high end custom homes will prob require high end windows!

kids won't be kids for long, (and are they really going to touch the paint on the windows? as a kid I don't think I ever touched a window!)

If you do the wood interior, aluminum exterior, and the wood is properly prepped and painted, it's not going to need to be 'touched up".

casement windows in some rooms are fine, but I wouldn't want them everywhere.

maybe some double hung? or sliding options?

are you working w/a designer?

have you talked to a top end window company to see what's avail?

I looked at pella, they only do casement for wood, which is annoying because I wanted a slider in my kids bedroom basement windows. I liked they come in dark grey exterior but it’s only available in the wood. If we do vinyl I have to get white or black… our home exterior is white but not farmhouse style so I don’t want black windows, but I feel white might blend in too much. Yes I have a designer but the decisions comes down to me.
I also checked our milguard and Windsor windows.

The builder recommended wood clad because that what everybody in our price range does

Your architect and builder team should be recommending specific windows -- not just "wood clad".

An expensive house is not automatically "high end", and someone building a "high end" house should not be shopping for windows.

PPF, exactly what I was thinking. High-end to me means a window choice should already be included. (Unless she told them she wanted something different)

are we talking 50-80K for windows in this house?

You can have a high end house and still shop for windows. Its your house and you want it to fit your needs. We were recommended to use Jeldwen and after looking at all the options, we felt it was a good choice. We're still waiitng for them and from what I'm hearing, there are even more major delays for new orders. The delivery timeline may help make your decision too!

We knew we always wanted wood interior with window grills, so that was an easy decision for us. For us, it helps give the home a more custom feel. GOOD luck!!

Depending on your market high end could be $5 M or $1 M, and your window budgets will be different too. My previous house had Milgard and I would never consider them high end.

We just built and used Marvin (a mix of Ultimate and Elevate). Our neighbors are also building and used PGT, which is not high end, but they were obviously satisfied to use the basic windows that are used by most builders in this particular area. We had crappy windows before and felt it was important to allocate a much larger budget to what is an important component of a home.

When do children these days go near windows?

So what would be comparable to pella lifestyle series? I don’t like that we have to do all casement. I’d like some sliders.
What is the benefit of wood interior vs vinyl if we will be painting it?

"So what would be comparable to pella lifestyle series?"

Any builder grade entry line window should be on par with Pella. I would not consider anything Pella on any home, regardless if hi-end or not.........................

@millworkman what would you use then?
I want a high quality window and multi-slide door.

What area of the country? What are leaning towards, All Aluminum? Wood/Aluminum Clad? Fiberglass? What style home and windows are you looking at?

If you're building what I imagine a high end totally custom house with an architect doing the design work, I would ask their opinion- actually, I can't believe they wouldn't have already given you some options to go see and evaluate. Kolbe, Marvin, etc. Get out your wallet :)

EDITED to add- For our custom, our architect had several suggestions for us. He arranged meetings at two different window places where we evaluated, asked questions, etc of the sales reps (and with him present) for several manufacturers. We decided on two and got quotes to see where we'd be price-wise and decided thereafter.

Kolbe, we love them!

Never heard of Kimberly or Marvin. I will go look at those

Kolbe—-ugh auto correct

Why does a high-end home have kids' bedrooms in the basement?

It’s a rambler with basement

Nothing "high end" has full vinyl, sliders, or basement bedrooms. So match your window cost to the level of house.

I can give you other recommendations but need the questions i asked above answered. Different style homes need different products, sight lines, aesthetics, etc., etc..

Marvin has a fiberglass Signature line called Modern. That's one you can look at. Link.

I'd recommend Western for sliding doors. We've had some for about four years, and they're good quality and slide nicely. We have RAM windows but I don't think they're available everywhere. When window shopping, I also looked at Milguard because an interior designer I admire put those in her house remodel. And I've heard good things about Kolbe, which I think is definitely high end. All our windows are casement or fixed, and they're aluminum because I like that dark frame look, but if you'll want to paint the trim inside maybe do wood clad. Interestingly, the security guy who came out for a consultation said that casements are more secure than double hung, if that is important to you. Are you working with an interior designer? You have a bajillion more decisions to make and it might make things more fun for you... Good luck with your build -- so exciting!

Well the group has helped you already. Any type of vinyl window is off the table.

Never had kids damage any windows but the dog scratched the window sills all to heck.