We live in New Mexico, at 6000', with a lot of sun! We get very little rain (5" YTD and we're entering our dry season), we get a fair amount of wind, summer highs average the mid 90s, winter lows average in the low 20s. The existing windows in our house are metal framed, "Alenco" that are almost impossible to open or close, and are easily the worst windows I've ever owned.

We would like to avoid high-maintenance wood windows, so we are considering vinyl or fiberglass (or other options that you suggest). It seems that our brand options here in New Mexico are quite limited. We have the big names available: Andersen, Pella, Marvin, and Simonton. Beyond that, we have a lot of "locally produced" brands. Of the reading I've done here, the top rated vinyl brands don't seem to be available here, e.g., Sunrise, Okna, etc. What do you suggest? We most certainly are looking for great energy efficiency, well-built, great warranty, long-lasting windows. Price is, of course, a consideration, but we will spend what we need to for quality, longevity and great installation. Our existing windows range between 5' wide and 4' tall, to 8' wide x 5' tall, in single hung configuration or sliders.

I appreciate any feedback you may have.

Thanks for reading my very long post!

Joe

In the fiberglass options, InLine is probably not available in your region so my next recommendation would be the Marvin Infinity.

We are going to look at Marvin today, as well as one of the locally manufactured vinyls. Unfortunately, Soft Lite only gets as close at Colorado, so no luck in New Mexico.

Does anyone have an opinion on Accent/P.H. Tech out of Denver? Does the fact that they are manufactured at elevation have a positive benefit to me living at 6000', or are stories of seals blowing out going from low to high elevation exaggerated? Any thought will be greatly appreciated.

By the way, we don't have pricing yet, as they are coming out on Friday to measure and discuss the various options. That being said, from the reviews on Angie's List, most people say that their quotes were about mid-range for the market.

Thanks very much for your help!

Joe

The fact that they are made at altitude eliminates the need for breather tubes and will allow for a gas filled IGU in a sealed capacity.

Entry-level window:
U-Value .28
SHGC .28
VT .52
AI .03 (yes, .03)

Mid-level window:
U-Value .27
SHGC .20
VT .46
AI .03 (yes, .03)

Top-level (uses a thin, plastic membrane that is suspended between the inner and outer glazings as the third glazing):
U-Value .23
SHGC .18
VT .41
AI .03 (yes, .03)

For all three windows, the frames appear to be identical. It is only the glazing that changes. One thing I would like to mention is that their NFRC ratings are not posted on their display windows as I have seen on others. They are simply printed out on their own MS Excel-looking sheet. Should this make me question the legitimacy of the figures?

We're going to look at Simonton and Marvin on Friday.

Any further thoughts on this Accent Window?

Thanks,

Joe

Accent Vinyl
Champion Vinyl
Simonton 7300
Marvin Integrity

Specifications wise, the Accent windows seem to be quite good, but their parent company in Denver has had some financial problems over the past few years, which makes me uneasy from a warranty perspective. I also felt like the windows were a bit less refined looking.

The Simonton window didn't impress me and seemed "cheap".

The Champion window seemed a little better than the Accent and Simonton, in terms of looking better / refinement, but its performance numbers were not as good as the Accent. They seem to have a bad reputation on this site, but no one can seem to tell me why. It sounds like they do solid installs, stand behind the few warranty issues I've read about, and the windows seems solid, middle of the road. Other than their reputation to come in high on price and then play the pricing games, I don't see why they are disliked. Are the windows or the company really that bad?

The Marvin Integrity seems like a nice window, but I know it's going to blow me out of the water when it comes to price. I also have some concerns with the fiberglass in my environment (6000', 310 days of full sun, hot, windy conditions). Performance numbers also don't seem as good as a much less expensive vinyl.

Unfortunately, there are not a whole lot of other options here in Albuquerque. How do you all feel about Milgard Tuscany?

I feel lost after having the aforementioned people in my house and have no idea what to do.

Your input will be greatly appreciated.

I have a southern exposure that has destroyed the original vinyl windows (Jones, apparently made in SLC) and have read that such extreme UV exposure wrecks vinyl and fiberglass windows. Wood doesn't seem to be an option so I am not sure where to turn.

Do I think there were perhaps better windows, from a performance standpoint, that we looked at? Perhaps, but those windows were associated with high-pressure sales and vague quotes, or they came from companies that I worry may not be around in a few years, or they had bad reputations on their installs.

I do wish some of the eastern window manufacturers had a presence in our part of the country, but since that was not the case, I went with what I feel was the best option based on all the criteria I mentioned above.

The windows should be installed in the next three weeks, so time will tell if I made a sound choice or I made a large mistake.

Good luck with your search!

Joe