Those three are all below average at best in my opinion. Which one is best of this lot, don't really know what to say to that without more information. What type of window and quantity are you using, where your building and what are your expectations of these windows and lastly what your budget is? 1 1/8" muntins (muntins is the correct term as mullion is typically the process of joining units together) do not tell us anything, are these grids, simulated divided light, true divided light?

Listen to MWM...he knows wood windows like it is his job (HA!).

No...in all seriousness, MWM knows his stuff when it comes to wood. I would listen to his advice very carefully.

Sierra by far- unless it is top of the line Jeld wen- read about the paint finishes.. 30 year warranty on SP- by far the best. Lincoln is so so and the cheap jeldwens are not good.

Blazinj, you do realize this is a TWO year old post! And Sierra may be the best of those three but it is still a the very bottom of anyone who knows windows list! And trufully top of the line Jeldwen is still a pretty poor window.

This post was edited by millworkman on Fri, Feb 6, 15 at 13:36

So what manufacturers are good?

I guess I should have specified. We are looking for a aluminum clad wood window. Considering Jeld-Wen, Sierra Pacific, Anderson E-Series, Weather Guard, Milgard, Windsor.

We are located in Phoenix so heat/sun is the primary concern.

The Andersen E series would be my choice of that group.

A lot of people in this area use Sierra Pacific. Those of you that don't like them, why? If seems like the u-factor and SHG numbers are pretty good.

Which line is it that you are referring to? It seems as though they carry more than one, including their recent acquisition of Hurd up in this neck of the woods.

The standard wood/aluminum casement window.

I also need advice on this topic. There's mixed reviews everywhere on windows. We are building a new home in western North Carolina and looking at Sierra Pacific double hung, Jeld Wen 2500 double hung and Marvin Integrity all Ultrex (fiberglass) single hung. The Sierra Pacific and JeldWens are aluminum clad wood and seem to be similarly priced. The Marvins are all fiberglass and much less expensive. We want white interiors, so having stain grade wood is not an issue. We also have a bank of four 4'x8' (two sliders/two fixed) , so we are need these to be well-constructed. Any concerns with the Marvin Integrity's? Are there construction or oxidation issues with the fiberglass. Any comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Of those 3 choice's it would be the Marvin Integrity all day. I have nothing good to say about Jeldwen or Sierra Pacific. Period Stop.

Of those 3 , the Marvin is the clear winner IMO. That said, you may consider adding another option or two as well. If you aren't concerned about a wood interior, you may want to see a premium vinyl option or two as they will typically outperform that Marvin in every thermal and structural area by a significant margin. I really like Marvin windows for the wood interior options, but again, if that is not important to you, there may be superior choices.

Why is your marvin quote single hungs? Just curious..

I don't need double hungs and would prefer not to pay the added cost for them. I prefer fewer moving parts and sashes that can break or admit outside air. Unfortunately, neither Jeldwen nor Sierra Pacific offer a single hung. Single hungs seem to be limited to less expensive vinyl windows, though I believe SP offers it in a high end wood window.

Its an apples to oranges comparison but I would say not to go with the jeldwen 2500 its basically an old Caradco window roll form aluminum like pella...no sense in paying for sierra pacific even if they offer a single hung..their H3 window might be in line with Marvin Integrity..its really a matter of a aesthetics between those two

I think you'd be crazy not to consider a good vinyl unit. The all Ultrex is not so pretty in my eyes and I believe it has bad air infiltration numbers the other 2 are what they are.