If you want to choose the more attractive of the 2, why don't you just look at them and decide for yourself? Beauty in the eye of the beholder etc.................

Thanks so much for your reponses.

Skydawggy - Yes, of course you're right. I was just hoping to elicit as much as I could.

Millworkman - What do you mean by the lesser of two evils? I mean, I know these windows are hardly the best ones out there, but are they that bad?

Thanks!

temple, I have sold windows and doors for years, although not currently. I was never a big fan of Andersen the products were always just ok to me. They seemed to always be behind on new products and technologies and the products were ok just ok, not great. Plygems in my opinion is a company I never had any use for, I never really sold their window products but I just did not like the company their products or the way they did business.

I have had PlyGem windows in my home for 10 years and they look as well and perform as well as when they were installed. all of my windows are double hung except large fixed pane windows. The selling company and their installers were excellent. They went to great lengths to insulate the frames and caulk in and out.

Don't know millworkman's problem with PlyGem, but I certainly am happy with mine.

Millworkman and Texasredhead,
Thanks so much for each of your replies! I'm pretty bummed about being limited to just Anderson and Ply Gem, but the budget just won't allow for higher end windows. I'll be sure to look again at the Ply Gem though. It's hard to compare the two, as I can't find them both in the same showroom!

Any other feedback out there? I'd love to hear more.

What is your budget and why are you limited to just those 2 windows? Doesn't the builder work for YOU?

May I suggest you ask the dealers for some customer references and ask if you can contact them and perhaps see what their windows look like installed. Some brands of windows have rather large frames which IMO look rather cumberson on the outside. This seems to be the case with some of the fiberglass windows I have seen.

Skydawggy,
The problem is not the builder, but the budget. If we go with windows for which the factory (our's is a modular home)has an established vendor, it's significantly cheaper. Originally, I'd planned to get windows elsewhere, but the estimate just came in, and there's no more room in the budget.
Texasredhead, That's a great idea. I'll give it a try, just as soon as I find someone who sells Ply Gem.

Thank!
Temple

I am in the same boat as you were-What did you end up with?

I've used Ply Gem Mira line casements in my home and do not recommend them. 4 of the units have leaked due to poor quality control and seals failed at mitered corners of exterior frame allowing water into the unit. Also had a french door that leaked. They did give me new units to replace them but at this point the replacement would require me to cut the new stucco to remove the windows which would add a whole additional host of issues. I resealed the windows with high quality caulking and all leaking has stopped for now. There are things I do like about the Mira line, extruded aluminum frames and cladding vs cheaper rolled aluminum however it seems like they neglect small details that in turn lead to big problems. Also do not like that water sits and ponds on the lower window sill, just a poor design.

Thank you for your follow up. Can you post any pictures so folks that might not be terminology up to speed and can see what you are seeing?

I would be happy to, here is one of the windows I mentioned in my earlier post where I had water intrusion into the interior of the window. After investigating further I noticed the joint at the lower left corner had a void allowing water that sits on the sill to enter the window. Please see attached pictures of exterior and interior.

Same exact problem with another window located in master bath, see water in same exact location as the one pictured above. Recaulked lower frame corners and removed Sash Lift and screw and caulked that and reinstalled. No leaks after repair. Another potential defect with these windows is the location of the Sash Lift or more importantly where it is fastened to the frame. If you look at these windows in detail you'll notice that all the hinges and track hardware attach into the thermal break where even if the screw holes are not sealed water cannot penetrate by design. However I noticed after looking at the exploded and section drawings that the sash lift screw attaches to the frame on the interior side of the thermal break (through aluminum frame and into the wood). Since the design of these window sills do not shed water and it ponds, the hardware sits in water indefinitely until it evaporates. This is another area where I see a great potential for leaks.