feedback on Vermak windows (GEALAN Linear)
gtholloway
| Posted in Green Products and Materials on
Looking at different window packages for a future homebuild and have quotations from EAS (Schuco), Seemly, Zola and Euroline currently. Does anyone have any experience with Vermak USA and the GEALAN Linear uPVC windows with regards to performance and transaction ease?
I am in North Georgia, climate zone 3/4 (Neighborhood is split between two counties, one is 3 and one is 4).
Appreciate any shared experience on good to great windows for this climate.
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linear, no. but i did buy a tilt and glide door, 5 tilt and turn windows, and 2 picture windows through them. just the basic s8000 series.
they are definitely a smaller company but i am pretty happy with them. the pricing was very competitive with the schuco equivalent from eas.
e.g, a 36x83 tilt and turn window with laminated + tempered glass was around $1100. the 36x60 windows were around $800 with tempered + laminated, while dual pane annealed was about 550 and triple pane annealed was about $700.
one dude answers emails and I think he even does fabrication, too.
my first order was in january and i received em in March. minnesota received a lot of snow between the time i ordered and received em, so that delayed em. they were also in the middle of switching their glass suppliers
they now use cardinal igus, so theres plenty of low e/glazing options available.
my second order was less than 60 days from order to delivery.
downsides; they don't take debit or credit cards. wire or check only. so keep that in mind.
I had the opportunity to visit their factory in Minneapolis a few months back and while small, I found them to be professional and competent. While I was there we discussed various certifications, including NFRC (they aren't listed on the NFRC site, but assuming that they are going that route, completing certification can take some time), also they weren't using Cardinal IG units at the time, but they were in the process of getting set up with Cardinal. Sounds like they now have them which is a plus IMO.
We discussed dual pane vs triple pane in a tilt/turn unit, since triple is much more common in that design, and while they offer triple, they also felt that dual was more than adequate in many places (I totally agree) and that offering dual pane tilt/turns to folks in climates that really don't need triple, at a slightly lower price point, was a potential benefit for people in those locations.
Overall I was very impressed by their professionalism and enthusiasm, and if I were building a new place and wanted tilt/turns (disclaimer, I currently have 17 year old tilt/turns), they would definitely be on my short list.
"While I was there we discussed various certifications, including NFRC"
yeaa, they only have what gealan provides them from europe i believe. they do have a range of u factors and shgc on their website. but theres so many different cardinal IGU options it would be nice to have an actual definitive rating for what is being purchased.
my point of reference is a lifetime of single hung aluminum windows without any low-e coating, leaky, jank frames, super super thin IGUs, etc. so i suppose anything would've been an upgrade for me.
with my old windows i could be 5' away from a window and feel heat radiating. now i can sit next to a west facing window in the evening when its 105 outside and not feel much.
whatever IGU i ended up with seems to be about 1" thick, while a lot of single hung windows i looked at in person seemed to be much much thinner.