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Atlanta Replacement Window

When it comes to purchasing new Atlanta replacement windows for your home is your presupposition “anything is better that what I have?”  Be honest.  Don’t feel bad; as we have mentioned in previous posts, this is a prevalent, albeit fairly jeopardous, way of thinking.  After all, you’ve been living with those drafty, energy inefficient home windows for a while now right?  Today we’re going to deal with a topic that has literally fed the “bargain basement” (at least from an ADVERTISED standpoint) window dealer market in the Atlanta area.  The topic is “low e.”

“Our product has low e and is only $172, there’s has low e and it’s __________ (any higher price).  Which one are you going to buy?”   Many of our competitors have asked that question over and over again.  As a matter of fact, you may have already heard it.  And, on the surface, it’s a pretty easy answer, right?  If my spouse sends me to get a bag of sugar on the way home, and doesn’t specify a brand, I’m probably going to choose based on one thing; price.  I know I’m not planning on putting sugar on my new Atlanta replacement windows, but it’s because I, personally, look at sugar as a commodity, and the purchase of commodities are typically driven by price.

Sugar And Atlanta Replacement Windows

The difference in low e and sugar is immense, and I’m obviously not just talking usage or physical characteristics, but “commoditizing” low e can lead to a colossal waste of money, no matter what the cost of your new Atlanta replacement windows.  In many cases, the low e product on many of the so-called “economical” vinyl windows will block no more than 5-7% more of the heat and cold transfer than the current glass that you already have.  Is that the type of energy savings that you are going to invest your money in?

The major differences lie in how the idea of what low e is supposed to do has evolved; not only with time, but also as window glass manufacturers have created more climate specific products.  The original idea with low e was more about reducing absorption of heat.  For example, light concrete or asphalt doesn’t get as hot in the summer as dark.  Over the last few years, a small group of glass manufacturers have been looking at low e in a whole new “light,” especially in more of the southern climates like here in the Atlanta area.

This Comes Only In The Best

Atlanta Replacement Windows

If you go out in the summer in short sleeves and your arm gets warm in direct sunlight you have experienced “radiant” heating.  It’s all about heat that “radiates” from a source, most often the sun (but also your home’s furnace).  The most effective way to handle radiant heat is not just to slow absorption, but to reflect it back at its source.  Think about going into a mall parking lot in the summertime and seeing a lot of vehicles with something folded out in the windshield.  Almost always these “shields” have a reflective look.  If you’ve ever used one of these you know that your vehicle will not get nearly as hot on the inside as without one.  That’s because the shield is reflecting the radiant heat back towards its source.  Today’s best Atlanta replacement windows use low e products that reflect up to 99% of the sun’s heat back.  Think you’ll save some money, in both the summer and the winter?

Want to know more?  Check out some of our Atlanta replacement window reviews on Google, Kudzu, Angie’s List and BBB, and see what some of our customers say about the amazing change in not only their energy bills, but also their comfort levels after installing our climate specific, low e reflecting Atlanta replacement windows.

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The choice of dealer to install your Atlanta replacement window may be the most important choice of all. In this post/article, we’ll look at three different options that you’ll have to choose from.

First we’ll take a look at the guy we’ll call Tommy Two-Truck. Tommy’s a good old boy, he may even be a neighbor of yours. Then we’ll discuss the owner-operated franchise. This might be a person that worked in the corporate world until retirement, but may not yet be fully ready to retire. Finally we’ll review a locally owned and operated business.

As we mentioned Tommy Two Truck is a local guy that is probably a jack of all trades; he does a roof today, installs gutter tomorrow and may put up some sheet rock the next day. The problem with most jacks of all trades is that they are masters of none. Tommy typically buys his materials from the local wholesale supply. Tommy is not often loyal to a particular replacement window, more often he’ll choose whatever brand the wholesaler is offering a discount on. For this reason, Tommy rarely becomes an expert on product quality.

Tommy is often the first guy that is here today, gone tomorrow, especially when economic times are rough. If you go this route, make sure Tommy sells you a product with an exceptional window manufacturer’s warranty, because the odds are they will be the ones to provide you service in the event of problems. But maybe the biggest concerns with Tommy have to do with insurance, especially Workman’s Comp. Make sure you see and verify Tommy’s certificate up front because many homeowner’s insurance policies don’t protect you in the event and uninsured worker gets injured on your property.

The owner operated franchise is a definite step up from Tommy, but is still not without issues. As we discussed, this might be a guy that worked in corporate life until retirement, but still wanted to do something. He might have looked at several franchises, say McDonald’s, Quiznos, etc, and settled on a replacement window franchise.

These are often marketed to the public as windows that are only 172 installed. You probably couldn’t question the business acumen of these owners, but their knowledge of the industry is often very limited. Add to that the fact that their franchise agreement locks them in to a certain window product might make you question the overall sensibility of going this route.

Because of the low advertised price, most often they use subcontractors to install the replacement windows (see Tommy’s insurance issues above) and pay them as little as half of the industry standard install rate.

For sure, no matter how good of a window that you purchase, the install is a major determinant in how well it performs. The thing that may be the biggest indicator of your long term outcome in going this route is the high franchisee turnover rate found in many of these replacement window franchises. Couple that with the bait and switch claims that have been leveled against some of these operators and you’d best be careful if you decide to go this route.

Finally, we have the locally owned and operated business. These people are most often long-term local residents who have a strong industry background. That background allows them to sort through the thousands of choices they have and allow them to find the best replacement windows for their clientele.

You’ll typically find they have made investments in their businesses, such as well designed showrooms, that offer their customers the ability to see and feel their new windows in an easy, non-threatening environment. Additionally, this type of owner, with their strong window industry background, can give the consumer overall the best window education.

As a long term operator, these owners know that the best overall customer experience comes from having all employees, including the people who install your replacement windows, work for the company itself. When you put all of this together the locally owned and operated window replacement company may be your best bet in helping you determine how to change your Atlanta replacement windows.

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