Our old house had snap in grilles, and yes they were a pain. Current house, which has really cheap windows, has between the glass, and I have no complaints about them. (The broken tilt-in levers are another story.)

There's a dedicated Windows forum here, and you may get answers from more experienced people there, but personally we're replacing ours with between-the-glass grills.

Con: looks terrible. They are obviously fake when seen from the street. IMO you're better off not having divided lites at all than having the kind between the glass.

If the windows are double-hungs the view from the street would probably be obscured by a full screen so it would be the interior view of between-the-glass mullions that would give a low-budget developer/builder flavor to your house. I would use the interior grilles and live with the possibility of breakage or use permanent simulated mullions in the top sash only. I've never seen these mullions break on an Andersen window.

If the windows are casements the interior grilles offer a bad appearance from the outside similar to the between-the-glass type. Interior grilles can fall outside and break. Permanent mullions are the best choice for casements.

Exterior simulated divided lites give the most historically accurate representation. But it's increasingly only crotchedy cranks who insist there's more to architecture than "I know what I like". (Ditto for the itsy bitsy fake shutters one sees everywhere, including these sacred threads with their proud owners trolling for accolades.)

Better than nothing.

Had the fake grills on the inside of our last house and hated them. They fell out, broke, and looked like crap the rest of the time. The outside view still had the "blank stare" aspect of undivided windows.

New house got simulated divided lites (couldn't pay the freight for true divided lites, much as I wanted them) with permanently applied exterior and interior grills, plus the grid sandwiched in the glass to create the impression of a TDL. They look pretty good, even without the slight lite to lite variation that enlivens a TDL window.

Thanks for all your comments. I went to an authorized dealer who had all the windows styles on display. So I saw what the between-the-glass grilles looked liked and decided against them. You were right.. they are ugly.

Although I would love to go for the permanent exterior grilles with the removable interior grilles... we don't want to pay for the upgrade.

We are already being charged extra for the window exterior color apparently because it will not be white. Plus the brick we choose is costing us more money than we expected (an additional 3K). So since we are just starting to build, I can see where these little bumps in the road can quickly add up. And we still don't know if the stone accents we selected will be more than allowance... mainly bc our builder neglected to even tell us that allowance! We are waiting to hear back with his number on that one.

So we settled on the inside removable inserts. The plus side side to this is that we might not want to even use the grilles on the back of the house bc I don't want to spoil our view of the lake. I will have them install them and then make a decision about them later.

If we put in the permanent exteriors, we could not change our minds.

Something doesn't add up. I have never heard of permanent mullions on only one side of the glass.

Are these windows double-hungs? if so, are they 400 Woodwright or are they 400 Tilt Wash?

Put the permanent "simulated" mullions on each side of the glass and omit them on the lower sash to save money. If the mullions actually disrupt the view you need larger windows.

I have never heard of permanent mullions on only one side of the glass.

The exterior simulated divided lites I was thinking of come with mandatory interior simulations. However, some interior simulations are permanently adhered, as per the footnote below.

Pollard Windows grille options.

This post was edited by worthy on Mon, Sep 8, 14 at 22:15

What we did was SDLs upper sash only, front of house only. Then you can also put in the smallest number of mullions.

Ie - only cut the window into 4 "pieces" instead of 6 or 9. Makes a rather significant difference. Also looks quite a bit different but still better that GBG.

Our neighborhood requires at least SDLs on the front of the house. Amazing how much switching 30 windows from no mullions to SDLs would have cost us.

What is the style of your new home? Does it need the look of mullions or can you do without?

Our last house was a transitional/mcmansiony style. I had ongoing battle with my flimsy wood mullions. I finally took them off and I really liked the look. We had blinds and window treatments on windows and without the mullions the windows looked less cluttered.

I am not sure what you would call our home style ...I guess the closest you could call it would be a European Cottage

Here are the Anderson Window grille options and, yes, you can put permanent grilles outside with removable inside:

Here is a link that might be useful: Anderson Window Grille Options

What about aluminum clad windows (wood interior with aluminum exterior). I'm with some of the others in that the in between glass looks REALLY cheap. I think they ruin what otherwise could have been nice looking houses. We did this on our first home because clad weren't in the budget. I regretted it every time I drove up. I was young- mid 20s- and didn't yet have a trained eye for what can make or break a house.

Save money elsewhere - use Hardiplank or wait in some of the light fixtures. Add crown later....etc. But please don't put in between the glass grilles

Dealing with the same decision for a Prairie school design Anderson E series. On the water and the salt spray will make it a pain to clean. But the grills in-between look a bit commercial. Style or life style? the hose is not an inexpensive project. I lean to the in grill in between but it is permanent.

I do hear about lots of breaking when removing to clean?

Subscribed.

What is standard width? What did you upgrade to on those )

"I do hear about lots of breaking when removing to clean?"

Exterior grids or muntins are not removeable so there is no chance breakage during removal. But as mentioned they are a PITA to clean.

Pensacola, the normal width for the between the glass muntins are 3/4" or 7/8".

Thanks Millworkman. Our build is a 2 story and a loft. I am all about less maintenance and ease of cleaning etc. I am leaning towards the "in between the glass". We are going with the Anderson 400's and a mix of casement and DH.

Our new house has grills between the glass and we like it, but it should all depend on the level of detail you want on your house. We like the look of grills, but didn't want to deal with cleaning each one every time on the inside and out, which is why we chose internal. The biggest "tell" is when there's a reflection on the window. In this picture, the windows on turret have full grills and the lower windows have half grills. The internal grills aren't as obvious on the turret, but you can barely see the half grills in the lower windows due to reflection. If you can put up with the cleaning and want the more traditional look, try to find external grills with fillers in between the panes. At least they won't look like stick on grills up close.

Thanks Millworkman. Our build is a 2 story and a loft. I am all about less maintenance and ease of cleaning etc. I am leaning towards the "in between the glass". We are going with the Anderson 400's and a mix of casement and DH.

Why are you not using wind impact windows? I think in your location, it's a must and it might even be in the code there. I know in my neck of the woods it is code.

Look into Custom Window Systems or PGT windows. Both are considered excellent wind impact windows.

We are using impact windows BUT only on the 2nd floor and loft. First floor will have normal glass. Even impact glass will break if hit by a "flying object". First floor will have hurricane shutters. The chances of anything large enough and "flying" to hit and break a window on the second floor or the loft is a rarity.

This is directly from the Anderson site:

Coastal Glass Options
OUR TOUGHEST PROTECTION FOR WINDOWS AND DOORS.


Low-E4® Impact-Resistant Glass provides all the benefits of
monolithic impact-resistant glass, while adding an insulating air space
that helps keep homes cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Available in: A-Series, E-Series, 400 Series, Weiland, Silver Line.


Low-E4 SmartSun™ Impact-Resistant Glass delivers the benefits
of Low-E4 glass, plus it helps shield homes from the sun's heat and
filters out 95% of harmful UV rays while letting the sunlight shine
through. Available in: A-Series, E-Series, 400 Series, Weiland.


Low-E4 Sun Impact-Resistant Glass is tinted for maximum
protection from the effects of intense sunlight and provides all the
benefits of Low-E4 glass. Available in: A-Series, E-Series, 400 Series, Weiland.


Monolithic Impact-Resistant Glass is reinforced with a clear
plastic laminate sandwiched between two panes to resist impact, forced
entry and unwanted noise. Choose from clear or gray. Available in: A-Series Patio Doors, E-Series, 400 Series Windows, Weiland

PI....We built the house in 2005. I searched and found this image and it sounds right. I believe the upgrade was to 1" grilles at the time.

the upper right "finelight grille width options", easy to clean options. The upgrade was a minimal cost if I remember correctly.

Thank you!

I remember deliberating this decision back in the spring when we were ordering our windows. Since moving in I haven't even thought about it for a second until I ran across this thread. We have the finelight (between the glass) on the upper half of our double-hungs. Obviously I'm glad we went that way and spent those thousands on something else.

This is yet another of those situations in homebuilding where a higher upfront cost results in higher ongoing costs as well (more expensive/time consuming to clean). We tried to focus our spending on the higher upfront/lower ongoing - things like better insulation, more efficient HVAC, etc.

Thanks and invariably the way we will go unless someone is going to volunteer to climb up 3 stories and clean our windows a few times a year. Any takers LOL ?

Pensacola, make those windows in-swing casements. Cleaning problem solved!

(My bias is heavily favored toward actual real divided lights or simulated divided lights, so I would look for any excuse to avoid the fake grills, lol, including completely going without if I can't have the real deal. Just so you know upfront. ;-) )

I'm with ODD.

Thanks. Will take under advisement. I am here to tell you the windows have been a MAJOR pain in the ASS. Doug has selected the window schedule and it is done. I am SO done playing with windows it is not even funny..

I would defer to the expert. You're in good hands PI.

This is true. Windows are done. Been 2 days plus revising master for to be more ada compliant and just finished.