What is your budget? If you are looking for quality windows you may need to adjust your budget. Forget about the Silverlines. They are close to the bottom of the barrel and the only reason your builder recommends them is because he has an account at the supply house that sells them and can get 30 day terms on his account.

Budget is what I do not know. So far, the house build price total is all that I have to go by. I can have someone work out a window budget later on but thought that based on the particular windows brand and lines that there would be a general known price for them as a per window based on what others had paid. Im guessing based on some info I had got from the builders that we were looking at about 300.00 per window excluding installation for about 20 to 30 2060 size DH DP Low E windows. I could be way off but thats what I am figuring.

I should be able to adjust the budget but I did not want to exceed 3k total up cost on the windows since I did not know if i could come up with enough to cover more than that.

Any other thoughts on brands or lines in the southeast that I might look into in order to bring them up to the builder?

Im not set on vinyl or wood but whichever is better although not having to paint them would be nice.

For 20 to 30 windows and a budget of $3000, i doubt you will find anything other than what the builder is including. I don't think you would even get 30 of them for $3000.

You misunderstand. 3k extra. meaning the cost of what they are including in the house cost plus 3k more for window upgrades. So if they have a price total of 10k, then I could adjust my budget up to 13k for sure, maybe more but that might be more than I can come up with.

Any ideas? I am asking now so that when I meet with one of the builders, I can bring up brands and or lines and see how he may need to adjust price or if he is willing to go with any of the brands that are mentioned here.

Ah ha, got ya. As far as which is better, I am more of a wood window guy so I prefer wood, whereas sky or Windows happen to be more of vinyl type guys so it is a matter of opinion. I am not sure what is available in your area you may be better off looking at Integrity by Marvin which will e a fiberglass window. Which in my opinion would be much better than a low end wood window. I would look at for wood windows, maybe Lepage, maybe Anderson(tough call not knowing what your budget is). Vinyl I would look at Simonton and Okna. Personally I would find a true window dealer(NO HD, Lowes or the like) and look at several brands, see what they would recommend in your area. I am in the northeast and I am sure you and I would have different brands available to us.

Simonton Prism Platinum/Reflections 5500 and PGT Spectraguard are excellent choices for vinyl windows and both should be available to you. There may be other good choices but I'm pretty sure those 2 will fit into your budget.

Whatever you decide, make sure you get glass with as low a solar gain as possible.

I was looking at the simonton website and noticed that prism and the reflections were replacement style. Would they be the choice for new construction?

Also, I cant tell but we are looking for the exterior of the windows to be trimmed out with a wide, say 3 to 4 inch flat board around the perimiter. Our house will be plank siding and that look adds to the older craftsman sort of style we are looking for. Can any of the suggested windows be trimmed out that way? Which ones might look better for this style of house?

Any more advice?

Simonton Prism Platinum and Reflections 5500 can both be ordered with an integral nailing fin and can be used as a new construction installation. The exterior trim can be done as wide as you like. It is critical that you use an experienced installer who can properly flash, insulate and caulk the windows.

I have found a supplier for the simonton windows in my town. They wondered why I wanted a replacement window as opposed to the new construction version. They said they were the same except for the nailing fin, and to add that would increase cost just a little and the added labor for installing the fin would have to be accounted for as well.

So, if my builder charges too much for the labor, I may decide to go with the new construction version. Which new construction would be equal to the 5500? Also, what is the difference between the 5500 and the prism platinum?

Thanks

Now as I look the website over, and read other posts on the net, I wonder about the width of the frame. What is a more traditional size frame? Im concerned with looks as well. I have wood windows in my current house and was wanting a wood since I thought they looked better but feel that other material may be better since I want a no to very low maintance.

What other brands and lines might fall into the price range of the simonton and the silverline that I might check out that will work in my area? From what I can gather, my price quote ballparks have been around $200.00 to $250.00 per window (no installation price) if priced with a 36x74 window for a plygem 200 seies, a silverline and now the simonton 5500. I believe I could go as high as 300 per window in that size.

Any advice?

on another note, I have read about how the new construction grade differs from the replacement grade and notice the specs as well. Looks like the 55oo replacement is made better and more robust than even the 600 brickmould new construction version.

Anyway, the 5500 that was quoted to me from a supplier in my town was pretty much the same cost as the new construction window. It just did not come with a nail fin, but from what I have read since, it seems like when they are ordered, then they should be ordered with a nail fin and it will be molded into the window. Sounds pretty good.

Still, Any advice to the previous questions?

if that is your price range there really is no choice but the Simonton as the other 2 you mention are complete garbage in my opinion.

I'd definitely stay with either the Simonton Prism Platinum/Reflections 5500 or the PGT. The Simonton Brickmold 600 and the entire Builder Line are made to compete on the new construction market. As previously mentioned the Prism Platinum/Reflections 5500 can be installed using either technique as both can be ordered either with or without nailing fin. I would also give PGT serious consideration.

Im leaning toward the 5500 with nail fin. Here in Georgia, what would be a good balance between value (im on a budget) and glass performance as far as u factor and shgc? We will have several windows on the second floor with west and south facings. The other will be east, north or under a porch roof. Its about a 50-50 split. We will also have a large picture window facing east in the two story great room.

Could anyone chime in and give recommendations for the specs on these windows? Again, I need a balance between budget and performance. Looking for best value for the money spent.

Thanks all for the great help so far. Ive learned a lot.

You want the lowest Solar Gain you can get in Georgia. I would go with the ETC Starter on all the windows. As a side note, if you haven't claimed an energy tax credit on your taxes since 2005, you will be eligible for tax credit of up to $200.