Marvin Clad Ultimate vs. Hurd Aluminum Clad

12 years ago

We live in East Tennessee. We are replacing 23 20+yr old Andersen vinyl-clad windows in our house. We have looked at Champion, Pella, Anderson Renewal, Anderson vinyl clad, Marvin Clad Ultimate & Integrity, Infinity, etc. Neither of us can stand the look and feel of vinyl windows, so the Champions are out. My wife does not like the non-wood interior look of the Infinity/Integrity/Andersen Renewal (although I like the construction), nor the fact that there are limited exterior finish colors available in them, none of which match up with our house paint & shutters. We would prefer full-frame replacement rather than inserts, in part because we've had house settling & feel that would be better for squaring up the windows, plus we get the benefit of reinsulation around the frame, so that cuts out the Renewal & Infinity lines.

We like the look of the Marvin aluminum clad Ultimate, which seem superior to the Pella, and the colors available have what we want in Krylon finish on the exterior. There is a one-year labor & 10 year window warranty on these. The dealer is a subsidiary of a regional lumber/builders supply house, which itself has a high BBB rating, but is not BBB accredited, nor can I find any info on them on Angies List. The dealer itself recently moved & changed names & has ratings on neither, but seems knowledgeable.

The Infinity dealer is suggesting we consider Hurd Aluminum clad, as being pretty much equivalent to the Marvin's construction, plus HUrd's lifetime warranty & two years labor through him. The price range he's quoting is very similar to the Marvins, although with anodized external finish in the grey we're looking for (or we could order the exact finish in painted custom color). This dealer is BBB accredited & has excellent ratings on BBB & Angies list.

I'd convince my wife to go with the fiberglass because of construction, but the color issue is a killer. So we're down to the Hurds or the Marvin Ultimates. There's a lot of conflicting reviews out there, some several years old, both good & bad about the Hurds & the Marvins. This will be around a $23,000 investment. Would appreciate any updated opinions/experience with these windows, status on Hurd following buy-out by Monarch & going theough the bankruptcy thing a few years back, as mentioned in other posts, and recommendations.

Thanks much.

Featured Answer

pfi1969_yahoo_com

12 years ago

Great topic you have posted here. I have sold windows for over 20 years, many of which have found their way into multi-million dollar homes. Anyway, at our company we sell both Marvin and Hurd, just picking up the latter last year, and all of us salespeople (we have over 100 years in windows and door sales experience between the 4 of us) feel that the Hurd is a marginal product, and we are experiencing some quality and delivery issues right now. You need to take a look at Eagle, which is Andersen's "Lexus" brand. They have 50 colors, and the pricing will be below Marvin. You can upgrade to a Kynar finish as well for about 6% more, but the standard paint is very good as well. Marvin is what it is, but the Eagle product with Andersen backing is a sleeper. Make sure the local dealer has sold them for more than a few months - a lot of lumberyards have just picked up the line and it's not a product that can be sold properly without years of training and experience! Good luck with your project!

Comments (8)

Hutch53
Original Author
12 years ago
These are double-pane/double-hung by the way.
millworkman
12 years ago
Hurd is still marginal at best from opinion, they are making the windows from the same plants with the same machines and I would be pretty certain they did not change much. As far as Marvin Ultimate's again from my point of view the Cadillac of wood windows. A close second in my mind would be Kolbe & Kolbe.
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skydawggy
12 years ago
It takes years of training to sell a window properly? How many hours a day does the training involve? Those must be some pretty complicated windows.
PRO
East Bay 10
12 years ago
I am wondering why his company sells Marvin and Hurd but he speaks so highly of Eagle? Smells like an Andersen/Eagle salesman in wolf's clothing. Watch out!
pfi1969_yahoo_com
12 years ago
Well, I am no "wolf in sheep's clothing" as I sold Eagle for 12 years. We just lost the Eagle line as Andersen has decided to give the products to lumber yards that are Andersen COE dealers. That is why I warned the OP about performing due diligence about the Eagle sales history of the dealer. I could sell Marvin or Hurd, can't sell Eagle anymore, but I told the OP to look at Eagle! Just imparting my 22 years of window sales experience. As far as the "years of training" is concerned, you really need to be on your game selling these high-end products - and the typical lumber yard has so many product lines that one person cannot be an expert on all of them. Let me tell you, if a window quote is turned into and order with a minor mistake ALL the windows can be completely wrong, and the customer will lose weeks waiting for replacements. It's not like you ordered 2x6 studs and got 2x4's - WAY more complicated!
dgmarie
12 years ago
I replaced 40+ windows last year with Marvin Clad Ultimate casements. I would highly recommend them. It was a significant investment (try 4X your price), one we did not ever want to make, but they are really excellent windows. They are "cadillacs" but they are gorgeous.
dlorber
12 years ago
I'd recommend looking at JELDWEN's Siteline EX product. I used to sell Marvin's for years and still do once in awhile.

In my area, I sell almost 7 figures a year in JELDWEN windows. I can say that their quality is near Marvin's and is 30% less.

They also have a color called "Artic Silver" which looks like clear anodized but is an applied finish. Anodized coating SUCK as they scratch easily and cannot be touched up. If you don't believe me, ask your dealer what they warranty is on anodized product. If they don't say 5 years or less, ask for it writing prior to ordering. Artic Silver is a 10 year warranty through JELDWEN(20 years if you look at their Custom series product, which is equal to Marvin).

As for Hurd, if they're close to the same price as Marvin I would pick the Marvin if you're not interested in JELDWEN. Hurd is a crappy brand name and what's the point of buying "knock offs" if there's not enough savings to justify it? I don't go to the flea market and expect to pay 10% less.

My advice, look at JELDWEN's Siteline EX product. If you don't like the quality, buy Marvin.

Find a GOOD dealer in your area that knows what he's doing and you feel you can work with. Call the manufacturer and see who they prefer in your area(they'll give you their best dealer who buys the best). Lastly, remember pricing isn't everything. One mistake can easily suck out what you saved by "shopping around"...