The world of flooring, drywall, and paint manufacturers is fairly tight and contained; the world of window manufacturers is not: it sprawls. Where do you even begin to sift the good window makers from the poor ones? The first step is to look at window manufacturers that belong to an influential industry group: the NFRC.
The non-profit NFRC is an industry group composed of members of the window manufacturing industry. While the NFRC is not in the business of pitting one member company against another member company, it does issue a set of standards under its product certification program. All standing NFRC members, for example, include an energy performance label on their windows that lists ratings for solar heat gain coefficient, U-factor, visible transmittance, and air leakage.
Choosing windows from NFRC members will ensure a certain level of quality that may not be found with other window companies.
Energy-efficient windows such as those from NFRC members are an investment in your home's value that also increases comfort, making this decision more than just an aesthetic one. Do you need to look for big brand-name windows to get a good window? What about those smaller regional brands? Branding does matter, in particular, because while there are hundreds of window companies, it is a very fragmented industry.
Choosing a brand-name window will nearly always ensure a certain minimum level of quality. Older, established window companies have remained in business by providing a reasonably consistent product over years, if not decades.
If these major brand name companies put out a bad product or provide poor customer service, they do have mechanisms in place, such as warranties, to cover the customers. Off-brand companies might offer warranties but fail to honor them.
Or they might offer the warranties but not remain in business long enough to honor them. Maybe you don't care about window company brand names. That's fine, but others might: namely, potential buyers of your home. When it comes time to sell your house, it often helps to stress certain brand names that may be found throughout the house, including appliances, flooring, and even windows.
So it can work to your advantage to have major brand names, particularly legacy brands, on your windows when it comes time to sell. In business for over a century, this Minnesota-based company produces a full complement of fenestration products: doors, windows, skylights , and more.
Operating out of four locations in Bayonne, NY, Ideal celebrated its 80th anniversary in It has been manufacturing vinyl windows since Founded by Irving Rogow, it remains privately owned, continuing to develop products and options to meet a variety of customer needs in the new construction and replacement markets. International Aluminum is an integrated manufacturer of a diverse line of aluminum and vinyl products.
The publicly traded firm operates 14 North American subsidiaries, including International Window Corp. Headquarters: Perrysburg, OH Product lines: Vinyl windows and doors, as well as siding, fencing, decking, railings and other building products. Jancor operates two vinyl window companies servicing markets in the East, Midwest and South. The two companies are managed independently, focusing on their respective core products and distribution channels.
Survivor Technologies is based in Hillside, NJ, and its customers include regional wholesale distributors. In , Survivor plans to introduce a new single-hung, available with an optional DP 50 rating, as well as a new double-hung and patio door.
Wood, steel, fiberglass and composite entry doors. Interior doors. Millwork products. Employees: 20, Web site: www. With a full range of window and door manufacturing operations, Jeld-Wen added two more companies to its roster last year.
In , it launched a major re-branding initiative to sell all of its products under the Jeld-Wen name. General information: The company manufactures vinyl new construction and replacement windows marketed under the Kas-Kel name. Serving the Northeast, it offers multiple lines of new construction windows, including private label programs. The company also operates Keymark Inc. Headquarters: Arlington, TX Product lines: Windows and doors for the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries.
Kinro is a subsidiary of Drew Industries Inc. It also has several plants servicing the recreational vehicle industry. Steel entry systems. Kohler was the first company in the vinyl window manufacturing business in the Atlantic Canadian region and remains the largest window and door manufacturer in that area. Its manufacturing plants include a ,square-foot facility at its headquarters in Nova Scotia and a 70,square-foot facility in Summerside, PEI.
It sells products throughout Atlantic Canada, down the eastern U. Vinyl windows. Steel and fiberglass doors. The company continues to produce wood window and door products in its hometown of Wausau, WI, where it recently expanded its main, ,square-foot facility with the addition of some , square feet and 25 new loading docks. It manufactures Acore steel and fiberglass doors in Coldwater, MI.
The company reports it is the largest manufacturer of storm doors in the country. Started in , Larson now distributes its doors through a nationwide dealer network. With more than , square feet of manufacturing space, Lincoln produces wood and vinyl windows and doors in four plants in Merrill, WI.
Its vinyl products are marketed under the Timeline Vinyl Windows name. Loewen is celebrating its th anniversary in Now under the leadership of the third generation of Loewens, the company manufactures Douglas fir windows and doors for the luxury market. It operates a ,square-foot manufacturing plant in Steinbach, MB, as well as satellite locations worldwide.
Employees: 4, Web site: www. Marvin opened its first East Coast plant in The new ,square-foot facility in Roanoke, VA, produces the Integrity line of windows and doors, combining a fiberglass composite exterior with a wood interior. The facility is expected to create jobs by the end of and by the end of It also has a joint venture operation, Tecton Products, that manufactures fiberglass pultrusions.
Marvin has a network of wholesale distribution branches and approximately 4, retail dealers in the United States. Headquarters: Mississauga, ON Product lines: Steel, wood, fiberglass and composite entry and patio doors. Interior, French and bi-fold doors. Employees: 12, Web site: www. All together, Masonite operates over 70 manufacturing and distribution facilities in 12 countries in North and South America, Asia, Europe and Africa and employs over 12, people serving customers in over 50 countries.
Completing a ,square-foot expansion in to house extrusion operations, MGM now has more than , square feet under one roof. Last year it added six more extruders, bringing its capacity to 8 million pounds of profiles per year. This year it is adding an earthtone color option to its flagship double-hung vinyl line positioned against the clad-wood market. Storm doors and windows. Cellular composite windows. Previously known as MI Home Products, the company changed its name last year to better reflect its core business of manufacturing windows and doors.
The manufacturer of vinyl, aluminum and composite windows and doors markets its products under the Capitol, BetterBilt, Xact, Capitol Architectural Products and Insight window brand names. Midway operates out of a modern ,square-foot facility near Chicago and serves wholesalers and distributors in the upper Midwest. Midway was a founding member in of the American Window Alliance, a network of independent regional fabricators selling under the Alliance label.
Short lead times and a strong warranty service program have contributed to strong sales growth during the past four years, officials report. Masco Corp. Each produces vinyl window, door and conservatory products. Headquarters: Toledo, OH Product lines: Vinyl windows, wood windows, steel and fiberglass entry doors and shutters. MBS is a distributor of building materials, as well as a manufacturer of vinyl windows, steel and fiberglass doors, shutters, fencing and decking products marketed under the Polaris Technologies name.
The company currently operates two manufacturing plants, which total over , square feet. The manufacturing operation distributes products through outside accounts, as well as 20 company-owned distribution locations in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Founded in , MBS celebrated its 60th anniversary last year. Headquarters: Waukee, IA Product lines: Wood, clad-wood, composite, vinyl and aluminum windows, and patio doors and specialty products for residential and commercial installation.
Thermally improved aluminum commercial replacement windows. Specialty and egress window configurations for poured concrete walls. Entry door systems. Previously known as Hurd Millwork, the company was a Top manufacturer in its own right, operating four manufacturing plants located in Medford and Merrill, WI. Serving the entire United States, as well as international markets, Hurd added an entry door line in The company manufactures a full line of vinyl window products in plants in Orrville and Winesburg, OH, offering products for new construction and replacement under the Weather-Seal, NuSash and Comfortmaster brand names.
Headquarters: Charlotte, NC Product lines: Vinyl new construction and replacement windows and patio doors. Employees: Once a supplier of aluminum products, Moss now concentrates on vinyl windows and doors. Headquarters: St. Thomas, ON Product lines: Vinyl windows and patio doors. Vinyl extrusions. In January , North Star consolidated three factories into a single ,square-foot facility on a acre site in St. Thomas, ON. Serving both the new construction and renovation markets, the company focuses on high-end vinyl windows and doors, supplying products through a network of dealers in the United States and Canada.
The company also provides vinyl extrusions to fabricators in Canada, Mexico and overseas. Headquarters: Philadelphia Product lines: Vinyl and aluminum windows, aluminum storm doors and windows, glass block windows. Beginning its 33rd year, Northeast Building Products has recently expanded deliveries through its network of dealers and distributors into several additional states in the Mid-Atlantic region.
In early , it plans to incorporate the new Sashlite technology into its window offerings. The manufacturer offers Camelot Series vinyl windows, including four different double hung lines, as well as aluminum prime windows, glass block pre-fab units and aluminum storm products.
It also distributes vinyl siding products. Entry door blinds and retractable screens. ODL is more generally known in the industry as a leading supplier of glass doorlites, sidelites, transoms and other components, all of which are included as part of its sales figures. It qualifies for the Top , however, because it is also a manufacturer of tubular skylights. Vinyl replacement windows. With a ,square-foot plant, Patio Enclosures reports it is the largest manufacturer and installer of sunrooms in the United States.
In , the company added two new lines of vinyl replacement windows as well. Steel and fiberglass entry door systems. In , Pella moved to expand its vinyl window and door capacity once again, announcing plans to open a new ,square-foot ThermaStar by Pella plant in W. Columbia, SC. Hurricane impact-resistant windows and doors. Porch enclosure system. PGT pioneered the U. Founded in , the Company employs approximately 1, at its manufacturing, glass laminating and tempering plants in North Venice, Florida.
Utilizing the latest designs and technology, PGT products are ideal for new construction and replacement projects serving residential, commercial, high-rise and institutional markets.
Employees: 3, Web sites: www. Philips Products is a national supplier of vinyl window products to the residential new construction market, as well as a major supplier of windows and doors to the modular and factory-built housing industry. The company offers four lines of new construction windows branded under the Marquee and Care-Free names.
Headquarters: Cary, N. Product lines: vinyl siding, designer accents and skirting, vinyl and composite fencing and railing, stone veneer and vinyl windows and doors Employees: 4, Web site: www. Ply Gem, headquartered in Cary, N.
Ply Gem produces a comprehensive product line of vinyl siding, designer accents and skirting, vinyl and composite fencing and railing, stone veneer and vinyl windows and doors used in both new construction and home repair and remodeling in the United States and Western Canada.
Ply Gem also manufactures vinyl and aluminum soffit and siding accessories, aluminum trim coil, wood windows, aluminum windows, vinyl and aluminum-clad windows and steel and fiberglass doors. Ply Gem employs more than 4, people across North America. Visit www. Vinyl and aluminum replacement windows.
Aluminum storm doors. Vinyl patio doors. It produces residential entry door systems, while its subsidiary, Sugarcreek Industries, produces aluminum replacement windows and storm products and vinyl replacement windows and patio doors. It might not get you the manufacture name but if it's 20 years old, then you can probably assume its out of warranty — Steven.
It's less than 5 years old, from a recent remodel. I'd reach out to the contractor that did it, but he's a terrible, terrible person and we want nothing to do with him. Have you looked in between the panes on the frame, it should be etched in. Sometimes it's difficult to find. They DOM should be there at a minimum, so if you don't find this, keep looking — Steven.
If you haven't done so yet remove both sashes and check the sides,top and bottom for a tag. Ifyou don't find any bring the sash to a local glass shop. It is possible they may recognize the manufacturer from its appearance. They may also be able to repair or replace the defective pane. Do post pictures. Also are the sashes removable? Pull them all the way out and check for more marks. Also check the glass for etchings. Show 1 more comment. Active Oldest Votes.
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