My wife and I are looking at Sunrise replacement windows. They seem to be very sturdy windows with a nice lifetime warranty. I've heard that I definitely want to get some kind of structurally reinforced vinyl window as vinyl by itself is not very strong. In looking at how these windows are reinforced, the best I've come up with is this statement:
FiberCore Plus, a pultruded fiberglass
I-beam reinforcement that is coupled
with urethane insulation comes with
every door to add to the strength of
the design.
(from here)
How does Fiberglass compare to aluminum/steel reinforcement structurally? Is fiberglass reinforcement sufficient/superior/worse? Should I be concerned with fiberglass reinforcement in any way? How will the reinforcement material impact the window's lifespan?
Note, I'm in the Mid Atlantic (Maryland).
Best Answer
I live in MN and we recently replaced all of our windows with replacement inserts (Marvin Windows). After talking with several experts (and 4 different companies) they all agree wood is still the best. The issue with Vinyl is/was the brittleness in colder climates. Fiberglass is supposed to help with that but it is relatively new so there is no long-term analysis that can be done. In summary: Fiberglass is supposed to be good but is unproven.