We did Andersen 100s for our modern home on Puget Sound. They are made of a composite but are often compared with your Marvins. We got black exterior, white interior, but they do black interior as well. At the time aluminum did not meet the new code up here but that's the look we were going for.

The pros here can speak to the relative quality. I am quite happy with the 100s and we saved some $$ over the alternatives.

Good luck!

Without knowing the brand of the aluminum windows you have specified I would certainly consider the Integrity by Marvin. I am not sold on the Fibrex that Andersen offers (wood fiber and glue).

I have the Marvin integrity Windows, wood on inside, fiberglass on outside in a modern home & I love them. I got bronze on the outside, casements without mullions, and they look great.

good luck with your decision!

Tamizami

what area of southern cal? To me thats the best place to live in america.

anywhere from san diego to mailbu.

@window1, we are in the south bay beach cities and feel very fortunate to have landed here.

@Windows On Washington and Millworkman - I was thinking of the all vinyl, because I don't want wood on the interior. Is there something wrong with the all vinyl? This is a new build and we would be doing drywall returns on all of the windows and those with coverings would have recessed flush mount solar shades.

I have 30 year old aluminum windows. They have held up well except I have replaced the glass on some of them. I also painted the exteriors but I'm not sure if I could have cleaned them instead (rust marks from screws). I considered replacing the whole windows instead of just the glass. Most alternative windows would have been deeper. I would have lost half my window sill in some cases. This would have limited my options for recessed window coverings. I did not like the look of the vinyl, composite, or cheaper marvin fiberglass windows I saw. Aluminum loses heat but retains strength. I read somewhere that vinyl does not last as long. I would have chosen aluminum clad wood windows except they were 4.5" deep and I did not want to lose 2.5" of my window sill. So I am keeping the 2" deep aluminum windows and cladding the interior drywall with painted wood trim to make it feel more "craftsman".

Nothing at all wrong with a quality vinyl window(emphasis on quality) I would be hesitant to recommend brands as I am not familiar with the west coast offerings, perhaps Window1 or some of the other west coast pro's can offer suggestions.

i am sorry, i meant the all fiberglass marvins, not the mix of fiberglass and wood. is all fiberglass a good alternative to aluminum?

thanks for the feedback on your aluminums, i will look into the depth of the windows to ensure i don't have the problems you said could happen.

absolutely, same thing though, only in a quality product.

thanks millworkman! so marvins are a good quality product? would i have any issues with the depth as jane described? the aluminums we are looking at are all weather, fleetwood and western windows.....

No worries in my opinion.