Marvin Ultimate wood interior/aluminum clad exterior

10 years ago

I continue my quest for replacement windows for my home in the Denver, CO area (mile high altitude). I'm trying to narrow down the window options, but I continue to be confused.

I'm considering the Marvin Ultimate wood interior/aluminum clad exterior, because I can get the colors I want both inside and out. I also love the look of wood. My home has all natural wood trim inside.

We need 13 windows. Most will be double hung. We have one or two picture and may do one or two as casement (egress issues).

However, I keep hearing that wood windows require a lot of maintenance. I'm not clear on what that maintenance entail, so I'm turning to you folks.

If the exterior is aluminum clad and the interior has a natural wood finish, what do you have to maintain? How often?

Also, are Marvin Ultimate good windows? I want good quality, as we plan to stay in this house forever.

I see several glass options, so we'll select something that gives us decent U values. I can't seem to find anything on air infiltration. How are these window in that area?

In case it matters, I'm currently considering Sunrise (not Vanguard, but I gather those two are really the same), Ply Gem Premium Series, and Great Lakes EcoSmart, all with decent glass packages (not necessarily the top of the line, but a notch or so down).

I suspect I'll have more questions about those vinyl window options, but I'll stick with my Marvin wood window questions for now.

Thanks for any information you can offer!

Comments (6)

millworkman
10 years ago
Best commercially available wood window on the market today (pricey but.....). Keep the outside cleaned, caulked and you should have no issues assuming a correct install. Vinyl I will let others speak of but I personally prefer wood.
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
10 years ago
+1

You are going to pay for it but it is arguably the best and at minimum, top 3.
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wingal
Original Author
10 years ago
Hmm, but do they last? I had not realized that the warranty was rather short. I just looked at the warranty on the Marvin site, and it has different time periods for different things, from 5 to 10 and up to 20 years. However, to pay all that money for a shorter, confusing warranty does not seem to make sense.

I don't want to do this again in 10 to 20 years. Hopefully never again.

So, I think I'm back to my Sunrise/Vanguard/Restorations questions.

Is the Vanguard (http://vanguardwindows.com/doublehung_windows.html) window really better than the standard Sunrise (http://www.sunrisewindows.com/windows/double-hung.aspx)? Where do Restorations fit in?

I did just get pricing for the Sunrise:

3 fixed picture windows, 1 casement window, 8 double hung windows, and 1 half round window.
Sunrise Windows. Brazilian Pecan interior/Earthtone exterior. Glass is; Ultra U 12 with argon gas. Quote totals include all labor, materials, options, and all clean up.
$10934

How does that sound?

This company does not intend to replace the brick molding. Is that OK? (The house is 20 years old. From what I've seen, the brick molding looks OK.)

My city requires a permit, but some contractors are saying not to bother or I should get it? What do you folks say is the best practice on this?
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
10 years ago
Pricing seems very reasonable.

We don't require permits for windows here but I don't see a goverment missing a chance to grab more money.

That being said, if we do need a permit, we have the homeowner pull it. It is specifically excluded on our contract.

If you want it, you can go pull it.
wingal
Original Author
10 years ago
Hmm, but do they last? I had not realized that the warranty was rather short. I just looked at the warranty on the Marvin site, and it has different time periods for different things, from 5 to 10 and up to 20 years. However, to pay all that money for a shorter, confusing warranty does not seem to make sense.

I don't want to do this again in 10 to 20 years. Hopefully never again.

So, I think I'm back to my Sunrise/Vanguard/Restorations questions.

Is the Vanguard (http://vanguardwindows.com/doublehung_windows.html) window really better than the standard Sunrise (http://www.sunrisewindows.com/windows/double-hung.aspx)? Where do Restorations fit in?

I did just get pricing for the Sunrise:

3 fixed picture windows, 1 casement window, 8 double hung windows, and 1 half round window.
Sunrise Windows. Brazilian Pecan interior/Earthtone exterior. Glass is; Ultra U 12 with argon gas. Quote totals include all labor, materials, options, and all clean up.
$10934

How does that sound?

This company does not intend to replace the brick molding. Is that OK? (The house is 20 years old. From what I've seen, the brick molding looks OK.)

My city requires a permit, but some contractors are saying not to bother or I should get it? What do you folks say is the best practice on this?
wingal
Original Author
10 years ago
Ooops, by mistake I posted the same thing twice. Sorry about that!

So, one more in the mix. Another company likes Great Lakes windows, which I've never seen mentioned on these different forums.

For a similar configuration (slightly different mix of windows; some sliders), the Great Lakes Uniframe (http://www.uniframewindow.com/products/double_hung.html) with triple pane EconoMax glass would be $10,332 and the EcoSmart (has added insulation in the exterior of the frame and the composite reinforcement http://www.ecosmart-windows.com/features.html) with with triple pane EconoMax glass would be $10,957.

Anyone have any experience with these windows? Based on what one person said, the additional insulation and reinforcement sounds like a good thing there here in Colorado.