We went with Windsor. Loved the Kolbe and Marvin but couldn't justify the price difference.

(all extruded aluminum clad)

mydreamhome - Are you looking at the R-5 windows from Atrium?

Are you happy with the Windsor? I am headed to Atlanta to look at the Kolbe but they also have Windsor on the floor. I need to check the colors and whether cream is available . . . What has been your experience?

We looked at Hurd H3 windows which are a new design and look very interesting indeed. They are wood on the inside (finished, primed, or unfinished) with extruded aluminum exterior (available in lots of colors) - these sandwich an interior of vinyl for superior thermal insulation. No vinyl shows when the window is closed. We were told they are considered mid-priced windows but this was from a salesman whose market is million dollar homes near Lake Norman, NC and carries Kolbe for that market.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hurd H3 brochure

So far we have had no issues with the windsor, but it's only been a year or so. Our sales rep was a total idiot though. He had to redo our order no less than 6 time before he got the dimensions/details correct. The Marvin/Kolbe sales reps were terrific.

The H3 does look interesting. I have always been concerned with the wood under the cladding rotting. They seem to have a vinyl layer there which may prevent that. . . Their brochure calls them mid-priced as well. They also offer lots of clad color options . . .

We won't be opening our windows, except perhaps the casement over the kitchen window . . .

dekeoboe-haven't looked at the Atrium--saw the all vinyl atrium on the the sales floor of building supply store, but that's about it. We looked at the M&W vinyl clad line and we had M&W all vinyl windows in our last house.

We used Windsor as well --- Athens, part of our reasoning for Windsor over Pella Architect was that the cream color matched the paint sample I had in mind for trim. I asked both Pella and Windsor for samples and that was nice to have to take around with me. So far we are liking the Windsor, but the house isn't done yet, so not much real life experience!

Here is a pic of the ivory color....Ignore the mess, hope you can see the windows!

Thanks for the info on Windsor! The color is huge for us as we will have a limestone portico and so the cream must be the right cream shade . . . Glad to know you are happy with them at least at first glance. I assume both of you got the Pinnacle Clad?

mydreamhome, sorry, I confused you with AddictdTravelers, who wrote about the Atrium windows. We are building a very energy efficient home and are looking for R-5 or higher windows.

Yes, Pinnacle clad for us. The Ivory color I think looks nice with the stone and mortar. For us, the ivory color on Pella was a bit too yellow (can't remember what the names are). It is hard to tell here because the siding and trim are not painted yet.

yup, we did pinnacle clad casement. We wanted black so the color was less of an issue.

THanks to both of you! Such pretty houses :)

There are several creams on the Kolbe, but they are weird . . . the keyring he gave me is missing the Natural Cotton color so I am crossing my fingers that it is right. Other than that, I was really impressed with the Kolbe windows - great looking, solid and seemed to be well made. We cut some more money from the quote by making the interiors of the library french doors pine instead of mahogany (we are probably doing a waxed heart pine paneled library or perhaps a limed paneled one), eliminating the screens in the original quote and putting white hardware on the windows. All will be for naught if the cream colors are ugly though!!!!

Whatever you go with, double and triple check measurements, and the order after it is written up. It seems that no matter where you go, the person writing up the order is ususally incompetent and will write it up wrong or omit something. So check, check, and check again. Follow up a week after you order, cause sometimes they just plain forget to send it in. Make sure you keep your copy of the order and I'd even make a copy of the copy, just to be safe.
Voice of experience.

We went through the exhausting researching of windows ourselves. We were not impressed with Andersons anymore, nor did Pella look all that great to us either. Marvin 's attitude turned us off when we called them. Then we heard about Weather shield and went to a local dealer. We wewre extremely impressed with the cross section of window that he showed us. That is what we purchased for our new home.

They are aluminum clad (extruded) on the outside and wood inside. They also have fiberglass, but I didn't want that. They are well made and look beautiful. We have 4 eight foot sliding glass french doors, 6 thirty-six inch wide by aprox. 54 in. long double hungs and an eight foot window that has a picture window center and two casements flanking it for over my sink. The sliding glass doors are the heaviest I have ever seen, and I have had Andersons in the past (before they started cheapening up their windows). We paid about $15,000 for all of these. I didn't feel this was bad, considering the amount of windows and quality.

I wanted the interior wood unfinished as I want to do that myself, but they are available stained or painted if desired. We bought the low E glass and they have a finish on them that help repel soil. They tilt out for cleaning and the tracks look easy to clean as well.

Sandy

We ultimately went with Kolbe aluminum clad casements after seeing the windows and reading positive reviews here on Gardenweb. However, I will warn you that we have had huge issues with the local distributor here in Atlanta and no help from Kolbe in dealing with him. I will not post any names or details at this point because we are still hopeful that the distributor will do right by us. But I would just warn you to be careful. Make sure you review and understand every item and line of your order and don't depend on your builder or anyone else to sign off on this for you.

Good luck,
Todd

Originally considered Andersen (which I had bought before) and Pella. Ended up choosing Thermo-Tech (built in MN) vinyl windows and Andersen sliding doors. Quality is great, they look great, U-ratings are better and side by side comparisons and lots of research showed that the value was unmistakable.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thermo-Tech

So much great input here, thanks! I'm in Mass and it appears the closest dealer of Kolbe is in CT. Does anyone in MA/NH/ME/RI on here have Kolbe?

We used BILBEST Windows on the recommendation of our architect. What a BIG mistake!
We purchased aluminum clad wood, casements, double hungs, single exterior and French door for $57K. Few of the casement window locks could close/lock completely, causing most of them to protrude out several inches instead of laying flat. Several of the double hung window balances were also broken, and the locks for two of the french doors were faulty.
The manufacturers rep came out and said they would fix everything. After several months of NOTHING we contacted them again, only to be told that the rep had quit and they would send someone else out! Well the second one was not much better and told us that the casements could not be fixed, because that is the way they are manufactured!(Even though we showed him the couple that could lay flat and that's the way they're displayed at the dealers. He assured us they would fix the balances and door locks. Not hearing from the company for a couple of months we found out that the second rep had quit too.
BiltBest NEVER did send anyone to fix the balances or locks.
The dealer we purchased the windows from finally sent out his Anderson window repair guy to fix everything.

Todd - your message is concerning!!!! We haven't placed our order yet but I bet I know who you are dealing with as we are dealing with them too. We haven't decided on Kolbe yet for certain as we are waiting on a couple more clad samples to see if they will work - they were missing from the keychain. The ones on there definitely won't so we are still up in the air.

I understand that you don't want to out the supplier, but am interested in the type of issues you encountered so we can beware of them? Are they construction issues or were items delivered in the wrong sizes? I can't tell from your post if you are unhappy with Kolbe or the supplier . . . My builder deals with this supplier all the time and hasn't mentioned any problems, unlike another large dealer of tile and stone in Atlanta which he says he won't deal with again, ever.

Athens...happy to chat with you offline if you'd like. You can reach me through my website at http://www.pbase.com/toddao/new_home where I am documenting our build. Send me a message and I'll follow up with my contact info.

Just curious, does anyone here ever look at windows that are made locally? And no, I'm not in that business. Just curious. I know several people that built houses O/B that used local windows and are very happy with them and these houses were in the range of anywhere from $400-800

For those who may have read my previous post about Kolbe windows. I'd like to retract my previous post. It appears there may have been miscommunications with so many folks involved between our builder, construction supervisor, etc. The proper folks at Kolbe were never aware of our problems, and now that they are aware, they are offering to help us with our issues. Our original complaint was related solely to customer service and not with the quality of the product. In fact, we remain completely satisfied with the quality of the windows.

I posted in good faith that Kolbe had chosen to help us resolve our issues, but we are now told by the local distributor that in fact, Kolbe will not help us. We have heard nothing directly from Kolbe. I will post full details of our experience in a separate post a bit later on the off chance that we are being given incorrect or incomplete information.

I am not sure how old this thread is, but thank you all for the great information and advice given here. I too am shopping for windows and patio doors for a new home we are building just outside of Charlotte, NC.
I was initially looking at the Windsor Pinnacle aluminum clad windows since my friend has had them in his new home he built about 7 years ago and because they are available in the Bronze color that we desired for our home. They look great and he has not had any issues with his double hungs and the couple of casements on his home. My window quote for Pinnacle was about $21K for the whole house. That was for 36 windows (of various sizes), 2 french in-swing patio doors, one 3-panel french slider patio door and a single patio door.
Since I priced these, I started looking to trim the budget and priced the Windsor Legend celluar PVC windows as a lower cost alternative. The Legend would save about $4K, but is only available in white painted color inside and out, although they can be painted any color lighter than L-56. So, I would now have to factor in the painting cost. Another option my lumber company provided is the Jeld-Wen Builder Vinyl which does come in a beige color, and carries a lifetime warranty. He does not carry the other big names like Andersen, Marvin or Pella. Besides, the Windsor windows are made just few miles from where I plan to build, so I will supporting the local economy. My rep said the Pinnacle is the best value when it comes to aluminum clad wood windows. I managed to get my grading price down about $4K, so I may stick with the Pinnacle after all since I just cannot stand the look of white vinyl windows.

Has anyone used Simonton windows? I am in the midwest and never heard of most of these windows. My builder's choice is Anderson 400 series, but I keep reading how pricey these are....and I need to keep on a budget.

To the folks who used Windsor Pinnacle windows, are you still happy with them? We're now at the start of 2016. We're currently deciding between Pella architect and Windsor Pinnacles. Pella had a pretty big price increase in December 2015 based on some quotes we received.

it's for an addition on a home built in the 1920's.

Still a poor choice. What type windows are you looking for (dbl hung, casement, etc) and what material are you thinking about (wood, wood clad alum or fiberglass, all fiberglass, vinyl, etc)?

Double hung, wood clad aluminum. about 20.

For my wife and me,, it ended up coming down to Marvin Integrity or Sunrise. The prices of the two were comparable but we ended up going with the Sunrise because of their reputation, warranty, and it seems like the Sunrise was a little better made. I know Marvin has a good reputation as well for standing behind their stuff. We had quotes on at least 4 other windows... Eagle, Moss, Pella (whatever Lowes carries), etc.

in hindsight, I'm so glad to have that decision behind me.

I want to point out that much of the information presented here is at best incomplete.

For instance, the Andersen 400 series double-hung's consists of two very different window designs: the Woodwright and the Tilt-Wash, which have the same frame but quite different sash (the former is wood with a composite cladding and the latter is wood with an epoxy paint) so it is helpful to distinguish between them and between double-hunts and casements, etc. rather than just speaking Andersen 400's.

Also, Marvin Infinity fiberglass windows are made in two versions: the fiberglass clad wood version called Wood-Ultrex and the All-Ultrex version. The wood-ultrex is an amazingly good window but the all-ultrex is a low grade builder's window intended to compete with builder grade vinyl windows.

Marvin also makes an all fiberglass replacement window called the Infinity that is quite good but only sold to consumers through installers which makes it difficult to compare with other windows.

I have specified windows for many decades and have learned this important lesson: don't buy any window from a retail store; go to a professional supplier directly or through your contractor or architect. That eliminates most of the consumer rip-off windows like Pella and provides you with honest comparisons between the many window designs they carry not to mention providing accurate orders and delivery dates.

Sharing some information about Windsor --

Windsor has been in business since 1946, and our products have been installed in some of the most magnificent homes throughout North America, including the Bighorn Ski Chalet at Revelstoke, BC, which was named the best ski chalet in the world in 2014 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/revelstoke-s-bighorn-ski-chalet-named-best-in-the-world-1.2854138).

Our parent company, Woodgrain Millwork, is a family-owned business and the largest manufacturer of mouldings and interior doors in the United States (www.woodgrain.com). Because of our relationship with Woodgrain, we are able to offer one of the best values in the industry. Our windows and doors offer many of the same features as our higher priced competitors, and they are tested to the same rigorous standards and meet the same certifications and Energy Star guidelines.

But, please don't take it from us. We invite you to contact any of our distributors to learn more. Their contact information is available on our website at http://www.windsorwindows.com/DealerLocator.page

Or, check out these unbiased comments from professionals on Houzz:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/very-nice-how-have-the-windsor-windows-performed-thx-dsvw-vd~3291568?n=1

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/very-nice-how-have-the-windsor-windows-performed-thx-dsvw-vd~3291574?n=1

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/who-makes-these-windows-dsvw-vd~413338?n=5

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/help-with-windows-for-ocean-view-home-what-brand-are-these-dsvw-vd~367354?n=2

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/very-nice-how-have-the-windsor-windows-performed-thx-dsvw-vd~3291568?n=1

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/where-did-you-get-those-windsor-windows-from-dsvw-vd~800015?n=1

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/where-did-you-get-those-windows-dsvw-vd~177370?n=4

Whichever route you choose, best of luck with your project!

Pella makes fine windows, unfortunately they have the absolute WORST customer service imaginable. Further, they won't stand behind their products even on initial installation if one of the contractors bearing their name (like KC PELLA here in Northern Virginia) are complete screw ups.

I went with Anderson on my new build for windows and many of doors and am happy.

Marvin Ultimates after much agonizing over so many choices.

Bronze Clad Exterior

Primed Pine Interior

Gliders

3 Ultimate sliding French Doors @ $6000 a piece.

I also am leaning toward Marvin Ultimate casement windows after much research (the price from my Marvin dealer seems pretty good as well). However, the Windsor Pinnacle casement has caught my interest (I like its thinner profile) and am wondering, for those who have looked at both, how it compares? Is it of comparable quality? Thanks!

" However, the Windsor Pinnacle casement has caught my interest (I like its thinner profile) and am wondering, for those who have looked at both, how it compares? Is it of comparable quality?"

In my and any window pro I know of, this window is comparable to a garbage pail.

"In my and any window pro I know of, this window is comparable to a garbage pail."

Wow millworkman, you certainly don't mince words... ;^) But I appreciate the candid feedback, and can actually relate. I recently looked at Sierra Pacific casement that also has thin profiles. I was not impressed. The frame appeared to be separating in one corner and the sash did not fit flush again the stop all the way around. The locking levers has some plastic parts that looked cheap as well. And this was in a showroom display!

I've looked at Marvin Ultimate, Kolbe Ultra, Loewen, Andersen E-series, and a few others. Another other windows of comparable quality I should have on my radar?

Tell it like it is MWM ;-)

Marvin Ultimate, Kolbe Ultra, Loewen would be my 3 go to windows in a wood window and at the end of the day that would be about it. In my opinion Eage (S-series) is a mixed bag and not being in residential I am not really up to date as much with them any longer. When they were owned as Eagle (not Andersen) I definitely would have said no good

ILoveRed, no sense beating around the bush, lol.

I looked at the Windsor Pinnacle Casement online and there was not enough information for me to take them seriously. I was not impressed with what little was offered which consisted of typical sales claims ("heavy duty extruded cladding" that appeared to be thin hollow extrusions) and a cut-away sample of a lower corner of a window that was impossible to understand since it was cut diagonally. Marvin provides scaled detail drawings in plan and section that can be downloaded.

Our lumber yard had samples and displays for many if the above referenced windows. We chose Windsor Pinnacles -- great feel/design. Many choices for color and grilles, reasonable price were all factors in our decision, too. Also spoke w/homeowners who had them installed. Had Pella's in my former house and disliked them tremendously; glad to know there is another IA alternative -- and apparently they have a great relationship w/Gilchrest, too!

Mydreamhome- what window company did you go with again? How are they working out, as it's been a few years?

Mythreesonsnc- how are your Windsor Pinnacle windows performing so far, as its been a few years since you chose them? I'm in the process of finding the best new construction window (clad), without breaking the bank. Thx!

Reading this thread while trying to decide on windows for my new build. Those who used Windsor Pinnacle, are you still happy? Having any issues? We are also looking at Ply-gem Mira. Did anyone on here use them? Thank you for any help.

We went with Andersen 400's in black. Wanted to stay away from Jeld Wen, and couldn't afford Marvins. Hopefully they hold up

Neither anything Windsor nor Plygem are anything to speak of quality or performance wise.

I have had good experience with Windsor Pinnacle and know of others who have as well. MillworkMan always bashes Windsor but I have a feeling his experience is from years ago and not necessarily their current products.

I've used Plygem mira and do not recommend them. Poor quality control and design.

We have Windsor Pinnacle in bronze and have been very happy. No issues although it has only been a couple of years.