This was a very expensive house to purchase. I have four rotting windows outside of an attached room. A contractor and I have tried getting the parts for over two months. I had a big problem over two months ago with two windows losing springs and the windows came down at least one inch. Wen had bought Wenco when I first began having problems in 2005. I had a new house built in 2002, using Wenco windsows. Currently researching for options when I came across this thread. I moved on to other chores and have lived with this ugly window for years, until today. I bit, and they sent one far too small and refused to take it back, despite the mistake being their's. They told me the window warranty was expired but that they'd offer me the 'deal' others have mentioned. I went through a nightmare with Jeld-Wen to try to replace the lower sash. Not only does the sash frame have rot clear thru, there's a BB hole in the outer glass pane. Some years ago when I was restoring all my sashes, I felt one was beyond hope. This may have bought time appearance-wise, but it's just a band-aid. Years before that we had the exterior framing wrapped with aluminum. I have worked on all the sashes to restore them, and this has held well so far. Knock on preserved wood, I don't have any seal failures. I cannot comment on the current quality of Jeld-Wen windows but there's no reason to think the problem in 1992 is still in play.Īs my luck would have it, my home was built in 1992 with Caradco windows. Whatever Caradco chose as a replacement, failed. This was in response to a federal mandate to replace what they had been using. In my research I was told that Caradco windows started using a new preservative system in 1992. I know this is a very old thread but there's more to the story that seems to be missing here. In my opinion the majority of new vinyl windows are garbage compared to these Cardaco wood windows and I would never consider down grading by replacing them with vinyl windows, even if they were rotted out I would only replace them with the same style comparable wood windows. In today's market this type of comparable wood window would be considered a high dollar window and used primarily in a high dollar quality construction homes. In my opinion these windows were & are very high quality and very nice windows. Oh and the home owner must maintain and re-stain & paint all exposed area as well or rot can develop. What I mean is if the installer does not seal (stain or Paint) all bare wood & caulk installation were water & moisture can penetrate, then it is going to rot in time, (sooner than later). I think that the windows people report having rot problems are more than likely do to improper, unprofessional preparation prior to & during installation. In any case when I disassembled them to replace the Thermopane glass units & refinish (strip, sand, stain inside & paint outside) I was very impressed to find that these windows were like band new with absolutely “No Rot” or even any sings of any moisture stains. Can't expect the seals to last forever, most companies now only warranty seals for 20 years. I live in NW Montana with severe climate changes and have Cardaco wood windows in my home built in 1978 “36” year ago and have just had to replace the glass in about 80% of the windows due to fogged glass from bad seals. Stunned by the post for I still love my Caradco windows and am so very sorry that someone else didn't have a similar experience. So much so that I came across this post only by looking for replacement grilles for a couple of them. The only thing I didn't like about these windows were the springs-entirely unnecessary with the flexible metal side grooves which keep the windows neat and tight.which they still are. Why should a sound, tight window be replaced-even if it's a 100 years old?!? When I asked why, his response was that anything over 25 years old is considered old!! In fact, when a realtor had recently mentioned replacing the windows (it's time for us to move), I actually thought he was crazy for suggesting perfectly good, functioning windows to be replaced. We did put storm windows/screens over all the windows within a year of moving in, but those Caradco windows are nice and tight and there isn't a sign of rot anywhere. We purchased our home, new, in 1976 and, today, in 2013, the Caradco windows that were in the home seem to be as good as the day they were put in.

Caradco window replacement screens