So I'm buying a house in Austin that was built in 1906. I need to get the windows replaced or restored so they actually work. Anyone have any experience with getting this done? Does anyone have any vague idea what I should be looking to pay per window for replacement or restoration? I had Pella out and I'm waiting on their quote but they guy said to replace the wood windows would run around $1200 per window installed which seemed high, but I would only expect a high quote from Pella. Pella doesn't restore windows either. I'm trying to get a hold of another company for that. Anyhow I just wanted to see if anyone had experience with replacing or restoring wood windows.
Southwest Exteriors got good reviews on Yelp, robbie. Here's the link. http://www.yelp.com/biz/southwest-exteriors-austin Red River Restorations is another option, but didn't get great feedback on Yelp. Good luck! Sounds like another classic Austin house. -
It all depends on the window you are trying to replace. $1200 doesn't sound all that bad, in the spectrum of nice "ish" wood windows. Installed, that's a good price. Cream of the crop can be upwards of 3-4K per for new windows, just for the product. A few of the cost factors will include the following: 1. is it clad with aluminum on the exterior . . . I believe Pella's architect series is. An all wood window could be cheaper, but you'll have to invest in painting and maintenance over the long haul. 2. How does it operate (does it operate). Double Hung versus Casement, etc. Fixed is cheapest. The more sashes you have that move, the more expensive the window. 3. Is it painted on the interior? or stained. Painted is cheaper. 4. What kind of glass are they specifying? you'll have to make sure you can replace your windows while still meeting energy codes in Austin. 5. Size of window Other companies you might check out: Anderson E-Series (Used to be Eagle Windows) Loewen WeatherSheild Kolby MRJ (www.mrjwoodprod.com) Local Houston Company Find local reps and go look at the exact products . . . you'll be able to make a decision much easier.
Yeah I gave that Red River Restorations a call and sent an email, but haven't heard back yet. Their negative reviews I saw were from people who chose to not use Red River because of their inability to return calls.... I'll give Southwest a call tomorrow.
Painted shut, nonfunctional, single pane, and some of the casements are busted. They might be repairable but I need to get a company who repairs them out there.
Your earlier quote is not bad at all. Pier and beam house? Has anything shifted? Do you need to replace any wood or rock/mortar around the windows? Getting 90degree angles in an old house is entertaining. I've spent the past year or so restoring a 120 year old rock ranch house. The windows are the most fun, but I'm re-glazing antique panes.
It's pier and beam and it was worked on back in 2009. Yeah it has shifted too. They had the back patio door and 2 windows replaced with vinyl Pella windows back in 2009 as well. One of windows is fogged and the bolt side of the door actual has a spot where it buckled and it won't open. The foundation people were out earlier today doing measurements, but I wasn't there for it. Hope to hear something tomorrow about the foundation since you can't really do much with the windows until that is settled. The ground there is limestone so it should settle fine, but who knows. I don't know anything about foundations (or even the exact geology there), but I'm curious why they used wood beams instead of something metal. The inspector even labeled them as temporary wood beams. I'm excited to get this project going, but man there so much stuff that needs to be fixed because the previous owners fixed things on the cheap. They have been making a lot of money leasing it as a vacation rental since it is right downtown on east 8th, but they have really skimped on the necessary maintenance. Even simple stuff like flashings, awnings, and getting some sort of French drain type deal would have stopped a lot of these water damage issues. Anyhow...that's enough of a rant for now lol.
