Difficult to Obtain Replacement Windows
$10,000 for 18 windows. That comes to around $555 per window. No matter what I hear, I am still convinced that the replacement window industry is like that scene in The Godfather when all the competing Mafia families get together and agree to cooperate--for the better good of all of them. It's like the replacement window industry controlled by a handful of people greedily rubbing their hands together and saying, "Let's see how much money we can squeeze from homeowners." One way to squeeze even more money is to lock homeowners into this inescapable buying track that ensures that they have to go through window installation companies simply to have access to the product.Rant aside, the way to do this is to emulate a local, independent contractor and obtain replacements the same way he would. After all, a general contractor (not a specialized window installer) would be able to install replacements. What would he do? He would go to his favored commercial building supply company.
Simonton, a name-brand replacement (and new construction) window company did confirm to me that replacements were available only through such commercial suppliers.
Pella ThermaStar?
One potential source: Pella ThermaStar windows that might be available at Lowe's. It's unclear whether Lowe's will sell this window to the average homeowner. But this may be a moot point because I haven't hear anything good about ThermaStar, and it's not the cheapest thing on the market either.Find a Local Commercial Building Supplier
Start with a search for "[your city] commercial building supplies" or "Building Supplies Wholesale." With an internet search, though, you get tangled up in all of these aggregator sites like Superpages, Dexknows, and Switchboard. So oddly enough, considering this day and age, I found it a better bet to go to the print Yellow Pages.At one local commercial building supply store here on the Seattle Eastside, I found insanely cheap replacement windows hovering around the $163 mark. If I am not mistaken, that's $400 less than your quote. That's for a no-name window, which I don't believe matters one bit.
Will The Building Supplier Sell To You?
This is the tricky part. Will the commercial building supply company even sell to you? Their business is selling wholesale to contractors, not the average homeowner.Generally, establishing an account involves showing your business license (state, city, or county) and a reseller's or resale certificate.
Another avenue, and more realistic, is to enlist the aid of someone who already has these items and is set up with a wholesale supplier. I once had a friend who had such documentation in place, and who offered this assistance to me. And while I am not saying whether or not I took him up on the offer, it is a guaranteed "in."
