Simonton Reflections 5500/Prism Platinum or 9800 would be the best of that group. Simonton windows can be ordered with a nailing fin. I'd avoid the Pro-finish or Brickmold lines.

I have looked at apex vinyl window signature 8000 made by Alside. It is triple pane but single strength glass. It has low e-glass and the u-factor is supposed to be .23. They say their r-value is 7. I also looked at home depot 6500 series made by Simonton. This is also triple pane and supposedly the u-factor is .2. This has double strength glass. Does the difference in glass strength mean very much? I also looked at renewal by andersen and they only have double pane glass with a supposed u-factor of .28. The first two are insert windows whereas renewal does full frame replacement windows. Renewal was telling me that vinyl windows don't hold up and that their long warrantees aren't very good because chances are the people that install the windows will be out of business in a few years. I live in Minnesota and I'm really confused. Does anyone have any advise?

Yes, Andersen Renewal Salesmen are known to be the biggest liars in the industry. Of course they need to scare you away from vinyl windows to justify their over-priced mediocre product. If vinyl windows are so terrible, then why does Andersen make one? Albeit, a very low end product that is the laughing stock of the vinyl window industry.

Single strength glass is very common in triple pane windows because it reduces the weight. their is also quite the misunderstanding of single strength vs double strength. If a projectile hit the window hard enough, it's going to break the glass even if it;s tempered. How many windows have you broken in your entire life?

If you like the Simonton Window at HD, then check out the Simonton Prism Platinum/Reflections 5500 (same window) by a local contractor. Once a good quality window is installed properly there's really very little chance you will have a problem with it that would be expensive to repair. Most manufacturers will provide a replacement part at the very least. If you have a glass seaal failure, Simonton will ship a new sash which can be installed by you in about 30 seconds as an example.

Thanks for the information. Do you know anything about the vinyl windows sold by apex the signature 8000 made by Alside? Are they good quality windows? I want the fake wood inside and white on the outside.

I would avoid buying anything from Apex. Have they made you the "Model Home" offer? Not a big fan of Alside either. Alside has started rebranding windows over the past few years an attempting to create "exclusive" products that are just "pimped-out" versions of other windows in their line. If you visit Alside.com, you will not see the Signature product listed, which may mean they are selling it under their parent company to avoid the general "so-so" reviews their products get from the industry. As I recall the Signature is just a rebranded Sheffield stuffed with foam and sold as a triple pane. Ask Apex to give you the CPD# from AAMA and NFRC so you can check out the energy efficiency and structural claims. If they provide it to you post back here and I'll show you how to get the ratings. I'm betting they won't provide you this information because it may expose the windows deficiencies.

Here is the informaton for the apex windows from my salesperson.
ALS-A-43-00071-0001 for the slider and The cdp# at the nfrc site is ALS-A-31-00047-0001 this is for the casement window. Thanks Karen

I have the numbers but I don't know what to do with them to check it. Can you help me check out these apex windows? Thanks Karen

I tried those numbers and they don't work. I would ask for the U-factor of the entire window (not just the center of the glass) the air and water infiltration, and the Design Pressure. I would also mention again, that the Simonton is the better window.

They are Alside products.
www.nfrc.org
ALS-A-43-00071-00001 Slider
ALS-A-31-00047-00001 Casement

You were missing a zero.

I would keep shopping. The Alside Slider vents air like it was open even when closed.

Thanks for the information. I decided to keep looking and I went to a store that sold siding and windows today. They had the Simonton windows but the salesperson was recommending a Hayfield window. He said it was a better window. Is anyone familiar with this window? Most of my windows are sliders so it would be the 801 double slider or I could do a single slider. Karen