Dependent upon how long you plan to live in this home, Marvin Windows offer a good quality fiberglass window (no warping, no painting, no staining, good insulative factor when professionally installed). Pro Via also offers good quality windows.

You might want to visit some companies offering various window brands, so you can see, firsthand, the differences they offer.

100's are a decent window. Are these going to be double hungs or casements? What other brands will he use? Marvin Fiberglass and Provia while a better window will also be more money.

Inline Fiberglass Link. are another quality product. Made in Ontario but sold with install in the Detroit area as Majic Windows. Link.

And Inline would be more than all of the above. They are a quality fiberglass window but not an inexpensive product at all. Certainly not in the budget range of Andersen 100's or Integrity by Marvin.

I agree. Marvin Elevate/Essential will be great and cost less.

@millworkman, sorry for posting on an older thread, but I've been reading as many discussions on Houzz that I can find, before I start one of my own with window questions.

Your comments here regarding Andersen 100's seem more positive than in older threads.

Has your opinion of them changed over time?

Not really in the residential business. As far as builder grade entry line windows they are better than most. Decent product, decent price point, decent performance.

@Mary Elizabeth, I just had to replace a sliding glass door in an older home. I did a lot of research to find something that was good quality and not going to break the bank. My options were a bit limited because only some of the manufacturers make the size door that I needed, but my research also included talking with several people who have replaced windows or built homes within the past 15-20 years. I ended up with an Anderson 200 series. (100 series did not come in the configuration I needed). Most people I talked to had Anderson 100 or 200 series and were happy with the performance. The only people who had issues had bought what I would refer to as 'Bast*** brands". I was told by a few experts on Houzz that Okna is manufacturer here in PA that they all seemed to think Okna walked on water. Great quality for reasonable costs. Sadly they also do not make the configuration I needed. When I do windows I am going to check out Okna and see how it compares.

Thank you both for the information. The initial quote for the Andersen 100's seems "too good to be true", so I wanted to check before pursuing them any further. I will start a new thread with more details.

What Andersen dealer quoted you? If you are talking about Renewal By Andersen, that cost differential is not unexpected.

The quote is from a local lumberyard (Midwest chain name) that we have used numerous times. Four picture units - Anderson 100's compared to Thermo Tech (mfrg in Minnesota):

Each 55" W x 63" H; white int/ext; LowE 272 (dual pane/argon); tempered glass

Anderson 100's are $570 each and the TT @ $810 each.

I would have expected the Thermo Tech's to be less, and the 100's to be more.

(TT U factor is <.0.29 and the 100 is <0.27)

Andersen 100 series were exclusively manufactured in Garland TX originally, but proved to be very popular so are now manufactured in Bayport as well.

Thank you, oberon476. We live less than an hour from Bayport, but since Thermo Tech is also in Minnesota, I don't think the transportation costs would be the only reason for the price difference.