Thoughts on Seemray Windows
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Hi,
Window shopping; and thanks Martin H. for the recent article on choosing windows that gives an overview by region. Very helpful.
While looking at the various brands my husband tripped over Seemray (German parts); does anyone have any experience with them?
Thanks much as always,
Catherine T
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Catherine,
I don't have any experience with these windows. If GBA readers are curious, here is the contact information:
Seemray Windows
43 Alpha Park
Cleveland, OH 44143
888-315-9973
Any updates on this? I just found their company online and they seem relatively unknown. Anyone with any experiences since this post was first made?
Thanks,
Nick
I also would love to hear people's opinions about this company and its products. So far, all I know is what can be read in the Google reviews :-(
Their warehouse is local-ish to me, so I bought one small tilt-turn window from them in an effort to demonstrate tilt-turn operation and non-flanged window installation to other people helping on my project. I'm actually going with fiberglass windows rather than vinyl, so I just got one from Seemray as a sample, but the people I dealt with there were responsive and helpful and the window itself seems good quality. They happened to have a few of the "Global70" double-pane series in stock, otherwise they're importing from Europe (Digging around some import tracking sites, it looks like the majority of their product might be coming from Moldova, but I'm not sure on that. They do appear to have a different brand / sister company "Argo Inc." aka https://www.euro-windows.com/
As for the window itself, it looks like it's Rehau profiles, and there's a metal profile for reinforcement inside the frame. Since they're vinyl, the corners are fully welded. The unit I have has two seals, with the space between them drained via weep holes to the outside. I forget which hardware they're using, but I can check if you're interested -- it seems to operate well though. Price wise, I paid $430 for a 32x36" unit (picked up, so not including delivery), which is a couple hundred cheaper than I'm going to end up paying for fiberglass. TBH, if I wasn't anti-vinyl, I'd have seriously considered going with them.
Let me know if you want detailed photos of anything about the window unit or any more info.
Thanks, Jonny_H! I will respond more in detail tomorrow. I would definitely appreciate your feedback, but I should first describe the project better, and study my options. I am becoming hesitant myself on uPVC after reading some of your comments. I will probably go for fiberglass for my project (which is a four-season room).
I will probably create a separate post regarding my project. Yet, in brief, it's turning a screened porch into a four-season room. Most likely, I will have eight picture windows, two tilt and turn windows, one single swing door, and one sliding door (with one half of the glass overlapping the other when open––not sure how to describe this better).
The brands I have been looking at so far are:
- Inline Fiberglass
- Cascadia
- Schüco
Until not too long ago, I was set on Alpen (Tyrol Series). Yet, the suspended film technology (vs the more traditional triple glass) now makes me uneasy. Your comments, Johnny_H, on uPVC gave me additional worries, about durability.
I have not yet contacted any of the above companies. Yet, here are some questions, in case all the research you have done bears on any of them, or in case anyone else wants to chime in:
1) Price-wise, should I expect Inline Fiberglass products to be more expensive than Alpen's Tyrol Series (which is uPVC)? Alpen's stuff was not cheap, and I am at serious risk of going over budget with my project.
2) Quality-wise, do the three companies above compare well with each other?
3) Schüco might not be an option, if something I read is confirmed: that they do not serve residential (small?) owners like me––just commercial. Any information on that?
4) From Schüco's website, it seems that they only list aluminum windows and doors. Should I consider aluminum?
5) Maybe I am excluding uPVC too quickly? The two operational windows will not get much use; so, maybe their longevity should not be a concern. Yet, uPVC doors do give me pause. If PVC were still in the run, I would probably be quite interested in Seemray's products, as Ohio is much closer to New Jersey––where I am––than Canada. I am not crazy about Seemray's windows, apparently, not having foam in the frame.
6) Most importantly, which one or two brands should I absolutely looking at? I think my priorities are a) air tightness (there is going to be a lot of glass, and I don't want anyone near the window feeling uncomfortable during the winter); b) very good (though not necessarily exceptional––that is, not passive-house grade) U/R value (certainly I would not mind a window/door that gives me an R factor of near to 7 though!); c) low (not high) solar heat gain; and d) as good visible transmittance as possible. (I know that c) and d) are in conflict with each other.) This room will become pretty much an integral part of our kitchen, and I would like the view of our yard to stay as unchanged as possible.
7) (Sorry for being so long!) Has anyone heard of Broga Windows?
Thanks!
Well, that's certainly a list of questions! I'll tackle what I can, but take it with a grain of salt -- I'm no expert, and windows are a deeeep rabbit hole.
1) Inline was the lowest price of the companies I quoted, all-in. My window schedule changed a few times as I firmed up dimensions and changed others, so I don't have a great apples-to-apples comparison, but looking back on it -- Inline with split finish (different colors inside and out) and exterior frame extensions looks to be comparable to Alpen Tyrol 625, and Alpen Zenith 625 is about 20% more than that. I've heard (but don't quote me on it) that Alpen Zenith uses Inline frame extrusions, but with their own glass.
2) Of those three companies, Inline is the only one I have much experience with. Originally, I was interested in wood frames, but price drove me down to fiberglass. Looking into it a bit more, I believe I passed on Cascadia because they're substantially farther from me and I had found from some other quotes that shipping costs could easily drive otherwise-competitive quotes way out of budget -- one quote I got from a company in Vancouver cost more in shipping than some of the European imports! That said, their product looks nice (maybe nicer than Inline). you're even further east though, so shipping may be even worse -- can't hurt to quote though! (after glancing at their specs I'm now tempted to get a quote from them, but I'm too far down the Inline path already I think!
3) / 4) Sorry, don't know anything on Schüco. Aluminum would certainly be durable, make sure it has a good thermal break though.
5) I have multiple objections to uPVC, and I'll fully admit that part of it is just idealistic and less practical -- there are plenty of people in the green building community who love them (and even love vinyl siding!) That said, you might also have another option -- if you found a company that did both, or similar enough frame profiles, or could otherwise aesthetically make it work -- you could get the fixed-frame windows in (lower cost) uPVC, and only pay for fiberglass durability for the operable units. (Since Seemray appears to be an importer, you could probably ask them for more details / if there are other product lines available to them / if they can add foam to stuff during production)
6) One or two brands? Hah! There's dozens of window companies and it's a deep, deep rabbit hole. I wouldn't make any claims as to knowing which one or two are worth pursuing. Remember though, there are things to consider other than just nameplate specs -- I already mentioned shipping costs / distance, but there's also how responsive the company is -- I ruled out a couple after they just didn't respond to inquiries, took weeks to reply each time, or seemed to not pay attention to what I was asking. I figured if they can't be bothered to communicate well during the pre-sales phase, I certainly can't count on getting any support from them if there are any issues down the road! More to the point of your questions, the differentiating factors when you're looking for "pretty good" windows probably won't be the 5% differences in U-factor, it'll be things like materials/aesthetics, customer service, shipping costs, and leadtimes.
7) I haven't, but if you're referring to https://www.bocaimpactwd.com/ they look like an installer / distributor, not a manufacturer.
uPVC tilt and turns are not the same as North American vinyl. The frames are solid, there is no flex or bend in them, you can even use a tilt and turn window as a full size door (rough on the bottom seals though).
I have them at home and would have no issues with ordering them again.
Just make sure there is local support. Hardware for these is very hard to find here, a missing clip or handle might be a 6 to 8 week lead time.
This is actually VERY helpful, thanks! I will certainly get some quotes, and Inline Fiberglass will be one of the companies.
Your considerations on what matters besides the stated performance are very much on point.
The company I had in mind (but whose name I had mistyped––sorry!) is Broga Windows:
https://brogawindows.com
They appear to be importers, and VERY close to me. (Again, sorry for the confusion.)
Never heard of Broga either, but tried to do a little bit of detective work -- they share an address with Midwood Doors and Millwork, which looks like it imports a lot of doors from Belarus. Broga itself was just registered as a business earlier this year.
Akos,
Thank you very much! I myself have been worrying A LOT about assistance with these windows/doors. I guess I will have to ask the companies –– makers or distributors that they might be. I guess, in that respect, it might be easier to get a part from a Canadian manufacturer than through a distributor located in NYC or Ohio.
WOW getting these windows/doors is going to be such a leap of faith in a way!
Matt2021,
I just talked to Cascadia windows, so I can give you a bit more insight there. Their fiberglass profiles are actually sourced from Inline, but they produce a self-described "commercial grade" product as compared to Inline's "residential grade". Unfortunately, their leadtime is currently even longer than Inline, so I didn't go further on pricing with them, but they said that despite being in western Canada, they are able to ship to the whole continental US for reasonable freight rates. The differences between their product and Inline, as far as I can tell:
-The sales rep mentioned that their frame insulation is different (which is likely the biggest factor in their reported U-values being notably better than Inline's)
-The sales rep also said their paint and hardware is different, and they use "shear block corners". It looks like they both use Roto for the tilt-turn hardware, but for casement hardware I think Inline uses a domestic manufacturer (Truth) while Cascadia uses Roto again. As for the paint, I don't know what the difference is, and I'm not sure about the shear block corners either.
-Inline appears to make their own IGUs, using Cardinal glass and SuperSpacer, while Cascadia uses Cardinal IGUs. This means that their combinations of low-E coatings and the performance of the spacers is a bit different, but overall pretty similar glass.
-It looks like while Cascadia sells some of the same frame profiles as Inline, they also have the newer "Universal series" profile which is a little different.
Overall, if I was learning this information earlier in the process, or if Cascadia's leadtimes were lower, I'd definitely at least get a quote from them -- it does look like they have a nice product. But, it doesn't seem like I'm making a major misstep in going with Inline, either.
Hi,
we supply high performance European Windows & Doors.
We are located in NYC but we do supply all over the USA, We have NFRC & Passive certified Windows & Doors made of Upvc, Aluminum, Alu-Clad & Wood.
Don't hesitate to contact us if you are looking to get a quote for European tilt & turn Windows.
Visit our site for more information:
https://www.albaeuropeanwindows.com/
[email protected]
(718) 678-7401