner panes of glass. I live in Northeast Wyoming with ~8200heating deg days. I can't say enough about the Serious 925 windows. We just spent our first winter in the house, and our highest heat bill was $60 using an electric boiler for the radiant heat source. Highly recommend teh Serious windows if you can pay for them.

Dave

Stay away from Marvin Integrity.  Built a new house 2 years ago and have nothing but trouble.  They are not very energy efficient and are difficult to work.  The rep has been out to my house 3-4 times and does little fixes each time such as new insulation, adjustments, etc... If I had to do it over again, I would pay an additional 5K for a better brand such as Pella or Anderson.

I notice lots of folks discussing expensive thermal control glass (great data, BTW, thanks) but with double hung windows.

I suggest that these folks strongly consider casement or hinged designs with good air seals. The heat loss programs I have used (I am no expert) show that air infiltration is worth about 1/3 of the house's heat loss, and double hung are 1930's technology that will simply not seal well.

Example:

In my house for the hills of Utah (6300 degree days) if I use windows with a R-3 vs R-5, I spend $400 more per year in heat. However, if I use an air infiltration of 0.7 changes per hour instead of 0.33, I spend about $1000 per year more. In other words, tightening up the house is worth twice as much as using better glass. This means, if you use DH windows and lose the air seal, you wipe out the good effect that the expensive glass got you.

Here is a simple calculator that I used, try it for yourself.
http://www.builditsolar.com/References/Calculators/HeatLoss/HeatLoss.htm

Although you are right that casements have an edge on air infiltration, I think it is very, very, minor. I do not think you are negating what you do with the glass etc. The double hungs of today are not like the old ones, and I believe you can check the air infiltration numbers of a window to compare. I am not an expert or anything, but I am working with an HVAC engineer for my design and he did not seem to make a big deal about whether the windows were casement or double hung. I would think proper installation of the window and sealing air gaps would be most important.

Posted By sarayale on 29 Apr 2010 07:00 AM
Although you are right that casements have an edge on air infiltration, I think it is very, very, minor. I do not think you are negating what you do with the glass etc. The double hungs of today are not like the old ones, and I believe you can check the air infiltration numbers of a window to compare. I am not an expert or anything, but I am working with an HVAC engineer for my design and he did not seem to make a big deal about whether the windows were casement or double hung. I would think proper installation of the window and sealing air gaps would be most important.

Inline Fiberglass has the following numbers for air infiltration.

Casement 0.006 CFM/Sqft
Double Hung 0.12 CFM/sqft

A similar sized double hung allows 20 more air in than a casement.

You be the judge if you think it doesn't have an effect on heating/cooling loads.

Posted By mikeham on 13 Apr 2010 07:16 PM
Stay away from Marvin Integrity.  Built a new house 2 years ago and have nothing but trouble.  They are not very energy efficient and are difficult to work.  The rep has been out to my house 3-4 times and does little fixes each time such as new insulation, adjustments, etc... If I had to do it over again, I would pay an additional 5K for a better brand such as Pella or Anderson.

I also am having problems with the All Ultrex Integity. Seems to be a great deal of heat loss as indicated by condensation build-up on the glass and sash.  This is a new house and the temps just started getting down into the high 30's.  I will have to talk to the rep.

i understand energy efficiency needs but really can't understand paying $1,000.00 plus for a Double-Hung window when someone can buy a Aluminum Clad Double-Hung window that gets a U-Value of .27, a SHGC of .17, and a VT of .37 for around $539.44 which includes screens, ridgid nail fin, and simulated grids.

Contractor pricing on the 36"x60" was about $400, although I checked with one other supplier and they were in the high $500's.

Posted By windowrookie on 06 Mar 2010 05:47 PM
Who covers the warranty because the window is manufactured by Sound Solutions out of Chicago not O.C. Solace is a vinyl window not fiberglass.

R.I.P. Owens Corning . I was just told yesterday from the horses mouth they are no longer in the window business any longer....

You get what you pay for, people, there are no tricks in the building products industry.

Better quality, better performance...etc. comes at a price.

So figure what you budget is and go from there.

The all fiberglass window that Owens Corning used to sell is now being sold (and continuing to be made) by Armaclad, I think it is marketed as a commercial product.  Bottom line it is still available and it is the same window.