Very well. While the sales line on the fiberglass vs. vinyl comparison is a great story, it is completely baseless.

That is what I have gathered from what I have read. I set up an appointment with the Sunrise dealer and will see how that goes before I decide between the Sunrise and the Soft-Lites. Thanks!

Sounds good. Happy hunting.

The vytex fortis series is a solid window offering and will certainly hold up through extreme weather conditions. I would ask the marvin infinity dealer why the marvin only has a structural rating of 35 while the vytex fortis has a much better rating of 55. We have some extreme temps up here in the mid atlantic region and vytex performs very well. Sunrise do make a nice window product and it looks similar to the vytex fortis in certain ways.

I would definitely say the vytex and sunrise are much better values and i would throw in the okna brand as well. They simply have better ratings all around opposed to marvin. There is just no disputing that.

Thanks for the feedback! I would say the Fortis is still in the running although I believe it to be a bit below the structural quality vs the Sunrise Restorations and Soft-Lite Elements from what I've read?? The same dealer that was recommending the Infinity line also sells the Fortis - they were showing me the "advantages" of the Infinitys over the Fortis so I guess I had written them off inadvertently. I had brought up the air infiltration numbers and DP #s for the Infinitys vs the other windows and the rep said it would not be noticeable in my application and that the Infinitys will hold their NFRCs numbers better over time due to the more rigid frames.

Once I get all the estimates, I will certainly weigh the cost/value as well as the aesthetics, but it's good to hear you've had good experience with the Fortis windows. I've pretty much all but ruled out the Infinitys at this point. May read up a bit more on the soft-lite Bainbridge LE as I got quote on them as well even though I was really looking at the Elements line.

I looked at OKNAs, but the dealer who sells them in my area only has the 500 series which he said are not available with internal horizontal grids for my transoms (which we want to keep). I really liked the looks and numbers on the 800dx, but it's just not available to me. Thanks again for your time.

So I finally received my final estimate on windows today and thought I would seek a little further advice. I have 20 windows total I'm replacing - all will be white interior with white exterior with internal colonial grids. All 3 estimates quote Low E3 with argon:

1 palladian window (1 picture, 2 transoms, 1 half moon) - 4 windows total

1 palladian (1 DH, 2 transoms, 1 half moon) - 4 windows total

8 - 32x62 DHs (four of which have horizontal transoms on top) - 12 windows total

OPTION 1: Vytex Fortis $11,093

OPTION 2: Soft-Lite Elements $ 11,618

OPTION 3: Sunrise Restorations $ 13,000 even

All 3 estimates have very reputable contractors based on reviews and seem responsive to my questions. My wife and I probably liked the aesthetics of the restorations the most, but not sure if it is worth the price difference. Wondering if anyone has any thoughts that may sway us one way or the other....maybe even things to look for with the contractors that we haven't thought of???? Comments on warranty issues with any of the manufacturers??? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the feedback. I've come to the conclusion that the Elements are the superior window from a structural and performance standpoint. Our only hesitation is the loss of VG vs the other 2 choices...otherwise, the Elements is the clear choice.

The Elements contractor told us that the frame to glass measurement for the elements is 3.25", but I'm seeing 3.75 online from a few years ago...is the contractor mistaken or was the window redesigned at some point? I believe the restorations window is 3" and the vytex fortis is 3.25". I know this may be trivial to some, but it is important to us and we want to make sure we know what we're getting into with the VG loss and the affect it will have on the appearance of our home.

Currently our wood DHs are 32" wide with 27.5" of VG on the width which gives me 2.25" frame to glass [ (32-27.5)/2 ]. If I have the Elements installed with 3.75" frame to glass, I see us losing approximately 1.5" of VG on each side (3" total). Not sure if that is correct, but that seems excessive. If that is a correct example, then the Restorations would represent a 0.75" loss on both sides???

I'm not sure of the exact math, but the Restorations will definitely net you some more glass. 0.50 - 0.75" is probably not far off. You are talking about two really good windows, so if the visible glass is up there on the importance scale...go with the Restorations. Tough to walk away from that Elements window when you see how strong and engineered it is though.

Agreed...it's just really hard to visualize how much the loss of glass might look, especially on the exterior.

I had measured 3 ½” from edge of frame to edge of glass when I was a dealer for Soft-lite. While both products are in the elite status of vinyl windows, the Elements is a good bit stronger and that should serve you better long-term in the Atlanta summers.

I finally decided to ask the Soft-lite dealer for the visible glass measurements so I will know exactly what I'm getting if I go that direction. From what you both are telling me, the Elements is quite a bit better than the Restorations...I was under the impression the Restorations was on par with the Elements structurally, but a slightly worse performer (but still outstanding). Interesting information to mull over with my wife (who really likes the Restorations aesthetically. Thanks for the info!

The Restorations and the Vanguard are both better looking windows, and they are far better than the average vinyl window out there. Structurally, the Soft-lite Elements & Imperial LS are better by a decent margin. Okna is better still, if that’s available in your area.

I was also interested in Okna, but the dealer that offers the Soft-lite also sells the Okna windows. He said he didn't carry the 800 series, but had the 500 series - which I was told did not offer the horizontal internal grids for my transoms. They seem to offer the Elements as their top window followed by the Okna 500s and then the Soft-lite Bainbridge LE as the step down.

I was given references by both the Elements and Restorations dealers we are considering, and I am planning to drive by a few of their jobs to see what we think. My current wood windows are 32" x 62" DHs with 27.5" X 27.5" visible glass for both the upper and lower sashes. The Soft-lite Elements visible glass measurements from the dealer are 24.43" x 27" on the top sash and and 25.43" x 28" for the lower sash. So ultimately with the inserts, I'm looking at a loss of visible glass of 3" on the top sash width and 2" on the bottom sash width, but the heights are a wash. The loss of glass is a real issue with my wife mostly for the affect it might have on the exterior of our home. I'm going to get the VG measurements for the Restorations windows as well just for comparison.

I know my wife and I will ultimately have to pick what we think is best, but if we decided to go with the Restorations, is it still durable enough in your estimation to be considered a good choice here? I'm concerned mostly about durability and my wife mostly about aesthetics. The Restorations seems to be the middle ground for us...also, the Restorations dealer sent me an updated estimate that is $ 500 lower than before (transoms were not added up correctly initially) so now we are at $12,500 which is a little more in line with the other window estimates.

Absolutely. The Restorations is a very well built window, and will serve you quite well. I’m sorry if I left you with any other impression.

Thanks! Good to hear if we ultimately go that direction...

My wife and I were all good to go with the Restorations (we were able to get the price reduced to be within $250 of the Soft-lites) and then I received the specs on the windows from the dealer. Of note, the DP on the Restorations DH is only 35 per the dealer (I even asked him to double check which he did and verified this number). The Vytex Fortis has a DP of 50 for the DH and the Soft-lite rep stated the DH DP is in the 65-70 range per their respective dealers. Are these accurate and if so does this matter in regards to the structural integrity of the window long-term??? ( I don't live in a particularly windy area ). I would've thought the Restorations window would've been rated to at least 50 or more???? I apologize if I am over thinking this, but this seems odd to me.

Hi djatarheel-- did you end up with the Restorations? If so, were you happy with the installation and are you happy with the windows now? Would you mind sharing the installer you used? I'm in the Atlanta area with a housefront that faces West and needing to replace all my wood windows (42 windows mostly double-hung and few picture) including some specialty ones (eyebrow with legs and oval windows). Would appreciate a recommendation for Restorations if you were happy with them.

Thanks!!