What kind of windows do I need for my home in Dallas?
Vinyl, Aluminum, Wood and Fiberglass (Fibrex) type materials make up most of available options.. Which is best for your home? Let's start with this fact. Everyone wants you to believe their product is best. This includes the cheapest of terrible windows and the most expensive of designer windows.
Vinyl is used in more than 90% of applications in Dallas Texas. It is durable, often lifetime warrantied and stands up to the Texas sun. Vinyl is not good or bad. It can be either one. Some are made to be cheap, some are made to be exceptional. There is a huge difference between a builders grade vinyl window that is designed to be cheap and a high quality replacement specific style vinyl window that is designed to be an amazing product.
Differences include thickness of the vinyl material, reinforcement, sash balances, overall construction technique used in assembling the glass, quality control, thickness and placement of weatherstripping and a miriad of other considerations. A vinyl window can cost $250 or $1000 depending on the make, model, and options.
Fiberglass and Fibrex have great public relations and advertising (Renewal by Andersen), but the cost doesn't really provide better performance overall and the frames tend to be fatter causing less glass and light. The Andersen 100 Series for instance has a frame that is 3 1/4" from edge to glass. Easily an inch more frame than a comparable upscale vinyl window.
Wood is a must have in Historical Districts, Conservation Districts, and upscale homes all around Dallas. Modern wood windows have heat reflective glass and are available with aluminum clad exteriors. Some homes just need the aesthetic of a true wood window. The main thing to understand about wood windows is that they start at around $2500 each. This is easily double the cost of it's vinyl counterpart.
Aluminum Windows are still used in some multi-family applications up to 6 floors tall but aren't used in most residential applications due to being non compliant with National Energy Code. Dallas, Flower Mound, Plano, Richardson, Frisco, Prosper, Southlake, Arlington, Lewisville and other surrounding suburbs do require the use of Energy Star Rated Windows and Aluminum just doesn't get there performance wise.
Color is a big factor too. Black Exterior windows are available from several sources but black on both sides has fewer options. Adding color to the window will add three to four hundred dollars per window to the cost of a base model window.
Some popular manufacturers that work in the area are NT Window, Don Young Company, Burris and Associates (purchased by Pella) and of course the big names you know like Andersen, Pella, Jeldwen, Marvin, Windsor, MI Industries, Elevate and others. Some of the widely used windows that are no longer produced are General Aluminum and Danvid.