Replacement windows vary in performance and reliability

Q. In the very near future, I will replace five wood windows with new vinyl windows. The windows are your standard-sized bedroom windows - no fancy designs or dimensions.

I would like your recommendation on what brand names are reliable and have a good track record. When I ask around with builders and people connected to the window business, I can't seem to get a brand name that most people feel good about. Comments are made (positive and negative) about Marvin, Pella, Andersen, Sierra Pacific, etc. I also remember reading one of your columns where you expressed concerns about Pella windows.

I have always trusted your judgment and would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

A. To keep the record straight, Marvin and Sierra Pacific do not make vinyl windows. Marvin makes all-fiberglass (its Integrity line) and fiberglass/wood windows, while Sierra Pacific makes wood and aluminum-clad windows. Andersen and Pella offer vinyl windows.

My concern with Pella followed its steady refusal to honor its warranty on both doors and windows a number of years ago. Pella fought my clients for months, blaming poor insulation, until the company was threatened with litigation after I became involved and wrote a scathing report. I do not know if Pella has changed its modus operandi, but I have stayed away from recommending its products ever since.

I used to install many Pella windows in the 1950s and '60s, as one of the top-of-the-line products for years, and had them in our house from the '60s until these unfortunate incidents. This was a time when Pella did do a good job of taking care of its customers.

My research and contacts in the industry speak highly of the Interstate Materials Inc. vinyl windows, series 88, which is only available through accredited retailers. To find a retailer in your area, call Interstate's toll-free line: (800) 338-9997.

In recent years, I have had very good experiences with Marvin windows and doors. They are competitively priced, are of high quality and are very energy-efficient, and Marvin's customer service has been excellent.

Years ago, I was retained by an architect to investigate why all the Marvin windows in her house were rotting. Instead of dodging the bullet, Marvin volunteered that their preservative-treatment subcontractor had done a very poor job. Marvin replaced all the windows at no cost to the homeowner.

When we remodeled our house extensively, we used Marvin windows and doors throughout with great satisfaction.

Q. I live in a home that has moisture year-round in the basement. It's causing the sill around the home to rot. Is it worth fixing? I still have a mortgage.

A. I certainly think that a house is worth fixing rather than abandoning it, if that is what you are asking.

Every effort should be made to track the causes of your extreme moisture condition.

You haven't given me much information, but here are a few hints: If your foundation is made of concrete blocks instead of poured concrete, and the blocks have been waterproofed from the inside, their cores may be filled with water that leaked in from the outside and became trapped in the cores.

In such a case, check the grade around the foundation and make all necessary repairs to it and to any appendages leading water toward the house (walks, patios, exterior basement stairs, driveways, low spot under a deck, etc.), and follow this with the drainage of the blocks.

You may need the help of an experienced contractor or engineer. Draining the blocks can be done by using a star drill and a hammer to drill holes in the mortar joints of the blocks as close to the floor as possible. Using an electric drill is dangerous; if water suddenly surges, it may cause a serious risk of electrical shock.

You will need to drill holes between blocks and in two or three places for each block, as some blocks have two cores and others three. You only need to drill holes in the bottom row; water will flow down to them.

You'll have to plan on dealing with the water coming out. If your house has an old stone foundation and a dirt floor, you will need to make sure water cannot enter the basement by checking the conditions outside as mentioned above. Then you'll have to do something to control the soil's moisture by either covering it with heavy plastic, which you can buy in agricultural and building-supply stores, or by pouring a concrete slab over a stone base and vapor retarder.

When this is done, hire an experienced contractor to make any necessary repairs to the sill.

Q. I own a 2,500-square-foot house in Delaware that was built in the fall of 2007. The area over the garage is a wide-open storage area. Daylight can be seen around the edge of the roof where the soffits are located. There is a ridge vent on all the various roofs on the house. Ridge vents and soffit vents are the only aids for ventilation.

It gets very hot in the storage area in the summer. I placed a thermometer about 6 feet off the floor. The roof peak is 15 feet high. On a 95-degree sunny day I got readings of 120-122 degrees in the storage area. I feel it is too hot for household items and clothing, particularly leather and furs, with a 27-degree difference from the outdoor temperature.

I went on the internet and searched roof structures and found a site that said industry standards for an attic storage area should be 10 to 12 degrees higher than the outside temperature - it didn't specify a sunny day versus a cloudy day. Is that an accurate assessment? If not, what is the correct differential between outside and attic temperature?

I discussed this with the builders, and they said they were unsure of any standards, but that the design should be sufficient.

What would be a good fix to cool down the storage area? Installing a roof vent fan? Enlarging the soffit vents? Each soffit vent is about 6 inches wide and 3 feet long. Or is there another solution?

A. I don't know of any standards stipulating an acceptable degree differential between the attic's temperature in a storage area and the outside ambient air.

You mention the size of the soffit vents, which tells me they are not continuous. How far apart are they? Soffit vents should run the full length of the overhangs and must match the ridge vents' net free ventilation area (NFVA). But this should not be an issue in an open storage space.

One way to reduce the temperature of the attic now is to staple an aluminum reflective film to the bottom of the trusses. It will be somewhat of a challenge because of the web connections, but it should be manageable. You should be able to get aluminum reflective film in building-supply houses.

Another way is to install light-colored shingles when the time for replacement comes.

Q. Can you tell me how to dig a dry well to stop rain from flooding in through my basement window? I have written to you in the past regarding plumbing problems, and your answers have given me excellent results.

A. If the flooding is due to rain filling the well in heavy downpours or from the section of a roof without gutters above the well, the easiest way to deal with it is to put a clear plastic cover over the well.

If the problem is because there is a flat or negative grade around the well, and water is entering the well at the joint of the well and the foundation, the grade deficiency should be taken care of by raising it to slope gently away from the house, making sure there is no way for the water to leak through the joints with the house.

If the top of the well is too low to raise the grade, you can buy metal sections matching semicircular or rectangular wells in building-supply houses.

Or you can raise the well up to 4 inches by digging a small trench around the exterior of the metal well and setting paver bricks upright, soldier-like, in the trench.

The bricks are 8 inches long, so 4 inches will be buried in the raised grade. Tamp the soil to hold the bricks in place.

If the problem is caused by the soil being too high inside the well, dig out the soil as much as you can and refill the space with stones to within a foot of the bottom of the window.

Ideally, a drainpipe should have been installed leading to some form of drainage, such as footing drains, but if the soil is sandy or loamy, this may not be necessary.

• Henri de Marne was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. His book, "About the House," is available at www.upperaccess.com. His website is www.henridemarne.com. Email questions to henridemarne@gmavt.net, or mail First Aid for the Ailing House, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

© 2016, United Feature Syndicate Inc.