search Pella on here and gauge from that. I personally would not put Pella windows in a dog house, nor would an installer from a Box store step foot on my property.

There are better wood windows for certain, however, I do not have the same strong feelings against the architect series that millworkman does.

That being said, he probably knows wood windows better than I do.

I have used the Pellas in very limited runs without problem. Getting parts was a freaking hassle but the windows themselves were okay.

A friend of mine took his Lowe's Pella quote to the Pella store and they matched it. Pella is having a 25% off of installation now, at least here in New Mexico. Personally I'd preferred to have the company install the windows as opposed to a Lowe's contractor.

I looked at Pella windows at Lowe's but ended up going with Marvin Ultimate double hungs. I was surprised at how close the Marvins were in price to the Pellas.

I feel you made a very good decision, the price may have been very close but the quality is not even in the same hemisphere.

I agree, if you got Marvins for close to the price of Pellas, you did very well and got twice the window.

millworkman and skydawggy:

Thanks for the reassurances. My intent wasn't to hijack this thread but to urge people to go look at the Marvins and get a price. I heard a lot of second hand talk and rumors that Marvins are so expensive that I almost didn't consider them. One day I decided I had nothing to lose by calling the Marvin Showroom near me. I wasn't even expecting to get a price over the phone but was pleasantly surprised when the guy not only gave me a price but discussed options on the windows and their cost with me freely. The next day I went to look at them and was impressed. I was ready to order right there and then but decided to let myself cool down from the initial enthusiasm. I ordered them a week later. They just looked nicer than the Pella Architect series and Andersen Woodwrights I was considering.

I looked at the Pella 850/Architect series windows at Lowe's and for the size I needed and options I wanted the cost came to about $415 per window. I also looked at Andersen Woodwright windows and liked them more than the Pellas. The Woodwrights at Home Depot during one of their 10% off special order sales came to $450 per window with tax and delivery. The Pella quote didn't include tax and delivery. I ended up getting the Marvins for $500 each delivered. They'll be here sometime in late October or early November.

It's an individual decision on whether the $50 or so difference in price is significant. For me, I felt the Marvin was definitely worth the extra cost. Had the Marvins been twice the cost of an Andersen or Pella things might have been different.

I didn't look at any other brands based on reading this forum and others and availability in my area. I went to a couple lumber yards to get quotes on the Woodwrights also. I wasn't too thrilled with some of the help at Home Depot and preferred to order from a local lumber yard or building supply dealer. HD just made a nice place to get prices on options and get a good baseline to go from.

Lowes is not standing by the Pella wood windows they sold me! Beware of Lowes! Pella Boston laughed at me when I asked them for help because they were bitter that I did not buy from them.

If anyone else has had problems with Lowe's or Pella, please let me know at gwtc1999@gmail.com