I just installed some Marvin Essential casements in my house. Quality seems excellent: open and close nicely, smooth finish, very solid.

Here are the casement sill details:

MARVIN ESSENTIAL vs ANDERSEN 100

The Essential has a sill drip and only offers between-the-glass mullions

The 100 has no sill drip and offers full and simulated divided lights.

In both windows the glass is unusually far in front of the wall sheathing so they have what I consider to be a modern/commercial/flush or bug-eyed appearance.

The detail below shows the position of the glass in a Marvin Ultimate Casement window allowing for a residential appearance with strong a shadow line.

It's a mystery to me why a manufacturer would move the glass of a casement window outward 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inches. I would only use one of these windows in a shower on the back side of a house.

I would not say the Essentials is far Superior to the 100 Based upon there materials makeup or anything else. They both have a different look land price so I would look and price them out.

Thanks for the input. We are going for a modern look and will have no divided lights. Sounds like the consensus is Essentials which was my feeling as well. They’re only about $2k more total.

Sounds like you did your home work!

If going For a minimalist look you can bring your trim in or Sheetrock returns to cover most of the frame on the interior. Factory applied exterior trim is also very nice and can give a cleaner look , no exterior trim may give the look you want as well.

Factory applied trim on both the Essential and Elevate is not available. It has to be field applied and is very limited in available styles but it nice and of course, the color matches without additional work (paint/finish).

If you go with Andersen 100 series, make sure you follow installation instructions to a T. All of our 100 series frames have bowed after a year and the rep came out and said since we nailed every other hole, not every hole, and put the stucco right up to the window frame, not leaving a 1/4” gap, that they are not responsible for the window bowing.

Of course anyone not installing products properly will have no warranty. The stucco and wood are expanding and bowing the windows. Why would even think this is Andersen's fault? 100% installation issue.

I did not say this was anyone’s fault, one way or the other. I’m explaining our situation and why is super important to follow install instructions to a T.

I am not someone who posts reviews on the internet, particularly negative feedback. But, given how much false information and untrue ads are out there for the “high quality” of Marvin, I have decided to do what is right and post my experience with them on a few websites, such as Houzz.

Four months after we placed the order, Marvin delivered the windows. Some of the windows had obviously been dropped before delivery. Scratches on the outer frames and bumps on the inner side clearly showed that. We noted the issues as they were unloading the windows and took pictures on their truck. They may claim that they have good quality windows, but when they are dropped it basically does not matter anymore as the structure of the windows is certainly compromised. As for customer service, the windows were delivered in April and we notified the vendor and Marvin of the issues immediately as they were still unloading the windows. Four months later, we are still nowhere and nothing has been fixed. They just delivered one wrong frame for a window which we never asked for a fix and they are not even coming to remove it from my property. No word on when they are going to fix the windows. Total mess on their side and non-existing post-sale support.

=== Update of October 2021

I got an email from Marvin regional manager today; and it's the middle of OCTOBER -- 6 months after installation date. They plan to replace the broken sashes -- get ready -- in JANUARY NEXT YEAR. This joke is not even funny. Stay away from this company at all cost. They couldn't care less about you once they have your money.

Go with anyone but Marvin. I mean, the worst thing that can happen is that you get broken windows and they never fix it --- well, that's Marvin.

January is not a bad delivery date in this market.

I've been specifying Marvin windows for my residential projects for 50 years with no problems whatsoever. I can't say that about any other window manufactirer. To me, they're the best.

Are you sure Marvin delivered the windows to the site instead of the dealer?

In transit damage doesn't mean the windows are bad.

But, at least you're not bitter.

Yes, it was Marvin that delivered the windows. And it was Marvin, both times, that delivered wrong / broken parts. And it is Marvin's regional manager that gives me those dates, which I frankly do not believe in anymore.

Here is the thing. "They're the best", "they are the Rolls Royce of window manufacturers", "their customer service is the best" is what you hear when you step in stores. Look at my personal experience. It cannot be worse. Customers should know the facts and then make their decision. That's why I am posting this. People should not be tricked into any specific brand just because they are more expensive, giving them false hope of quality/customer service.

​Windows are like cars. Everything is sold by a dealer. You don't buy the car from the manufacturer, however the manufacturer provides a warranty.

Marvin typically delivers only to dealers. The dealer then unloads or helps unload the Semi. Dealer then does inventory and stores them. Dealer then calls customer to schedule delivery or pick up by customer. At this point they have to load them on a truck bring to jobsite and unload them, then they typically get moved around again by Contractor. It would be unlikely Marvin pulled up in there big yellow semi with a 53’ trailer to your house .

IMO, a good dealer would never let a costomer get in a situataion where they are in contact with manufacturer, I would consider that my job.

I am sorry to hear about your problems and I think you venting your problems are fair, but on the other hand there are at least 3 parties involved and we have one point of view.

Direct delivery from Marvin is available on especially large purchases, so it is actually possible Firouz received a direct delivery if theirs was an abnormally large order. I have only done one of these in my career, and we were required (as dealers) to be on site for the delivery to inspect and unload the truck. If it was a dealer delivered order, then no window manufacturer would warranty damages done by the dealer's delivery.

Current lead time for Marvin Signature is 22 weeks+.

Who ordered the wrong pieces? Was it a Marvin employee? As a dealer, I am expected to order all parts (warranty or not). If I don't know what part to order I have to produce pictures of what is needed or setup a site visit by their service department in order to get their help in ordering the correct part. If is just a sash then it takes about 5 minutes to order a replacement from a previous order of mine. I search the order in my Marvin order program, select the line item that is damaged, select the part that is needed, then submit the order (either under warranty claim or under purchase). It is literally the easier part to order. So if you are just needing a new sash it would take a really incompetent dealer to not know how to order a simple replacement sash. I understand your experience is terrible, but this smells like a dealer issue, not a Marvin issue.

I hope everything comes in correctly.

Great feedback from the other professionals here. No manufacturer is perfect and Marvin is no exception, but most of these issues should be directed at the dealer that sold you the windows. Marvin simply makes them. The dealer orders, delivers(generally), services, etc. If they did not, they really wouldn't have any reason to exist and manufacturers would have fortified retail customer service divisions that sell direct. Marvin is a lot closer to that than other manufacturers in reality.

I suspect some of the confusion involved probably lies with you trying to deal direct with Marvin, and the Marvin rep subsequently attempting to help you out while not throwing their dealer under the bus.

As the others have said and I mentioned on another thread, your frustration (at least a good chunk of it) is likely justified, just directed at the wrong party.

Which dealer/distributor did you order through?