Andersen 400 & 200 Series Warranty: Glass, Perma-Shield & Wood Terms

Coverage at a Glance

Terms below are taken directly from the manufacturer's written limited warranty. All periods run from the date of purchase from the retailer or dealer.

The 400 Series is the Andersen window most people picture when they hear the name, and its warranty is the template the rest of the Andersen lineup is written from. It is also shared: the 200 Series, the Perma-Shield gliding patio doors and the Frenchwood hinged doors all read from the same document, revised in September 2023. Compared with the 100 Series and A-Series documents, it has one notable strength on glass and one notable gap on finish. Here is the full reading.

Glass: Twenty Years, Stress Cracks Included

Factory-glazed glass in 400 and 200 Series units is warranted free from defects in manufacturing, materials and workmanship for twenty years from purchase. The seal language goes a step further than Andersen's other documents: the glass is warranted not to develop, under normal conditions, any material obstruction of vision or stress cracks resulting from manufacturing defects or premature failure of the glass or organic seal. That word, stress cracks, is missing from the 100 Series document and expressly excluded from the E-Series. On a 400 Series window, a crack that starts in the glass with no impact is a warranty claim.

The covered glass list is long: dual- and triple-pane, Low-E4, Sun, SmartSun, PassiveSun, HeatLock, patterned glass in obscure, pebble, fern, reed and cascade, Finelight grilles between the glass, and tempered versions of all of them. Excluded are special-order glazings, Andersen art glass, impact-resistant glass, glass with blinds or shades between the panes, and glass not factory installed by Andersen. Stress cracks caused by installation and glass broken by impact are also excluded, so the coverage is for cracks that originate in the glass itself.

Components: Ten Years, With Two Shorter Tiers

Non-glass portions of the window are warranted against manufacturing defects for ten years: non-electric operators, locks, lifts, balance systems, hinges, handles, insect screens, weatherstripping, exterior trim, and the sash and frame members. Two product types get a five-year version of the same warranty: units with unclad wood exteriors, and doors used in commercial applications. Patio doors ordered with blinds between the glass are handled in their own section, with the glass, blind, seal, controls, hardware and frame all covered for ten years rather than the twenty-year glass term.

Three items are carved out to their own documents: Andersen electric window operators, retractable insect screens, and the finishes on bright brass and satin nickel door hardware.

The Finish Gap

Here is the difference buyers should understand. The 100 Series, A-Series and E-Series documents each have an exterior finish section with a fade standard measured in delta E and a promise against flaking, peeling and adhesion loss. The 400 and 200 Series document has none. The Perma-Shield vinyl cladding is covered only as a sash and frame member under the ten-year component warranty, which protects against a manufacturing defect that makes the part unserviceable, not against color change. Andersen's own comparison chart shows a dash under paint finish for the 400 Series.

In practice the white, sandtone and canvas claddings age well and this rarely comes up. It matters on dark exteriors. A homeowner who wants a written fade term on a black or dark bronze window is better served by the 100 Series, whose Fibrex finish carries ten years, or the A-Series, whose fiberglass finish carries twenty years on adhesion and ten on fade.

Two Years of Labor, Through an Authorized Dealer

Here is the term that is not in the document, because it is a dealer term rather than a product term. Buy 400 or 200 Series windows through an authorized Andersen dealer, and Andersen covers the labor on covered warranty repairs for the first two years. Wood Windows has been an authorized Andersen dealer for decades, so every 400 Series unit we sell comes with it: in the first two years a defective glass unit or balance is replaced with Andersen paying both the part and our installer's time. A big-box purchase gets the same window and the same parts warranty, and the labor is the homeowner's from day one. It is the clearest reason to buy Andersen from a dealer, and we lead with it.

Remedy, Labor and Exclusions

For glass, Andersen will at its option provide the replacement glass to the dealer you specify, with the document noting that labor is not included, or provide a factory-authorized repair at no cost, or refund the original purchase price. The same three options apply to components. Replacement parts carry the remainder of the original term.

The exclusion list is the standard Andersen set: modifications and tinting films, units mulled by others, non-Andersen hardware, improper installation, exposure beyond published specifications, water infiltration not caused by a defect, condensation, brick wash and razor blades, salt and acid rain, accidents, acts of God and normal wear. Add the labor exclusions, meaning labor to replace sash, panels or glass, removal and disposal, and painting or carpentry afterward, plus a few specific to this document: the performance of the Low-E4 exterior coating, protective film not removed after installation, failure to seal exposed wood, minor warping with claims deferrable up to twelve months, grille rattle, insects through screens, hardware tarnish and broken glass.

Owner-To-Owner Transfer and Claims

Every coverage section is headed Transferable Limited Warranty, and Andersen brands the whole document Owner-To-Owner. A buyer of your home inherits whatever remains of each term. Registration at andersenwindows.com/warranty is optional and speeds up a later claim.

To make a claim, start with the dealer who sold the windows. If that is Wood Windows, our Garden City office opens the claim against the original order and schedules our own installer when the part arrives. Andersen also takes claims directly at 1-888-888-7020. Have the exterior color, unit type and size, inside visible glass measurements, the logo etched in the glass corner and the purchase date ready. The document includes a dispute resolution process with class action and jury trial waivers, with an opt-out at andersenwindows.com/optout within a year of purchase.

Last reviewed 2026-09-16 by Wood Windows Inc — (208) 376-2200