Vinyl windows warping

Have your vinyl windows warped or worried about them warping?

This is a serious problem that many homeowners with vinyl windows face today. There are thousands of vinyl window manufacturers throughout the U.S. and Europe, and many of these companies are pushing out very low quality grades of vinyl windows that are highly prone to vinyl warping.

Vinyl windows warp when the temperatures outside and humidity levels inside cause the vinyl to move. If someone did not install the vinyl window correctly, it's fairly common that the contractor will have installed the vinyl replacement window too tight, which causes it to buckle and warp when the house tries to move. This also happens with vinyl siding.

The main problem is that warping occurs when poor quality vinyl windows are used. Low quality vinyl windows are often made from recycled vinyl pellets that have been used in other applications long ago. The cost to make recycled vinyl windows is much cheaper than making the vinyl from scratch, so these window factories push out large quanitites of junk vinyl for very cheap and don't usually have a difficult time finding homeowners that aren't aware, buying them up rapidly due their low price.

Make sure you select a good contractor that can install vinyl windows that won't warp and that seem professional. Do your research and due diligence while searching for the right window and DO NOT base your decision on price alone.

Look especially for vinyl replacement windows that have reinforcement rails in the sashes. This is a metal bar that goes inside the center of the window sash so that it stops the window from warping and is only featured in  better quality windows. Alside, Simonton, Okna, Softlite, Gorell, and Sunrise windows are all major vinyl window manufacturers that offer reinforced meeting rails designed to stop vinyl replacement windows from warping. Chances are there is a dealer of one of those brands near you.

Find a good contractor and a good vinyl window and you won't have warping vinyl windows. Buy the cheap ones and use a cheap installer and chances are you'll have windows warping in no time. Make the right decision or don't do it at all.

Why do vinyl windows warp?


There are a few reasons for while the vinyl windows tend to warp, but most of all they relate to quality of installation and quality of product. Good vinyl windows that are installed by a good vinyl window contractor will not warp. Warping of vinyl windows are caused by these reasons:

• Low quality recycled vinyl windows. (typically sold in box stores.)
• Poor window design. (often found in very small manufacturers using old technology.)
• Improper contractor installation. (installed too tight or out of square).
• No reinforcement rail inside window sash.

Warping of your vinyl windows can be a really terrible experience, especially if you've spent a large amount of money on them hoping that they would never give you troubles. If you have not selected a contractor yet or are in the process of how to find a contractor for your vinyl replacement windows, then you're in luck because you can avoid these terrible vinyl warping problems. 

Make sure that you have a contractor that can talk with you about your windows and show you information pertaining to which brand is good and has vinyl window designs that are made to prevent warping. If your contractor can't answer any of these questions or show you a part of the window that will determine how it will prevent the warping, then I would suggest not using them. Even if you have a great relationship with a contractor, if he can't offer proof of why the windows he would install will not buckle or warp, then it's not worth spending so much money on something that he cant show good evidence of anti-warping design.