I can only mention that I replaced all my windows with Anderson vinyl clad ( light brown color ) in the late ninties ( seven ) and those facing south have faded and are pulling apart in places.

 

Those where probably the old vinyl clad ones . They where great for the corner welds to Crack.

 

On the surface, Andersen's fibrex sounds like a good product, but given they cost so much more, it makes me wonder why they only have a ten year warranty? I personally have no experience with them, so can not attest to their performance.

 

On the surface, Andersen's fibrex sounds like a good product, but given they cost so much more, it makes me wonder why they only have a ten year warranty?

I was told they have a 20-year transferrable warranty and 10-year on hardware.

 

IMO Renewal by Andersen are fairly expensive. And the job you get depends on the contractor. If you need a colored window they are good from that stand point . Any contractor can buy those Andersen windows. IMO any good Energy Star rated window is just as good.

 

Andersen makes a good window (I'm sitting only a few my miles from their factory) but I don't think it's worth the cost. I use Marvin for windows.

 

The Andersen Fibrex100s are not a bad price point compared to a quality Energy Star vinyl. Kind of a boxy frame on them IMO. It's the Renewal I have problems with.

 

The Renewal by Andersen window is sold and installed only by Andersen "affiliates" - i.e. franchises.
Renewal windows are not available to anyone outside of the Renewal franchise network.

Renewal Fibrex is a vinyl and wood fiber composite product that is also the primary component used for the construction of the 100 series windows, and as specific parts in other Andersen lines as well. While they use the same base material in Fibrex, Renewal and 100 series are not the same window. The Renewal is a better looking window than the 100 and has more, and better, options that the 100 series. The 100 series could be considered Andersen's basic builder-grade product.

While Renewal is a very nice looking window, IMO it's overpriced for the product, but many people are willing to accept the cost for the perceived benefit and convenience of the replacement process that Renewal offers....and the Andersen name. As another example, Marvin's Infinity line has much the same business model as Renewal in that it's also a "one-stop" replacement option that is only available from specific Infinity dealers, but unlike Renewal the Infinity is fiberglass.

Did the sales rep say why Fibrex was better than vinyl or fiberglass, or was it more of trust me, I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true? In fact, a window made with Fibrex isn't as strong as fiberglass and isn't as energy efficient as vinyl, and that's not intended as a knock on Renewal or Fibrex, but it is on a couple of the claims that RBA sales people like to throw around.

 

Did the sales rep say why Fibrex was better than vinyl or fiberglass

The reasons he gave for it being better than fiberglass: fiberglass is brittle, and has no UV protection so it can fade in the sun. For vinyl: it expands and contracts much more in the heat cycles we have here in Michigan.

Please note that this is basically what he said, not what I say or is necessarily the truth.

 

We have fro -40F or more to over an 100F here I have not seen problems with a quality vinyl window. Salesman talk is feeding you IMO

 

My experience with Renewal by Andersen

 

One person's experience and posted nine months after the question was asked - sounds like someone searching the web for opportunities to speak despairingly.

 

Just got a flyer from them........... said $250. off each standard window & I thought "Holy crap.... what's a window cost these days?"

 

From them a lot. 🤣

 

I try to avoid posting to old, re-opened threads, but I'll make an exception this time.

I have no first-hand experience with this company. And, after all, this is a DIY forum, not a "have someone do it" forum.

That said, I have a simple way to judge the value of a product or service. The more mailers I get, and the fancier (costlier) the mailers are, the less I'm interested. Someone has to pay for all that marketing. The tradesmen doing the best work, for the most reasonable rates, are way too busy to waste their time on that crap.

So I'll just say, I get a LOT of glossy mailers trying to sell me this service. And, yeah, I've seen the $250 off per window "deal" on some of them. Wow. Right in the recycle bin for those!

 

Yup.

I actually do have experience with Renewal. A few years ago, I had them give me a quote, along with Pella and a couple of local installers. Renewal was, surprisingly, competitive with the others, so I went with them. After I signed the contract, it turned out that they had mis-measured my sliding glass door (which is actually a standard Andersen product anyone can install, unlike Renewal windows, which can only be installed by local franchises) and underquoted the door by a LOT - which is why their total quote was so competitive with everyone else's. To their credit, they honored the contract and installed the windows and door. I've been quite pleased; they look decent and have held up well aside from the handle for the locking mechanism of a casement window breaking. They sent someone to fix it for free under warranty.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago. I needed more windows replaced, so I got a quote from Andersen Renewal, Pella and "Marvin Replacement". All of these are the same idea - big brand names, but local company franchises sell and install the windows. They were all equally ridiculous. What's more, Andersen was the worst with their high-pressure sales tactics - "this price is only available if you sign today". Yeah, get outta here. I got a few quotes from local installers for Marvin Essential fiberglass windows. Every single one of them was less than half the cost of Renewal, Pella and Replacement. I went with one of them and they were installed a few days ago.

Bottom line - all that marketing from the branded franchises is just hype. Yes, the warranties are slightly better but that's about it. That's definitely not worth more than twice the price. And most definitely not worth enduring the high-pressure sales tactics. The local guys were helpful and low key.

 

$250 off? I didn't pay $250 for any of the windows I replaced in my house, including the custom sized ones and the 4'x6' picture windows. I took me no more than 3 hours to install each of them. I did most of them 20 years ago, and have had no problems with any of them. Most are Jeld-Wen. A few are Crestline.

 

I replaced the windows and gliders for my house and bought Andersen through their dealer, Home Depot. Big mistake as when they short shipped many items no one at Andersen would talk to me and I was told I needed to work through the "dealer". Years later I am still missing parts.

When on window failed thanks to the experimental synthetic composite used, it took months for Andersen to agree to honor the warranty.

I would recommend using Marvin or other manufacturer and buying from a local owner operated window dealer.

 

...I was told I needed to work through the "dealer".

Did you try that? I've had good luck returning things to HD and Lowe's.

 

Home Depot is impossible to deal with on any issue. I tried for 6 months to get someone at Home Depot to return my call and finally got a call back from the person in the nursery department.

I only buy items at Home Depot that I can carry out of the store and if there is a problem I can take it back to the store. For anything else it is foolish to deal with them.

For appliances Best Buy provides the best pre-sale and post-sale customer service and having bought a microwave and an upright freezer and a fridge and a clothes washer from them their customer service level is exceptional.

 

Home Depot is impossible to deal with on any issue. I tried for 6 months to get someone at Home Depot to return my call and finally got a call back from the person in the nursery department.

Maybe it's just your store. I ordered custom size windows through them and had no problems.

 

That warranty comes with small print responsibilities-such as maintaining by deep cleaning and painting every year and having the records to prove it if calling for warranty issues.

 

We spent almost $10,000 to replace a glass door. We specifically told Jorge that we want a door that can accomodate our dog door without the hot or cold air coming in. He said they have people who specialize in that. The door looks great but there is a bigger gap than in our old door. I contacted Jorge who sent an Amazon link for some rubber tape for me to fix the gap. He also offered to do a consultation for my neighbor who was interested in having her windows replaced. (I WILL NOT BE REFERING THEM NOW) I called RBA again and they sent a couple of men out to fix it but neither could. The last one came out on December 2nd. He said he needed to talk to someone to see what they need to do. He said we would be hearing from them within 48 hours or sooner. That was the last anyone from RBA contacted us. So I called on December 27th. Adriana, (not sure of the spelling) put me on hold then came back and said she spoke with her manager and she said Jorge should not have told me that and it was a salesman issue not an Anderson issue so there is nothing they can do. I told her I want to speak with her manager and she argued that she is telling me verbatum what she was told and it wouldn't do any good. I told her to have a manager call me. I will see what happens within the next couple of days then I will be contacting the ROC and BBB.

 

These are all franchises, they're interested in profit and nothing else. Vastly overpriced, a salesman would have met with you initially- whose skillset was closing an deal, not product expertise or knowledge of installation procedures. RBL recently quoted a client $90k for a job I can do at $30k with higher grade products.

File a small claims suit.

 

Chances are you can buy another house for what the Anderson windows cost.

 

$10K in windows & $30k for 16 manhours of labor? Think about it.

 

Hi all,

Our house is nearing 25 years old and has all the original windows. They are mostly Andersen "contractor grade" wood windows and have held up pretty well, but lately, I've noticed a lot of drafts coming in around some of them, some of the glass gets condensation on it, some wood is rotted and a few don't latch or lock properly. In short, it's time to replace them.

I have a contractor buddy who doesn't do windows but gave me a few companies to check out. The first that I had come by was Renewal by Andersen. We have around 30 windows and one sliding glass door, so it's a big and expensive job. I wasn't expecting it to be quite so expensive as the Andersen quote I received, but it wasn't too far off.

When the salesman was here, one thing he focused on was the material their windows are made out of. Their Fibrex material is basically the window equivalent of Trex or composite decking, and is supposedly much better than vinyl, wood or fiberglass.

We have two other companies coming out in the next few days so we'll have some comparisons. This is our "forever" home and plan on being here another 25-30 years so I really don't want to skimp or have to do this all again in 10-15 years.

Are Andersen windows really better than vinyl or fiberglass?

i'm visiting this post probably way after the fact; so, I'll keep it simple: did you purchase new windows or are you still conemplating?