On wood vs vinyl: What are your goals for the project? If you need a perfect stain match with a high level of richness in look and feel, wood fits that bill. Cons: It is more expensive, less efficient, requires more maintenance, and has an inferior warranty.

Vinyl is less expensive, more efficient, better warranty, etc. Cons: can't match the look and feel of wood.... Essentially it is form vs function in most cases.

Wood products that are highly regarded: Marvin and Kolbe. Integrity is a nice price point choice. Andersen and Pella each have a few products in their respective lineups that are fine as well, but you will find more mixed reviews.

Vinyl products that are highly regarded include the aforementioned Okna, Sunrise, Elements/LS by Softlite, Kensington, and some others including Polaris Ultraweld, Richlin, Homeguard Innovations, etc.

On price, you are right there in the expected range for the products quoted. Personally I'd spend a couple more bucks and look at the Okna 500 or 800, as either is a significant upgrade over the entry level 400 IMO. $400 per would be extremely low.

Personally, I would not consider the Preservation. It is bulky (less glass), has a pocket sill with channels water through the frame, has middle-range performance, and is somewhat dated. The 8000 series from alside is a better window IMO, but again, I'd encourage you to read up on the general sentiment from professionals on any brand considered. You will find a lot of guys (and gals) that promote what they sell of course, but many pros will objectively recommend competing products as well.

Thank you for the response. I saw you responded on another forum I posted, so thank you for that as well. The windows will be white, interior and exterior, so vinyl is definitely an option, especially being more efficient.

As I said there, to date, I have only dealt with some window install companies. Seemed easier and I could have the new windows in 3 weeks or so based on what the Okna and Preservation guys said. However, in maybe 2 months, we are undertaking an exterior renovation with a family friend who does high end renovations helping us out. He said since he's capping all the existing wood window trim, he can install the windows for us if I purchased them directly. Or he could use his supplier but he tends to deal with higher end windows like you suggested - Marvin and Kolbe - which are more than I want to spend.

So not to bother you any more, but any ideas/suggestions on some of the more mainstream windows (if I just wait and have him install the windows in a few months as opposed to a window installation company in the next few weeks). Local lumberyard carries Jeld Wen, Andersen, etc. I also have access to a building supply outfit that sells Marvin too along with Jeld Wen, Andersen, Trimline, Alside, etc.

The lumber yard windows are garbage, concentrate on the others.

Does anyone know if I could purchase Okna factory direct or from a dealer for my contractor to install?

No Okna sells thru their authorized dealer installers only as far as I know.

Thanks. Called them myself and they said they don't. Just bothers me paying $800-$1000 for installation by a window installation company when my friend will basically do it for free as part of the whole exterior renovation.

I appreciate the insights guys.

Sydla,

Where is the home?

South Jersey. But it looks like we have it all figured out now.

On a completely unrelated note, in doing my research I realized that to do an Andersen sash conversion for our Andersen Narrolines, the conversion kit for the window is almost the same as an entire new 400 Tilt Wash window. I know the cost in a window is in the sash but that struck me as funny.

Thats great that a " family friend" is doing it for free but i can almost guarantee he isnt going to do a proper installation. Looking at it from that perspective, paying to have it done properly by a prefessional installer wont be all that expensive in the long run. The family friend is going to be much more expensive after hiring a pro to fix his mistakes.

Ive been hearing about "the family friend" for over 20 years and at the end of the day not one properly installed a window. Thank god the Family Friends dont claim to do open heart surgery. I'm sure thats next.

Its amazing how everyone is so consumed with tryimg to save a buck but then blame everyone else when somethimg goes wrong.

I say blame the one that hired " the cheap guy".

Well your concern is noted but my "family friend" isn't some guy who watched a few youtube videos and then thinks he's a contractor. He's been involved in high end home renovations for around 15+ years, his family has been in the home building/renovations business for over 40. I doubt his family would have the reputation they have if they were doing horrible jobs with poor window installations in the homes/renovations they do.

I am not picking some random contractor who came in with the lowest bid. It's not about saving a buck, it's about picking someone I know will do a good job who just happens to be a good friend who will cut us a deal.

PS - In the end, we decided to go with Marvin after we came close to going with the Okna windows. The price was a little higher than the Okna's but my wife liked the look of that window better.

I totally understand but I just wanted to make it clear that this was a well respected contractor and not some buddy who is basically a DIYer pretending to be a contractor. In fact, when we started this whole process we didn't even consider him because I just figured he'd be busy doing other jobs. But at a party, my wife mentioned that we were undertaking the exterior work - painting, capping, some new windows, etc. - and he said he could do the work.

They all say they can do the work. Thats the General theme of the family friend. They are al ays brought up at a party as well.

You hire the family friend to do 10 windows and a seasoned pro that installs over 2000 windows per year and i can guarantee you will see a huge difference in quality .

Forgive the blunt commentary by Windexo, but as WoW stated, it is with a high degree of regularity that highly respected contractors do poor window installations. It is really a specialty service, much like tile, or auto body, or any number of things. You wouldn't hire a highly respected body man to replace the motor in your car because he was a well-regarded "car guy", or go to a podiatrist for persistent migraines. For some reason it is a widely held belief that that "carpenters" pretty much do everything, which is generally not true.

.... and this is all speculation of course. Perhaps your connection is an expert at installing windows and there is nothing to worry about... I'd recommend that you read through this article and have a lengthy conversation about how his procedures will either mimic or vary from what is described. http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/install-replacement-windows-and-flashing-correctly.aspx

His bluntness doesn't bother me. I understand his concerns and have read these concerns all over the internet where professional window installers claim contractors and homebuilders don't know how to install windows properly. I appreciate that insight but given the reputation of who I am going to use, I feel confident I'll get a good job done.

These guys are just looking out for ya sylda. No conspiracy, this happens so often its a damn epidemic. Most homebuilders have no clue how to install windows properly. The choice is yours of course, but I'd follow the recomedations above and get a detailed procedure in writing so that you aren't back here posting concerns during or after installation.

I talked to him today and he will provide instructions/procedures on how they will install the windows and I will compare them to info I find on the internet like the article linked above. I told him about my posting here and the responses and he laughed and said he completely understood. That there are some real idiots out there that throw a window in a hole, spray some foam in the gaps, slap on some flashing tape and move on to the next project.

And FWIW, he is using new construction windows because since he can access the old nailing flanges (there is wood trim around each of the windows being replaced) he wants to start from scratch and see the rough opening, make sure there is no rot or other issues from the original install of the Anderson Narrolines in the house, etc. At least one of the sills of the current windows appears to have some rot.

Sounds like a good plan...

...and FWIW, I wouldn't call those guys idiots ( at least not most of them). It is impossible to know everything about everything, that's why people specialize.