Any other options to Plygem? A quality vinyl window will be a good window and just as good as an aluminum clad but I would steer clear of any builder grade window.

As always, look at Marvin Elevate and Essential fiberglass windows as a quality alternative.

Here and here.

More glass. Less frame.

Get your own quotes.

my builder using Mi windows dot com in FL

We used Anderson Casements. Black exterior. I think our total window bill was $30k. Your count in a little higher (actually maybe not) than ours but ours are pretty big and have SDLs throughout.

NC also.

My first house with all casements. So much easier to open, feel safer, and tighter. But you have to watch cats if you open them.

Plygem is generally thought of as not great - locally based but well known nationally - and not in a good way.

MI windows are not much better quality then Plygems unfortunately. Straight up builder grade windows.

David Cary—- are your cats able to get out the casement windows when they have the screens on? I’m planning casements and never thought if this being a problem. Eeeks. My cat hangs out all the time in the window sills.

No screens. What they can do is push the window open more and get out. But either way, we don't have any screens.

I have screened casements. The cat is fine.

Request an alternate to Ply Gem. Are they using the PlyGem vinyl siding on your home also?

Black aluminum may or may not hold up better than black vinyl, however its the wood on the inside that causes premature failure in wood/clad windows.

With that being said, either can be a valid choice, but getting a good quality product is key. That is not easy to do when building a home, there is a reason for the term "builder grade", and not with a positive connotation.

In NC, you should have some very good choices available in vinyl, wood clad, fiberglass, and composite. I'd recommend setting some priorities in terms of the look, options, cost, performance, and maintenance needed, and then choose a quality product made of the material that suits your needs best. The options that you currently have are 10-15 year windows either way IMO.

Please steer clear of Ply Gem windows! I made the mistake of installing MIRA Casements Black Aluminum clad windows and doors in my home in an attempt to save a few thousand dollars. I have had over 10 of the windows fog up, multiple leaks that stained the interior wood. Also their energy efficiency isn't great. Purchased mine in 2015 and the design of the casements were flawed from the get go. Bottom sill is not sloped enough and water ponds on lower sill. Also the frames are thermally broken but the interior side of the aluminum frame is still in direct contact with outside air at the bottom of the sash which basically eliminates any benefits of the thermal break. Since 2015, Ply Gem did redesign some aspects of their casement line to fix some of the issue of thermal bridging of the frame but I doubt they did anything to improve the quality control of their insulated glass units, etc. Maybe check out fibrex line by andersen or Integrity by Marvin.

Here’s a visual of what I’m talking about, interior portion of frame that holds weather stripping in aluminum and is thermally connected to the outside air so you get moisture condensing on the inside of the window frame. Water has nowhere to go and ends up staining all the wood and will eventually rot.

MI and Plygen are builders grade with builders grade results.