What are the best residential glass companies?

Residential
1

I like Anderson, but I’m sure there are other companies I can suggest to customers with broken seals to replace their windows.

Also, how do you find a solid, local custom window installation companies? I’ve been looking at reviews, but don’t necessarily trust them.

I’ve been asked about broken seals a lot lately, and how they can be repaired/replaced, warranties, etc.

Thoughts?

2

I think one of the best values for the money are Gurkin. Their fiberglass cladding seems to hold up well and I haven’t seen any problems with leaking seals. The glass itself is one of the easiest to clean and pure water sheets off it like a dream. If I were to build a custom house where the look of interior solid wood was important, I would have to say I would go with Marvin. Their metal cladding is solid and doesn’t fade with sun and the glass quality is top notch. Hurd windows have a poor history of leaking, their cladding gets horribly sun checked, the glass is always “soft”.

1 Like
3

Thanks for the info. I’ve worked on homes with Marvin glass, but they never seem to need repair, or replacement. I’m a fan… I suppose around here, price is not an issue, but the folks in track-homes in the suburbs can’t afford Marvin. I’ll look into Gurkin.

Much appreciate the beta.

4

My favorite I have ever cleaned were some custom Pellas. 16k per window but they just looked so nice. But I tell my customers to stay away from the vinyl frame windows. They just don’t seem to be strong enough to hold the seals for more than 5 to 10 years. As for finding a local company, I just asked around in the town where I mainly work and there was only one name that was recommended.

5

The only thing that I don’t like about Marvins is that their glass seems very susceptible to hard water staining.

My top 3:

Anderson
Marvin
Weather-Shield

My bottom 3:
Pella
Old Castle
Bottom bidder contractor windows, usually found in condos and townhomes built in the 90’s and early 2000s

6

I have issues with most manufactures for one reason or other.

I hate Anderson for using that “low maintenance” coating on the exteriors that scratches and causes my squeegee to drag.
Their screens also tend to be overly tight.

I hate Marvin for being so terribly sloppy with their assembly. Silicone smears everywhere, glass so full of fabricating debris (or ‘inclusions’) that you can see speckles in direct sunlight, and sometimes even spots and smears between the panes.

And Pella has the absolute flimsiest screens. I don’t mind their storms, and their regular windows are actually pretty nice to clean. I like the look of them too. They do seem to be pretty hydrophobic on the exteriors, though.

So my first choice would probably be Pella, without the storm panels.

8

As mechanically well designed Marvin’s windows are(and I enjoy tilting them in and the quality of their movement), their tempered glass is equally as noisy as jen weld’s

2 Likes