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andrew_koutsoukos

Repair Marvin Window Sash

Andrew Koutsoukos
2 months ago

Have Marvin Double Hung from 2002. Marvin said they can no longer provide a replacement sash. Could a sash & glass shop rebuild the bottom of the sash that has dryrot?




Comments (19)

  • millworkman
    2 months ago

    A woodworking shop very well could. Would not be inexpensive however.

  • Andrew Koutsoukos
    Original Author
    2 months ago

    I was quoted $1,200 for a new Marvin replacement of the entire window. Plus maybe $500 to install. Any rough idea on what the woodworking shop would charge? Thanks.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    2 months ago

    Abatron please.

  • millworkman
    2 months ago

    If you find someone to make you a custom sash rail (it will be custom as there is no reason for them to use the cutter set up regularly) I would bet it would $800-900 dollars minimum.

  • klem1
    last month

    Remind me to never buy Marvin windows.

  • PRO
    Windows on Washington Ltd
    last month

    What about a 22 year old window rotting is a condemnation of Marvin windows?


    I hope that consumers understand that there isn't a wood window made with a lifetime warranty out there. This window sash exceeded it's warranty coverage in the class of products that it belongs to.


    Not just exceeded it...but by 2X in all likelihood.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    last month

    It won't rot for another hundred years if the Abatron is used properly.

  • Andrew Koutsoukos
    Original Author
    last month

    This is a rental property so I'm thinking about replacing with Andersen 100 or 400 series.

  • rwiegand
    last month

    Something is wrong, either with the window or with how it was installed or maintained to have it rot in 22 years, or, pretty much, ever. Warranty coverage length is irrelevant, that's just a marketing decision with little to do with underlying quality and nothing to do with installation and maintenance; something about the setup allowed water to get (and stay) where it shouldn't. Plenty of unrotted 150-200 year old windows in our neck of the woods are testament to the potential longevity of a wood window.

    The wood parts are easy to replace, it's all the odd hardware bits in modern windows that would complicate the process. Something like Abatron will buy you time, but figure out how it's getting wet and correct that or you'll just have more rot in the parts that haven't been soaked in epoxy.

  • klem1
    last month

    That was also my thoughts rwleg but trying to explain it to a window peeper wasn't worth the effort. Probing other parts with a durable sharp point such as a dart might reveal they aren't bad ,making repair rather than replacement a viable option.

  • kevin9408
    last month
    last modified: last month

    I would never think about buying a house with Marvin windows. Around 2006 my Son bought a house built in 1995 with Marvin windows and a few years later we found out every window was rotting out underneath the paint. We replaced a slider and 2 BR windows with Anderson, but he decided to divorce his wife so they sold the house around 2014.

    Windows made by Marvin between 1985 - 1989 all rotted out and there was a class action lawsuit against Marvin, but my Son's windows were built after the lawsuit period so they would do nothing. He just bought a house last month but for a year every house we looked at we checked to make sure they weren't Marvin.

    Now Here you are with 2002 Marvin windows still rotting and yours look just like my son's windows did 13 yrs after they supposedly fixed their windows.

    I replaced all the 1964 Anderson all wood windows in my present home in 2006 with no rot at all, and the Anderson 400 series I replaced them have no issues today.

    So the slider we used in my son's old house was a 400 series I bought at a liquidation center and had no receipt or warranty. One day the inside pane of the double pane stationary panel shattered when no one was home. We called Anderson to buy a new panel and they said they would just give us a free replacement including shipping! Considering I paid $200 for a $1200 door at the time I wasn't looking to get a free panel, ever heard of such a thing?

    I followed a guy on craigslist selling rotted pieces from his Marvin windows for years at a $1.00 per chunk so he could tell his story and how Marvin told him to take a hike.

  • PRO
    Windows on Washington Ltd
    last month

    We see plenty of 150-200 year old windows as well. Every time I go to my buddies house. They are from old timber stock that is COMPLETELY unrepresentative of what we have now...and they are covered in storm window.


    Two fairly start distinctions in this case.

  • Andrew Koutsoukos
    Original Author
    last month

    Exactly, referencing 150 year old sashs that are in great shape is irrelevant since we are now using inferior wood to build modern windows.

  • Andrew Koutsoukos
    Original Author
    last month

    Am I going to have a hard time fitting a new Andersen window in the middle since these three are so tight together?






  • PRO
    toddinmn
    last month

    Yes, they are mulled together.

  • kevin9408
    last month
    last modified: last month

    Andrew, if you go to the Anderson window web site you can find standard size charts for each type of window they sell. Measure the window rough openings of your windows and go to Anderson's size chart and take a look. If you're lucky Anderson's standard size window may fit and you'll save a bundle over custom sizes through renewal by Anderson.

  • millworkman
    last month
    last modified: last month

    They are physically attached to each other (mulled), you are not changing the center window (even with another Marvin) without taking all 3 out and apart.

  • PRO
    East Bay 10
    last month
    last modified: last month

    In your case (a mulled window), inserting the Andersen product will not work. It is best to stay with the sash replacement.

    If you are concerned about a repeat of the sash failing, you can upgrade the wood from pine to mahogany and paint it. Personally from afar, I don't think it would be worth the additional cost for the mahogany.

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