Renewal by Andersen window replacements are the new improved-quality replacement window now offered by Andersen Windows.
Andersen is a name that has been around for a long time and is respected by homeowners.
Only a few years ago Andersen windows offered a vinyl replacement window that was sold as a good quality vinyl window and the answer to everyone’s energy saving needs.
Swarms of homeowners replaced their original windows without thinking.
Andersen window with WRONG color placement.
Now ten-fifteen years later these disposable and hazardous windows increase the size of landfills across the country. The windows were only temporary.
Good news – now there is a better quality vinyl window than Andersen’s Silver Line – Renewal by Andersen. They now call if Fibrex but it’s still plastic. After promoting their windows as being so good, now Andersen realizes they weren’t that great. But now, their new and improved version will last longer and has a warranty for 20 years, but there is some fine print.
Renewal by Andersen Limited Warranty
- 20 years for glass and the seal that contains it.
- 2 year warranty for improper installation.
- 10 years for components other than glass.
- What is not covered is normal wear, painting, improper washing, fading due to normal weathering, harsh cleaners, structural settling.
It is unfortunate, but most homeowners would prefer to buy a window with a questionable 10-20 year limited warranty than maintain their original windows to last 200 years. Why? – because it’s easier to replace than repair. Also in this sad world many homeowners do not care what happens to their home after they’re gone.
How long will it be before Andersen Windows admits the Renewal by Andersen line also falls short of expectations and market a new model? It doesn’t matter. Once your original windows are replaced, window manufacturers have a customer for not only the life of the homeowner but also the house. What a brilliant scheme!
With the high price of energy, homeowners are more conscious of their heating bills and the trend to be “green”. No one thinks of the dangers of vinyl or how all these replacement windows fill up the landfill each year.
Window Energy Efficiency Reports
Manufacturers issue reports showing how much energy savings one could expect if they buy their windows. Homeowners do not question this information for it’s just what they wanted to hear. They fit the bill of the perfect consumer. The report looks important and throws around a lot of numbers that are pretty confusing so it has to be good.
However, independent studies having no affiliation with window manufacturers show us different results. But what good is an independent analysis when there is no salesperson to sell it? The manufacturer’s information is everywhere – we can’t escape it!
You don’t get the real story from a commercial when a manufacturer has a financial interest. The manufacturers have the money to bombard the consumer with THEIR studies that THEY paid for.
So instead of maintaining their original windows, homeowners fall for this hook line and sinker and end up replacing all their old windows.
If for some reason the homeowner is hesitant, they really don’t have much of a chance.
These salespeople are highly trained sharks.
A homeowner should expect a lot of pressure from a salesperson who is under pressure from their boss – all making a high commission off you.
They want you to make an immediate decision and make an offer with a price difficult to refuse.
Salesmanship is both a science and an art and the rewards are justifiably high.
No Maintenance Means Cannot be Maintained.
Get me away from these sales people!
The following are Andersen window complaints, however other companies are seldom different when it comes to making money and making the best of a sales opportunity.
Here are two experiences.
#1 Homeowner)I scheduled a sales rep to come to my house online. I received a call back to set up a time. First, they would not make the appointment unless my wife was home with me. I told them it didn’t matter because we are just looking for information and I would relay any info to her. They did not accept that so I had to inconvenience my wife to make the appointment. After a two hour presentation, much of it asking about how my wife and I met, I was told the pricing of $11,940 for 6 windows. It’s a good window but come on! The rep told me if I said yes on the spot it would cost $8,955. I said I would not decide anything that night.
#2 Homeowner)HORRIBLE scheduling protocols for a single female home owner. After speaking with the woman on the phone they said they couldn’t schedule the appointment without others in the family present. I was polite and said that it wasn’t necessary to have anyone else present. She said can we look at a time that will work, and again I said No. I proceeded to explain to her that I am the sole owner of my home, I am the decision maker, I needed the exact same product for the remaining windows of my home. She insisted that my brother, who rents a room, and my boyfriend need to be present. Now i’m pissed, so I then asked to speak with a manager because these are ridiculous protocols considering my circumstances. The manager begins to say the EXACT same thing word for word like a broken record.
They DENIED A CONSULT WITH ME and lost $8000 in revenue due to a Protocol implemented. I am NOT willing to budge on this, this is MY home and MY sole decision and no one else needs to be present.
Don’t Fall for the Replacement Window Scam!
Do you want to read the real window comparison study? This report is not trying to make a product sound good so you will want to buy it. It’s just plain facts (maybe not that plain but facts).
Read the Energy Performance Window Replacement Report.
There are class action law suits and many complaints on the internet for you to read. Just do a search for a window company of your choice with the words complaint or law suite.
Read some Yelp reviews about Renewal by Andersen.
I consider myself an environmentalist and am all about saving energy but when it comes to appearance, that takes precedence. Unless you have some fancy windows, the majority of homeowners think of windows as windows. They do not realize the importance of a windows appearance and all the many factors that affect a windows appearance. Window manufacturers websites only show images of what the interior of a replacement window looks like. They don’t want you to see the exterior for good reason.
For a good education read the Shocking Truth about Windows and understand every word.
Renewal by Andersen and many other replacement windows have enormous design drawbacks too. Read about paint color and design issues of replacement windows.
How about Pella Windows ?
Remember, once you replace your original windows there is no turning back. You will be a regular customer.
So what do we do to REPAIR our old windows instead of REPLACEMENT? WHO DOES THAT IN THE YORK, PA AREA? HOW COSTLY IS IT?
To better understand windows, please click on this link. http://www.oldhouseguy.com/windows/
There is a page on window repair and a listing of window restorers across the country. Prices vary depending on your location. I am consulting for a house in NJ and to restore an 1840’s window the cost is $950. for one window. On the same building a replacement window needed replacing and the price for the Kolbe was $2500.
If you cannot find someone on my listing in your area, contact your State HIstoric Preservation Office and ask for a listing of qualified architects and consultants. Contact them for a local referral.
Sadly I made this mistake and replaced some original windows. Other than easy to open and clean, I hate them. And I have had several seals go bad in the past year, at 4 – 6 years old.
I bought our brownstone in Brooklyn in 2008. It came with vinyl replacement windows that were replaced in 1995. I believed they are Crystal??/ Not sure but I have to replace them because the cold air is pouring through. Many of the sizes are 30 by 60, 32 by 60, 32 by 74, 30 by 70, 30 by 78 and 32 by 78. I was thinking about Integrity by Marvin but I am not sure any advice would be greatly appreciated. This wil be a huge investment for us so I really need to do this once correctly the most value and the best quality. Thank you so much
Marvin is a good window. Please read the articles I wrote on Marvin and Kolbe.
Sorry to hear about your problem. My suggestion will not help you because your replacement windows are over 20 years old, but for homeowners that have replacement windows less than 20 yrs old, and have seal failure, identified by mildew forming inside the sealed glass, take a (phone camera) picture of the data plate at the top of the window, one for each window you have this problem with, as the data on the data plate identifies the size and material of the window for the manufacturer (they keep logs of each purchase by window), and send this to the manufacturer or if you know the original installer, take the photos to them. No one came out to verify the damage. I have had two windows replaced for free on a 12 year old install for my house, I picked up the replacements at the orig installer’s business office (about 4 weeks for them to come in) and put them in myself (super easy, 2 minute job). I suggest you do a good inspection of each window as you approach the 20 yr mark. Sorry I couldn’t help with your personal problem, you may have to shoulder the cost of new windows, having exceeded the warranty.
Nothing pisses me off more then a company (ACRE WINDOWS sales for Anderson Windows) hangs up on me. You don’t get to come to my house, present this long dissertation about your products, tell me my ONE window will be over $11,000 to replace, then suddenly tell me a week later that I HAD to give them 15 minute appointment so to give me a wonderfully new low price. When I was trying to explain why I had to say no to another sales pitch, “Eric” hung up on me. I called them back only to hear from another costumer service rep say she was sorry I was having a bad day in the utmost of condescending tones. You want to say I’m having a bad day……yeah now I am….. So screw you ACRE REPLACEMENT WINDOWS! Shove your $11,000 windows.
My house was built in 1976, and we added a 3 season room in 1986. All of the windows in the house were Marvin. They were not primed and we opted to just stain them inside and out. The inside window could be removed so we could easily clean the “storm and screen” after all these years they are still looking good…great. However,the three seasons room’s windows just rotted away, they were replace this fall with …you guessed it “Marvin”.
Has it been heard of today for someone with great woodworking and historical knowledge to remove a replacement window and totally mill, glaze and install their own window sashes, the way it used to be done? Are there building codes that disallow that today?
I don’t know about building codes for windows but I have a listing on my website with people that repair and replicate windows.
http://www.oldhouseguy.com/window-restorers/
I’m all for energy efficiency, but I think a lot of manufacturers try to dupe customers with spurious greenwashing statistics. I would much rather restore historic windows, if I had them, than install these damn ugly plastic replacement windows. They may save energy now, but what is the energy cost to manufacture?
You state:”However, independent studies having no affiliation with window manufacturers show us different results,” but you don’t give a link or list a name or source for independent window studies. It would be nice to have an objective, scientific comparison of windows in addition to anecdotal evidence and stories from very small numbers of dissatisfied customers and seemingly no reviews of people who had good results with andersen or bad results with marvin.
Here are some reports.
http://www.oldhouseguy.com/assets/StudyReplacementVsHistoricWindow.pdf
http://www.oldhouseguy.com/assets/120919NTHPwindowsanalysis.pdf
You just need to read my windows pages.
We live in a home built in 1958 in a historical district in Scottsdale AZ with 10 steel casement windows with 2 or 3 of varying size. They are the originals. Most people in our neighborhood have replaced the old steel windows with vinyl. I am going to keep what i have and restore them to there original beauty, but before i made that decision just for the hell of it we had Renewal by Andersen come out and give us a quote. They have a commercial they run here about 10 times a day touting how good there FIBREX windows are and how bad everybody else’s plain old vinyl windows are (there all junk). So we had to choose all the styles options etc and listen to the whole speel, demonstration and all. Took about 2 hours. $39,000 for 10 windows! The salesman looks at me and say’s is that to much? I said of course it’s too much! Are these things gold plated? So he gets it down to $33,000 with some specials and promotions. I had to ask him to leave, just ridiculous. Buyer beware! I am looking for someone in this area that can come and restore what i have. They were good quality back in 1958 and still are but i would like to upgrade the glass since it’s 60 years old and whatever else to make them a more thermally efficient, plus were gonna go with good quality shutters on the inside which will help. It gets hot here. If you know of anyone in the Scottsdale area that does window restoration, Let me know.
Just get a storm window with low e glass and you will be all set.
So, i have a question, what happens if the home i bought already has windows that are falling apart? I bought my home last year, it was built in 2006, in las vegas. They are aluminum i believe? Not vinyl, but they don’t even seal and the dryness heat is ridiculous here, 3 of my blinds have melted. If your house already has bad quality windows from mass produced newer houses, i have nothing good to restore! What’s the best route in this case?
Hi Adri
Yes the original builder grade windows today are junk. I would replace them with Marvin or Kolbe. I know if you contact Anderson they will not leave your house unless they make a sale. Avoid them.
Plastic and sales tactics aside how do you rate the look of the renewal by Andersen’s? What about inside glass muntins
All of these replacements have a different weird design. see here: http://www.oldhouseguy.com/painting-windows/
Never get muntins inside the glass. You may as well just paint them on and you will not only get the same look but you can change the color. Garbage! If you can have the right kind of muntins don’t get them at all.
my house is about 120 years old but in a neighborhood of all new large homes. We just agreed to have 4 of our wood windows with weight and chains replaced by anderson renewal. We are doing it not because the windows don’t operate well but because the storms and screens are ugly and make cleaning so difficult. We’ll see how it goes after the 4 are done and decide on finishing the rest of the windows. Honestly I love the idea of maintaining the originals but so much work! We actually had someone take a few windows to scrape, caulk and repaint and we installed copper lining to the sash, now those windows are difficult to open. Old windows also contain lead paint and need to be treated with lead abatement paint. Not sure how long that paint will hold up. And then there is resale where lead paint, and storm windows are going to be an issue.
So sad – the salespeople really got to you.
Mr. Roginski:
Your comment to Lynn is very condescending. She is expressing some of my precise concerns regarding my original 1926 wood windows and metal storms/screens. I have not had any contact with any window companies so can not be fairly dismissed as being under anybody’s influence. Lynn is not wrong; the old wood with rope and weights along with metal storms weigh a ton, are in fact crusted with lead paint, and would be an issue during a resale, especially to a millennial who would ask about lead and mold.
It just depends on how low your standards can go. Don’t listen to the idiot down the street.
hello,
i live in NJ and feel that air is passing through windows, condensation, water marks on edges of glass. So thought I would need replacement. Called RBA, after inspecting the cost came upto 42k, ridiculous.
Can I know what are my best option. House is 21 years old, windows are never replaced and they are vinyl made.
Appreciate any suggestions
Thanks
Francis
That is good that you got 21 years out of vinyl windows. Remember that vinyl windows are disposable. Maintenance Free means cannot be maintained. 42K sure is a lot of money to invest and if you do they will still need to be replaced again. Your best bet are wood windows but I’m not sure what you need to do to the window frames to hold the wood windows. Give https://www.heirloomwindows.com/ a try.
Looking to replace 23 EZ tilt Marvin double hungs. 30+ years old/ drafty/brick mold,sashes etc.are rotting. RBA came in @ $48000. Would restoration(complete) be less cost and better option? Or Marvin Integrity? Any help would be appreciated. My zip code is 01060,for restoration company options.
Hi Jake – it depends if the windows are wood they can be restored. Look at https://www.oldhouseguy.com/window-restorers/ for a window restorer here. If they can restore the window it would definitely cost less.
Been reading your blogs. I have been considering A series Andersen as a replacement window on my 32 year old house. Contractor tried to sell me Simonton vinyl replacement window. Not falling for that vinyl junk. Can you tell me in your opinion which window would be best. Your blogs are very helpful. I don’t want to make a mistake. Too costly. Thank you so much
Sorry I am not familiar with Simonton. What ever you do only get a replacement sash not the casing etc or it will look awful. It seems like there are problems with all window manufacturers.
Don’t ever do business with this company. They don’t give you their contract up front, but email it and you are the one responsible to read it immediately. They don’t even mention that. They are 3 times the going rate off replacement windows. Their sales call is twice as long as you are told and you are told sign today to receive more off. They avoid questions and go back to their sales pitch. As it turns out you have three days to cancel or you are charged 25 percent of the total cost. Their Marketing Director will tell you, “How is it our fault you didn’t read the contract immediately.” It is sent in PDF form and no where says open and read immediately. The red flag for me went up when their loan bank sent me a letter saying I was borrowing $5000.00 more then I was quoted. I was also threatened by their Marketing Director. One with slander for telling the truth and two with posting an email taken out of context on social media. I learned the hard way. Don’t You! Go directly to Andersen window or one of the other well established brands.
We’re trying to determine our path for our windows. We’re the original owners of our 30 year old house. A few months after our closing, the window manufacturer Reuten Klein went out of business. Through the years we’ve replaced thermal panes for 17 of the 19 double hung wood windows. We’d drop the sash off at Cooper Glass for measuring, and then return the sash to the window and wait a week or two until the pane was ready. Then we’d return to Cooper Glass and the panes would be swapped. Once home, we’d return the sash to the window. The two remaining windows need the panes replaced. Cooper Glass is out of business. Also, a number of windows have jambliners that have become brittle, shoes that have broken allowing the spring balance to become jammed and motionless in the jambliner making it difficult to operate the window.
The search for replacement jambliners has been tiring. The jambliners that we’ve located online don’t have the same profile as ours such that they wouldn’t mate with our windows. We were unsuccessful with Blaine hardware and Windowrepairsystems.com.
After 5 years we had the thermal panes replaced on the sliding glass door. Then in 2006 we had that door replaced with a beautiful Pella slider including a third pane to house the duette shade and removable grille. They did a great job and in 2009 we opted for two beautiful Pella entry doors. We’re not enamored by the Pella windows we’ve seen and aren’t keen on spending $50,000 for Marvin, not including installation. Andersen Renewal is cheaper but we weren’t sold on them either. We’d prefer to replace everything right to the studs if we have to replace. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi – the jambliners seem to be the big problem. For old windows there was just a channel – nothing fancy. The manufacturers today want you to replace everything to be able to use their windows. I’m sorry but I really don’t know what to say. Hopefully some of the readers will have some suggestions.
We live in Richmond, VA and just bought a house the same age as yours with Reuten Klein casement windows. The seller who owned the house from new, had 5 of them repaired, (new gas) before the sale. The Reuten Klein windows are clearly high quality and we will never replace them. The cost to replace them would make that option a bad business decision.
We have a 24 year old home with vinyl windows. The windows are drafty and warping. wood trim is rotting. We have called Replace by Andersen coming out to give us a quote to replace the windows. Another local company also coming out this evening to give us a quote. What is your suggestion? Thank you.
Vinyl windows are only temporary. Maintenance free means cannot be maintained. Once you call you are stuck. They will never take no for an answer.
Our home was built in the 1998 and has Anderson casement Windows and also Anderson slick glass doors which are all in working condition. The problem is the putty color which has a slight pinkish cast. Can these be painted and will the paint hold up?
Any painting may void the manufacturers warranty. However from what I hear it seems that looking out the window may also void it for there are so many exceptions.
Painting a light color is fine but it must be light and the LRV Light Reflectance Value must be in a certain range. I don’t recall what it is but your paint store can advise you. This meaning that you may think a color is light but it isn’t really.
The reason some manufacturers warn you not to paint your windows is because painting a dark color will absorb the heat and may cause the plastic to warp. There are special paints now available with a “vinyl safe” additive allowing you to use dark colors even black. These paints have reflective properties in them to prevent warping. Light colors will not cause the window to warp. The vinyl safe paint is available at all paint stores. When painting, one must be careful when painting the tracks the window opens in so they can move freely.
As for paint holding up, it the door/window is new it should be buffed down with steel wool. If 2 years old it should be ok. Usually the paint will holed up better on the window/door than on the wood.
I wanted a Essex Green storm window. The cost was high for the custom color but black was no extra charge. I ordered black and painted it. With black if I missed a spot it wouldn’t be seen.
We moved into a 1940 built one-family home in June 2018 and discovered during last year winter that the house gets unusually cold & hot. We later found out that the windows are quite bad gathering cold steams and allowing air to seep into the building everywhere. While Home Depot gave us a quote of Simonton windows for $20,000, Renewal By Anderson gave us $41,000 on a special promotion for all 21 windows claiming they are the manufacturers and the installers with #1 rating in America. Both prices are expensive but we need to replace the bad windows. Which of the window vendors should we go for or is there a way of repairing/restoring the windows? We live in Jamaica NY very close to JFK airport.
Any helpful comments will be appreciated, please.
Thank you.
Why would you spend all that money replacing your windows when all you need is a storm window?
Have 3 Anderson gliders which were the best fit re : emergency egress/ light requirements by code when building 32 years back. Now getting condensation between panes & drafts! Any suggestion on a ‘replacement option’ w/o totally destroying extension jambs for 2 x6 walls on the interior and wood siding on the outside over the original nailing fins.
We have a 101 year old craftsman in Astoria, OR. The west side of the house has failing replacement vinyl windows as that is the side of this house that gets brutalized during long winters in a maritime climate (9 windows). These are now leaking and we need to replace them. RBA just quoted $27k. The remaining 35 historic wood windows are in various states of disrepair, rot, or painted shut. We are struggling with what to do. We obviously can’t do anything about the fact that one whole side has already been ruined with replacement vinyl. Do we just replace those and restore the rest? Or do we replace all to match and go broke? Any recommendations would be appreciated.
This should be an easy one. Restore the original – they will last forever. Replace the failing plastic ones with wood windows. As you saw on my website I recommend Heirloom Windows for replacements.
I have a home built in 1911 with the original windows, a leaded, blurry glass. Most are painted shut, but the frames and glass appear to be in good condition. Have considered renewal by andersen, but don’t want to lose the historic nature and character of the originals. We are located in central Utah. Any suggestions?
I had 11 windows in our home replace by RBA (Anderson). They were originally Pella windows installed in our 1998 contemporary. The usual – seals failed and condensation/clouding/leaking air) The windows in our house are highly unusual, custom and large in size (trapezoid, extremely large picture/casement combos). We looked at Marvin and they were nice, but not one window company compared with the quality and value of RBA (the were expensive but our install was a true nightmare for the installers). The BA installation team alone was a reason to go RBA. Skilled, and extremely clean. Not a speck of dust after the left. And our install and removal of the originals was VERY difficult. Yes, I read on here that he salespersons are highly aggressive and “won’t take no for an answer”. This is laughable. They did not abduct our family and make us sign with a gun to our heads. In fact, we sent the salesperson home without a contract to secure a better price (which we accomplished). RBA salespersons are no more aggressive than any insurance salespersons (probably a lot less). As for “maintenance free means cannot be maintained”, ummm, that is the point of the product. Never having to maintain (i.e. paint, change gasketing, argon gas, seals, etc. etc.) It’s a one and done an I have yet to see proof of an newer RBA window fail. The warranty is “only” 20 years, and I hope I’m around as long as the warranty (which fully covers the product AND labor to install). RBA windows are expensive – no doubt about it. But so are Marvin and Pella and others. The options on RBA were more extensive though. At the end of the day RBA was best for us. Marvin is very high quality too, but install may not be as professional. My Pella’s failed after 24 years.
Glad I found your site and thanks for all the info.
I was just about to replace all the windows in my 1982 home in Corpus Christi, TX with Simonton high impact windows. There’s nothing wrong with the original aluminum windows but I thought it would be nice to replace them with hurricane proof windows. I had no idea that these vinyl windows only have a lifespan of 20 years. Would you recommend that I keep the original aluminum windows and perhaps just install some hurricane shutters or blinds?
Thanks.
All vinyl windows have a short life span and add to the landfills to be here for years to come. Vinyl windows are like a drug that keeps you coming back every 20 years or so. Where you live high impact is important to have. First vinyl is really a waste of money. You may consider to replace them with metal windows that will have a longer lifespan. Then again even so, a lot of metal and wood windows can still have vinyl parts that break. Vinyl windows have an unappealing design so you don’t want to compromise the curb appeal.
The best option for money savings and appearance is to keep your windows, get them fixed up and add a high impact storm windows or shutters. The next option would be to replace your window with a duplicate or something as close as you can as possible. Avoid the disposable windows that you will keep paying for over and over.
I just fell for the strong arm sales pitch given by renewal by anderson and signed a contract (which I still have time to get out of). Our house is vintage 1938 Long Island. Ironically i wanted to replace the 3 original windows. The rest of the windows were replaced by the prior owner with wood Anderson windows circa 1988. He went around showing us how the double pained glass lost its argon gas and is no longer energy efficient. To qualify for the promotion we have to get 13 new replacement windows. So I read this thread and now I need help. Please advise me what to do, this is a huge expense, and maybe not advisable. Can the single pane glass of the old windows be made energy efficient? I have so many questions now.
Hi Ellen – I have a lot of info on my windows pages https://www.oldhouseguy.com/windows/ You need to read it all. Now you can have Pinkerton glass installed in your existing sashes but you can keep as is by just installing a storm window https://www.quantapanel.com/. For high-tech insulation get a storm with Low-E glass. If you do have to get a replacement go to https://www.heirloomwindows.com/ You really need to read my website and the adjoining pages. Contact me if you have issues.