We've used Marvin, Andersen and Loewen. The Marvin's were our office standard until we found Loewen.

I detailed a huge house where we used all Loewen.The profiles are cleaner, and they perform better. Also the Loewen triple panes are cheaper than the Marvins. You can also get bigger picture units in Loewen. The only thing I didn't really like, was that the muntin bars are a touch thin.

Loewen's are little pricey, but in my mind are worth it.

eagle, jeld wen, weathershield, pella, marvin, - all similar in quality, but probably increases slightly from left to right. eagle windows have great color selections. marvin/pella better for historical. weathershield comes in weird sizes since they converted to metric system.

anderson - cheapest halfway decent window out there, can get at home depot. would only put in a spec home. few colors available.

kolbe- very nice, great copper clad windows, high end.

unilux, euroview - best vinyl windows for the money, best wood, vinyl or clad for thermal performance, excellent color and wood selections, come finished, completely different aesthetic and operation however. cost more (euroview available only in cheap vinyl far as i know).

personally, i'd look at eagle or anderson depending on your aesthetic needs.

I would suggest you take a long hard look at all of the windows mentioned above. You will find they all have their little quirks.
You will also find contractors tend to like the less expensive windows, and will always suggest them to homeowners, because they think they are doing the owner a favor by saving them a few bucks.
However most likely what you will end up with a product of less quality. If you take a Marvin Window and put it up against a Pella window. You will find the Pella Window lacking in crispness.

Andersen owns Eagle.

Canadian Windows are less expensive, but I prefer to buy American!

Marvin also has a great network in the New England Area, and they stand behind their product. I use Marvin when I can, then Eagle, then well it is in the wind. I have used Loewen on projects, French Casements.

Thanks for the helpful comments!

You should be able to get corner samples from the manufacturers too.

seriously
http://www.seriouswindows.com/

serious sucks. thermotech has better performance. better u-value, better SHGC, and better VT. no issues of color rendition. and thermotech comes in a low-iron ultra white as well.

Note: You should also carefully review the window warantee.

I use Pella, Marvin, and Andersen regularly, Andersen less so.

Frankly Pella Architect Series has snared me in their branding trap just as they intended to - it's my preferred residential window when I have a regular budget to work with.

Just as a personal story: I always tell my clients to buy the best windows they can reasonably afford. If you have to save money in your project, don't do it in the windows. Cheap windows f**k up an otherwise good design faster than anything and are far more expensive than most things to upgrade later. Higher quality windows look good from the start, save money over time (in energy savings) and maintain street appeal/resale value. Good windows are a good investment.

Pella, as well, is our 'budget' window of choice. I've had good experiences with Loewen, although it is more expensive (all douglas fir construction; crisper edges and simpler profiles make up for it. Also, that natural anodized option on the outside.... makes it much easier to mix in with storefront profiles)

You know, what I'm still really surprised by is that no one seems interested in trying to produce an alternative to Duratherm. Don't get me wrong - Duratherm is fantastic. Crazy expensive though, especially for how simple the product is (look at their details - it's not rocket science). Alas....

holz,
you may be right if you use the super-quad but if you compare the dual pane not so much

holz,
maybe if you use superquad for the inline product but dual pane not so much


http://www.inlinefiberglass.com/products/downloads/325casement_outside/325%20SER%20-%20ER.pdf


SeriousWindows 525 Performance Specs:

Styles SeriousGlass 5L S
U-Value R-Value SHGC VT
Fixed Picture 0.17 5.9 0.27 0.49
Single Hung 0.20 5.0 0.23 0.42
Double Hung 0.22 4.5 0.22 0.40

U-Value R-Value SHGC VT
Casement/Awning 0.21 4.8 0.21 0.38
Horizontal Sliding 0.20 5.0 0.24 0.43
Sliding Patio Door 0.20 5.0 0.23 0.41

SeriousWindows 525 Performance Specs:

Styles SeriousGlass 5L S
...................U-Value R-Value SHGC VT
Fixed Picture 0.17 5.9 0.27 0.49
Single Hung 0.20 5.0 0.23 0.42
Double Hung 0.22 4.5 0.22 0.40

..........................U-Value R-Value SHGC VT
Casement/Awning 0.21 4.8 0.21 0.38
Horizontal Sliding 0.20 5.0 0.24 0.43
Sliding Patio Door 0.20 5.0 0.23 0.41

Haha, Duratherm?

I remember looking at their details not-so-long ago. It's like 3 pieces of wood glued together.

I think if they are glued... they must use some variety of proprietary lamination system because nothing says terrible idea like laminating two different kinds of woods together.

I actually dislike 99% of wood windows because they come in either "colonial maple," "golden oak" or "natural pine." I pretty much hate those colors with a passion.

go do it,
if designing low energy buildings (my interest) those serious numbers are shitty.

VT of .5 is horrid for double pane. SHGC of <0.30 is great for say houston. anyone in a cooling dominated climate, not so much.

their 925 series (utilized on several passivhaus projects) is even worse. and there is an annoying tint to the glass.

duratherms definitely look great, but performance/price not so much.

frankly, i'm more intrigued by EU windows these days. and the CO2 footprint of shipping windows from EU is only slightly more than trucking from east coast.

in previous offices, we utilized loewen a lot. price here in the NW wasn't too bad and they look fine.

what are you guys getting for fixed/casement cost/sf for pella v. marvin?

i've had so many issues w/ vinyl windows that outside of the environmental negatives, i would never consider them.

thanks holz

i haven't used serious but i will investigate some more

my head hurts with all the comparative analyses though

Unilux
http://unilux.de/ux/EN/home/index.php4

Thermotech performs, but I find their detailing barely better than a vinyl window. Check out Unilux. They also have an amazing alum clad wood storefront system.

if looking at EU windows....
walch, internorm and optiwin are all high performers

slightly off-topic, but does anyone have experience with the Tilt'n'Turn system? swinging door + inswinging hopper combo?

I agree with Donna's post completely.

We use Marvin or Pella and rarely Andersen.

we had those in all our houses when we lived abroad. i like them considerably more, el jeffe.

@holz.box - is the ventilation while being secure the big draw?
thanks.

partially. ease of cleaning as well, especially on higher floors. plus i prefer my shades on the exterior to prevent solar gain.

sweet - thanks.

If you're really pressed for budget we've been able to get decent simple profiles from Sierra Pacific. (they have a simple 3/4" x 3/4" wood stop on their wood windows than looks much better than the k style milled crap.


For middle of the road cost-wise but 100% all aluminum custom and with decent hardware to boo, see Marlin (with and "L" not a "V") http://www.marlinwindows.com/ (though not sure about cost once it goes outside of WA)

We've found them to be much cheaper than Custom Window Co, Loewen and others equiv.

I've used the Duratherm tilt-and-turn - came out beautifully and homeowner very happy. Works like a dream. The only weird thing is the psychology oddity of allowing this giant, solid, very heavy product to suddenly give way and swing down towards your face... but the good news is, it always stops!

holz, I've been very impressed with Duratherm - does it not have as high thermal performance as other, similar options?

I agree with Greg, I've often wondered why there was no domestic competitor even close to producing what Duratherm produces. We did use a custom hand-made wooden window shop in New England that I really loved, however. Great for matching historic windows. I wonder why we've generally lost our craftsman window builders in this country...

performance is ok for a non-PH/low energy building.

regarding the psychology of tilt/turn v. outswinging casement

north american folks for some reason like to use shades on the interior - which is pretty tough with tilt/turn.

euros like to put roll down shades outside the building - which you can't do with a casment.

good point on the shade. In the case I'm describing it was actually a frosted window in a bathroom so no shade required. I personally am not a fan of frosted windows however, but the client loved it & it worked perfectly in the room itself. Anyway yeah - no shades possible!

Also, tilt-turns typically have a chunkier sash than a typical casement or picture window. So, unless you are using all tilt-turns then your details don't align. (at least this is true with Marvin, but possibly not with a custom window).

Mantaray - yes Duratherm is nice, but there are other high-end windows that can compete. Mostly custom products, many European windows that they sell mostly in the Northeast.

Used to be a company called Megawindow that encased a steel section within the wood that was incredible - allowed bottom rails of doors to be incredibly thin so that they aligned with full height windows as well as huge operable units. But, I think that they went out of business.

holz

how is the shade secured from wind / weather etc.? on tracks?

know of any brands i can investigate?

on the fence w/ frosted. great for studio or bathroom, some entries.

tilt turns do have 'chunkier' frames - though only for the operable part, at least for the window mfr's i am digging these days.


go do it,
there are lots of ways. bolts, screws. most common roll down shades in EU have a housing they tuck into that fits behind rainscreen/facade - though is exposed in some cases.

other options are fixed or operable exterior shades (which i heavily prefer)

there are lots of mfr's of exterior shades, google has more answers than i.

as for the fixed/operable - i prefer custom fab'd.

thanks holz

Beware of a Contractor pushing a particular window....cause most lkely it it tied to a window supplier paid vacation trip to somewhere warm if it is in the middle of the winter.

Gerkin.

My personal window of choice: Gerkin Aluminium Casement Window

I've used Integrity. On the budget side. Fiberglass product that can be painted (vinyl can't). They also have a composite series with wood on the interior.
They have fixed size charts and don't do custom. Could be a good option if you're trying to save money.

awesome! I would love this. Yes we went custom (hand-built by local shop) on many projects at an office I worked at in the NE and quality was amazing. Too bad you can't get this in most places.

frosted v. not-frosted - frosted can give you intriguing compositional possibilities so I like to play with it as a component of formal language but for me personally - aka as in for my own house, not for those of my clients - I wouldn't do it b/c I get hugely claustrophobic from windows that aren't see-thru. Even worse - here in the mid-west there is enormous amounts of glass block everywhere - UGH!

For Duratherm-like windows, I use Dynamic Windows. They're out of Oregon and are priced much better than Duratherm and their lead time is great.

Otherwise, it's Loewen or Sierra Pacific, depending on budget. Marvin, Anderson and Pellas are all way too shwoopy.

My favorite is replacement windows and doors of Clera, Toronto. 

I recently got a confusion with installing them in London, it was from another firm. When I contacted the dealer, they said that they don’t put argon gas between the panes because the gas will leak out within a year or two. How important is Argon or another inert gas between the panes as far as energy efficiency is concerned?

I would like to suggest you a name of one company as they have a good reputation and also you can check their customer's testimonials on their official website. Their services are affordable as well as the quality of their products is far better than their competitors.

Hi Santa Monica ,

I would help you to see some of the best collection online through this website http://www.dynamicwindows.com/ as they are one of the finest and quality residential window suppliers, that won't destroy your budget at all. Definitely, it will help you.

Regards,

Alex Daniel

There are many good places to get windows. I found a really good quote from Conservation Construction. They are reasonably priced and have a lifetime warranty so they will stand behind the window. 

Conservation Construction: Home of bots that default to the number 5 for some reason.

Reilly Windows and Doors

Brombal 

Reilly sucks, super expensive for marginal (at best) quality. Don’t ask me how I know. 

i usually pick Marvin: Ultimate clad for traditional; Contemporary Studio line for higher end modern; Integrity Wood Ultrex line for good value 

I've got a project in san diego (i'm not local) & don't yet have a local gc -- any socal architects have opinions on residential windows?

I'm aware La Cantina is local but they don't do reg windows

resurrecting the dead.... does anyone have a clue as to who made this window on john pawson's own home? my gut says it's a commercial product but still....

.