Quaker Windows & Doors CityVu: Specs, Testing Data & Idaho Fit

Wood Windows Inc is not an authorized Quaker Windows & Doors dealer. We service, repair, and replace Quaker windows and doors throughout the Treasure Valley.

Specifications & Testing Data

Wood Windows Inc is not an authorized Quaker Windows & Doors dealer. We service, repair, and replace Quaker windows and doors throughout the Treasure Valley. CityVu reaches valley homes through architects and custom builders on contemporary projects; this page is for the owners living with that glass, and for anyone comparing thermally broken aluminum before they buy.

What the CityVu Actually Is

CityVu is a commercial window that moved into houses. Quaker Windows & Doors — family-owned in Freeburg, Missouri since 1949, with a commercial division that builds for mid-rise projects — took its patented OptiCore frame out of that catalog and gave it residential finishes and screens. The frame is a 4-1/8" architectural-grade aluminum extrusion with an Azo-Core polyurethane thermal barrier cast into the profile and sealant-injected double corner keys at the joints. Sightlines are 2-7/8" with a square (C600) or beveled (C605) glazing stop, and every surface, inside and out, is powder-coated in Quaker's own paint line.

Inside Quaker's residential range CityVu is the deluxe aluminum series and the twin of TimberVu, which uses the identical frame with a pine interior. Below both sit the clad-wood Brighton and the vinyl VuPoint, Manchester and AdvantEdge. In the wider market its peers are Kolbe VistaLuxe AL and Marvin Modern — the narrow-frame, big-glass systems we carry.

The configuration list is modern by design: casement with roto or push-out hardware, awning, picture and direct set to 144" x 144", a 90-degree corner window, a lock-box door, and the C-Series sliding and swing doors plus the M-Series multi-slide with two through six panels, pocketing or bi-parting. Finishes run through AAMA 2604 and 2605 powder coats in solids, textures, metallics and anodized-look clear, champagne and dark bronze, with a two-tone option for a different color inside and out. Grids are SDL with a 7/16" exterior profile or internal; screens are FlexScreen with BetterVue mesh. An impact-rated C700 version exists.

The Numbers That Matter

Quaker's September 2025 brochure gives these window ratings:

Air infiltration is published at 0.01 cfm/ft². AW is the architectural performance class; PG100 means a 100 psf structural test, and 12 psf water is about twice a residential window's test pressure.

Per glass package on the casement product page: EnergyBasic 0.30 / SHGC 0.29 / VT 0.49; EnergyPlus 0.26 / 0.28 / 0.48; Energy 3S 0.30 / 0.19 / 0.44; EnergyMax 0.26 / 0.19 / 0.43; EnergyNorth 0.27 / 0.43 / 0.53; tinted EnergyEnhanced 0.27 / 0.17 / 0.27. The direct set does better because there is no sash: EnergyMax 0.24 / 0.24 with VT 0.55, and triple glazing takes it to 0.15. Quaker also offers Energy 4S and 4S+ quad-silver packages and laminated units rated STC 35 (dual) and STC 38 (triple) against STC 32 for a standard 1" IG casement.

Read those honestly. Dual-pane CityVu casements at 0.26–0.30 are respectable but a couple of hundredths behind the equivalent TimberVu and behind a good clad-wood casement, which is the price of an aluminum interior. Only the triple-pane packages clear the ENERGY STAR 7.0 Northern bar of U 0.22; the NFRC label on your unit says which package you have.

How It Ages in Idaho — and What Usually Fails

CityVu is a young line, so the long-term story is that of its construction type: thermally broken architectural aluminum with large insulated glass and powder-coated surfaces inside and out. Over 10 to 25 years in zone 5B, windows of this construction commonly show:

• Insulated glass seal failure on big lites. The dominant long-term repair. A 10- or 12-foot direct set carries more thermal stress at the spacer than a small casement, and fog or a water line between panes on a south or west elevation is the usual first symptom in the second decade. The frame is unaffected; the glass is heavy and priced accordingly.
• Cold-edge condensation on operators. The Azo-Core barrier keeps the frame warm, but at 0.26–0.30 an aluminum casement will still sweat at the glass edge on a 10-degree morning if indoor humidity runs above 40%. On an all-aluminum interior that water simply runs off and dries — the advantage over TimberVu — but chronic condensation stains the sill below and can corrode hardware over years. Humidity control is the fix.
• Heavy casement hardware. Roto operators and concealed hinges on 48" x 96" sashes carry real weight; stiff cranking or a sash that no longer pulls tight to the weatherstrip is second-decade hardware wear.
• Multi-slide rollers, tracks and sills. M-Series panels are large and heavy; rollers flatten, tracks wear, and debris in the sill blocks the weep path. Annual cleaning and periodic roller adjustment extend life considerably.
• Powder-coat chalking. AAMA 2604 dark exteriors on unshaded exposure commonly chalk and fade after 12–15 years; 2605 holds noticeably longer. Cosmetic, and covered by finish warranty terms for the original owner.
• Corner-key sealant. Mitered aluminum corners depend on injected sealant; after 15 years on exposed sites it is the place to look if water shows up at a corner.

Warranty and Service, Locally

Quaker's June 2024 residential warranty is for the original homeowner and does not transfer. Insulated glass is 20 years, dropping to 10 years with required capillary tubes above 3,500 feet elevation — a McCall or Idaho City consideration, not a Boise one. Powder-coat finishes are 20 years for AAMA 2605 and 10 years for 2604, with color-fade and chalk limits spelled out to ASTM standards; anodized finishes are 5 years. Hardware, rollers and weatherstrip: 10 years. Labor is covered for one year.

Warranty claims go through Quaker and the dealer or builder that originally supplied the units; original owners with a fogged lite inside 20 years should start there, with paperwork. Second owners have no coverage.

Wood Windows Inc has set architectural windows and big doors in the Treasure Valley for 46 years with our own employee crews out of Garden City, never subcontractors. On CityVu units we replace fogged glass including oversized direct sets, service roto operators and hinges, adjust and re-roller multi-slide and C-Series doors, renew weatherstrip and clear sill drainage. When replacement is the answer, the like-for-like architectural aluminum we carry is Kolbe VistaLuxe AL and, in fiberglass with a warmer frame, Marvin Modern — both with transferable warranties serviced from twenty minutes away.

Have Quaker CityVu windows or doors that are fogging, cranking hard, or dragging on the track? Use the form on this page or call (208) 376-2200.

Last reviewed 2026-09-10 by Wood Windows Inc — (208) 376-2200