How about salvaging the wood windows you already have. Clean out the old glazing and reglaze and sand and prime and paint them, and they will last a long time yet.

@toddinmn We are in NC (Greensboro area). Thank you for your help - I look forward to hearing your suggestions!

@cat_ky We have had several people decline the job (of salvaging the current windows) saying that they cannot in good conscious recommend putting the work and money into salvaging the current windows. I think they were moderate quality wood windows to begin with, so to add on top of that 50 years of neglect and they said they are too far gone to be worth the time. They are single pane which doesn't help.

Useful replacement window information

Vinyl window products mentioned above and dealers nearby:

• Soft-Lite: Zen Windows, Greensboro
• Sunrise Windows: Leap Windows and Doors, Greensboro

We installed about 100 Enerlux fiberglass windows in our 10-unit condo building. The windows are great but you'd have to find an installer because unlike, say, Marvin the company doesn't have dealers around the country.

I strongly recommend casement (or awning) windows -- not double-hung -- for their energy efficiency and soundproofing.

Wowsers. That is a spread. You deserve a medal, and a straight jacket after that undertaking.

I will check with my supplier to see who their vendor in that area is if they have one.

Softlite, Okna, and Sunrise all have some representation in NC if I'm not mistaken, just have to see if they serve your specific area. Vytex and Polaris are nice as well.

As far as the big picture here, as stated by others you have quite a spread. I'd really focus on your priorities for this project and then look for windows that fit that... it seems like you are on the right track at this point. For a great perfroming window at a decent price point (with aesthetics important but probably in third place), a higher end vinyl window shoudl be a good fit.

@wdccruise Thank you for the info. Do you have an opinion on the quality of the Wincore Vinyl windows? Those are closer to the price range we are attempting to stay in.

Goal is to stay under $25,000 installed (including cost of brick moulding replacement). But trying to carefully select which brand of windows within that price range.

I did drive through some new construction neighborhoods in our area and noticed quite a few casement windows (or in many cases, casement on the front of the homes and double hung on the sides and back). I LOVE the look of the casement windows! Are they generally more expensive and if so how much more?

Thank you!

@HomeSealed Exteriors, LLC Thank you for the information! Sunrise and Softlite are in our area; I'm unsure about Okna but have reached out to the company to find out.

As far as our priorities, we need to stay under $25,000 (installed including brick molding replacement) and we would like the best vinyl window within that budget.

I'm having a hard time discerning which vinyl window brands are the best.

@wdccruise @HomeSealed Exteriors, LLC It looks like Sunrise was acquired by MI Windows - is this correct? Do you know if MI is keeping the Sunrise design / quality or was Sunrise rolled into MI's existing window lineup?

Sunrise was indeed acquired by MI. That said, my understanding is that its "business as usual" outside of the branding change, and I believe some shake up in sales and management. Outside of that, same product made by the same folks in the same factories.

@$25kyou aren't far off, but you are probably on the lower end of a reasonable budget expectation these days. If you can find a great window at that price that would be fortunate, but if not, stretching a little higher if at all possible woul be better than settling for something that looks and feels like "cheap crap" per your own description.