How many windows in total?

I have Marvin double-hung Next Generation windows. They are aluminum clad on the outside, wood (to be painted) on the inside, with simulated divided lites. I love mine! I don't think I would be happy with a vinyl window from any manufacturer.

there are about 30 windows with some of them being casement and others being double hung. I have made sure that when I get the quotes that they are the exact same for both the Pella and the Integrity Windows

Are your quotes from the same vendor? Some of that discrepancy could be found in the suppliers themselves if not, OR even if the same one, they probably deal more heavily in one product over the other as see more aggressive pricing on that line as a result. The Integrity (or whatever the new name is for it) is typically one of the more affordable, quality options with a wood interior in my experience.

On Pellas, as far as issue details, I see the wood interiors rotted with regularity. They are one of the more common windows being replaced now that we are more commonly working on homes built in 2000 and later. To be fair however, I can't say that the fiberglass product of theirs is is seen much. One thing that I don't care for in general however is what I perceive as a disingenuous "lifetime" warranty, which exempts damage from condensation, which is one of the more common reasons for failure seen.

One is from Pella directly and the other is form a builder supply store in the area. Once I get my final numbers for the Marvin windows I will share to get some thoughts. I am really leaning towards the Marvin but I feel the price difference is pretty big. I really think the Marvin is a better window as well and even gives us the more modern look we want

Pella support sucks, good luck getting a call back within a month.

"I really think the Marvin is a better window as well and even gives us the more modern look we want"

Quality, fit and finish is much higher in my opinion on any Marvin over any Pella. Throw in mediocre customer service, history of many issues with all of their window lines, and my opinion would be the Integrity. No window pro that I know of or would think of recommending will use anything Pella.

I installed Pella windows years ago in Sioux City Iowa home and LOVED them. They are 47 years old and still in home. The current owners (old neighbors) are having no issues with them. They were wood that I stained and varnished with the grids between the glass. That being said, there have been a lot of complaints over the years when I would research Pella windows and a lot of finger pointing to the "installation" being the problem and complaints that Pella did not stand behind their warranty. Many of the complaints I read over the years were not on new construction but re-fits where the home owner installed themselves or had a handyman install. WHO installs your windows CAN make a difference big time. I am building another house now and am going with Pella again and didn't price Marvin as I felt the Pella price was as high as I could go. We also have 30 windows - mostly all casement AND with grids. We are building in the Sequoia Mountains, Central CA so would have liked to go triple pane/fiberglass but my husband insists on the grids and that can't be done on the Architect series that allows us to have wood on the inside. All vinyls were totally out for us.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/pella.html?page=2 This is a list of complaints.

this is all great advice. Res 3d Sketches.....I agree 100%. I am hoping to have numbers the next day or so on the Marvin and then I will report back

UPDATE:

the Pella windows are a little over $3k less than the Marvin windows. The Marvin is about $224 and the Pella is about $19k. Do these prices seem high in general or are they in line with the area I am from which is Northern Kentucky.

I am thinking about looking at Anderson 400 as well. What are everyone's opinions about these windows?

Nice window, but if you were looking at Ultimates, you would have to look at the E Series as a comparative.

I was looking at the integrity all fiberglass

At that point, the 100 is probably the materials equivalent.

What are the overall thoughts on the the Anderson 400?

Solid window as stated above. As good as anything from Pella and definitely would be considered an equivalent (in terms of qualitatively in the produce line up) or better to the Integrity. Totally different construction though in this case as one of them is a composite and one is clad wood.

I have no experience with Pella or Anderson but we used the Marvin Integrity fiberglass exterior and wood interior. We are in Dallas and our price for 41 windows and 2 doors (1 double french and 1 single) was $23.1K. This was in 2017. We have been really happy with our windows.

Update on my windows and pricing. I just got the Anderson 400 quote back and it is about the same as the Marvin Integrity Windows. The one big difference I noticed in the specs I the Marvin windows are Low E2 with Argon and the Anderson and Lowe E4 glass. Not sure if there is that much of a difference or not on this or not.

Pell is about $4k less. I just have a bad feeling about Pella so I have narrowed it down to the Marvin and Anderson. I am leaning towards the Anderson but is there a difference in performance based on the type of glass that I shared above?

The Andersen glass is the same as Marvin Low E2 except it has a coating on the outer surface that is intended to be self-cleaning and a plastic film for protection during shipping and installation. I don't remember if Marvin provides the protective film but I suspect it does.

The Andersen 400 Series consists of two very different windows: the 400 Tilt-Wash and the 400 Woodwright. The frames are the same PVC clad wood but the sash of the Woodwright is clad with Fibrex, a PVC and wood composite and the Tilt-Wash sash is all wood with an epoxy paint that Andersen implies is a vinyl cladding but its not. I believe the epoxy paint is PPG's Flexicron.

Its important to look at the details of these Andersen windows as shown below.

400 Woodwright with Fibrex sash cladding

400 Tilt-Wash with painted wood sash

thanks for the heads up. I am assuming that I want the woodwright?

Yes, the Woodwright is the better window but I'm going to guess it might be 20% more expensive than the Integrity Wood-Ultrex but you need to price them to be sure.

I will check on them. We have a mix of fixed, casement and double hung but I will defiantly get with them to see the price difference.

Is the biggest concern on the tilt wash that the wood will rot on the exterior?

The Woodwright is the only Andersen window I would consider. The Tilt-Wash model seems to have some rotting issues.

I am not a pro, just a homeowner so take with a grain of salt. We have a mix of Marvin Integrity and Ultimate in our home, casements and awnings. And we have significantly cheaper Harvey windows in less conspicuous spots like laundry room and basement. What sold me on Marvin was the ability to get the larger sizes I wanted to maximize our view. I also recall the frame of Marvin being less bulky than other lines. Not sure if this is accurate or my perception but I followed my perception. This mattered since my priority was to have more glass than woodwork for light enhancement. I also looked at Pella and Andersen 400 and Andersen Architectural Collection. For me, Pella was of noticeably less quality (but I have a friend with an otherwise elegant and well-appointed home who swears by them). Had the same reaction to Andersen 400 and I think they were not as customizable for the height I needed. I disregarded the Architectural Collection based on higher price and I wasn’t going for the architectural look they seem to promote. They are a lovely window, just the wrong application for our more clean-lined, modern look which Marvin satisfied.

Got in late on the discussion, but my 2 cents: I have installed Pella DHs on my last house. They were OK but raising and lowering was very stiff. On my current house I looked at Marvin Integrity, Pella and Andersen 400. Pella was out right away as I was not impressed with their sales help and I couldn't find sliding doors I liked that matched their windows. Andersen price was similar to Marvin, both prices from a supply house. Lumberyard prices were higher. I have seen the Andersen line change over the years and believe the composite in their frames is not nearly the quality as the Ultrex in the Marvin. We used all casements and are very happy with quality. We have some casements 6 feet high and they operate well and close tight. Sliding door is 12 ft. x 8 ft. so we upgraded to the Marvin clad product as the lines are more appealing to us. You do have to shop around.

I would love to shop the Marvin windows but there appears to be only one distributor in our area.

There should be Marvin dealers in Louisville, Lexington and Cincinnati. Your re probably within free delivery distance of one or more of them. My supplier sells Marvin and Andersen and has provided free delivery for 100 miles more than once.

Why isn't your contractor helping? Are you building the house yourself?

I just realized that there are some outside of the 50 mile range. I didn't think that that some of these places would deliver that far without a big charge.

My contractor is helping. He has been a big fan of Anderson windows and but he also gives me the free rain to go where I want for items since I am ultimately paying for things. I tend to do more research then I need instead of just making a decision. I am leaning towards the Anderson at this point as long as my wife likes the style. She is a little concerned the wood interior will take away from some of the modern look she is wanting in the frame and make them look to bulky

Bulky compared to what?

The larger the window, the lighter the frame and sash looks. Get the Andersen Woodwright or Marvin Integrity fiberglass wood interior factory painted. The problem with showroom windows is they are often small. I like wide double hung windows with mullions in the upper sash only in order to make them appear wider.

Is there a reason you like the wood interior on the Marvin instead of the fiberglass interior?

No they’re about the same. I thought you must be comparing wood to vinyl.

Marvin over pella any day.

Here's my problem with Pella:

I am an architect, and my office specializes in higher-end residential work, so we do specify a lot of windows. In my area, Pella's marketing is aggressive to the point of being obnoxious, and I can't help but wonder "if the product compares well to Marvin or Integrity, why not just let that speak for itself?" It's nearly impossible to get an apples-to-apples comparison of price between any brands, but another thing I've noticed is that Pella's number will look lower--at first. But you have to be extremely scrupulous to make sure they are pricing what you want. By the time you've discovered that Pella omitted something that any other vendor would consider standard (say, screens for your windows,) the price has crept back up to be just as much as the better window.

I often feel pressured to consider Pella, probably because there are Pella salespeople literally chasing after me, my builders and even my clients. In my experience, none of the Pella sales people has a fraction of the knowledge that other window dealers have (Marvin/Andersen/Jeld-Wen.) The company appears to spend a ton of money wooing architects, designers, and builders, and that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. For something as important as windows, I wouldn't take the risk. Also: your builder should absolutely weigh in. Good luck to you.

The wood ultreX integrity is nice for the price. If you were considering the fiberglass interior you are better off with a premium vinyl window or other composite with better performance.

Hi, Chad,

I don't typically bash manufacturers in this forum, but I'm willing to make an exception in the case of Pella. Pella aluminum clad windows used to be our preferred window, but due to performance issues and abysmal service, we haven't installed one in years.

Out of the blue I got a call from someone at Pella corporate a couple of weeks ago. When I related our disappointment with their product and service (not in an abusive or threatening manner) he hung up on me. My assessment is that Pella Corp. has problems from the bottom to the top of their organization. I'd avoid their product and the likely headaches you'll have dealing with them.

I will tell you that I’m not looking at Pella anymore. I am down to Anderson and Marvin.

Does that mean Integrity wood-ultrex and Andersen Woodwright or something else? To get useful advice its important to be specific about the window model and type. Spelling is less important but Anderson went out of business decades ago.

so I am going to throw a wrench in this whole discussion. Talked to a builder this weekend who typically builds million dollar homes. He let me know that windows now a days comes down to mostly style and that not all are created equal but efficiencies are pretty close across the board.

After talking to him and letting him know the style we were looking at he suggested looking at the Anderson 100 series. Looking for thoughts on this?

Chad, that builder could not be more wrong, as there are SIGNIFICANT differences in efficiency across window products. One one-hundredth of a point in U value equates roughly to a 3% difference in efficiency as a general rule. Therefore a high end, triple pane glass package with something like a .18 U value would be approximately 36% more efficient thermally. This does not take air infiltration into consideration either, which we know is the linchpin to total home performance and energy efficiency. An excellent window with a rating of .01cfm will leak approximately 144 cubic feet of air in 24 hours, whereas a window with an AI rating or .20 will leak 2880.... There are some variables in these equations as to how they translate to each home, however they give a pretty good indication that no, today's windows are NOT all pretty close in regard to efficiency.

As far as the window in question, the casement is not half bad. I'm not a fan of the fibrex material being anything more than a vinyl alternative, but if the price is fair you could certainly do worse.

are the Anderson 100's as efficient as the 400 series and the Marvin Integrity line?

Shadow lines are critically important for all architecture=al features and especially for windows.

What I don't like about the Andersen 100 single-hung window (other than the fixed upper sash) is that both sash are moved outward 1 1/4" to 1 7/8" more than in a traditional wood or wood-clad double-hung window. To me, that makes the window look flat and plain like a builder-grade vinyl window or a fixed window in a commercial building.

But you never know what others might like. I have no doubt a builder/developer would love it.

Andersen 100

Outside the architecture design it appears the 100 series is just as efficient as the 400 series. Can someone confirm that? I looked at the numbers and still learning how to read them but this is what I’m seeing.

I know design is important but efficiency is important as well.