anderson 200 is the builder grade. the 400 is a quality window. there are lots of window companies but none of them beat andersens customer service.
andersen can be purchased through home depot and they are will deal. here is a little secret builders know about. go to home depot and have them write up a bid. once you get it tell them you would like them to run it through their bid room for a better price. on orders near 10000 or more they will knock more off the price.

If you are building where it gets very cold, you should go for the 400. I used 400 up in the mountains of N.C and haven't regreted the extra expense.

Our lumber yard described the difference in the two as - the 400 are quite a bit more difficult to fold in and clean vs. the 200 which fold much easier. However, the reason behind the 400 being so much more difficult to fold in is that they have a much better seal on them vs. the 200 which might have more of a tendency to "whistle" when the wind blows really hard. All of the builders that we are friends with would use the Anderson 200 over any Pella. We priced out both and there was about a $2500.00 difference between the two orders.

We have the Anderson Woodwrights, 400, double hung - LOVE them! We installed them ourselves over the last few years. We still have two more to install - bay window in Mst. bedroom. The tilt-wash is so convenient, especially with a two-story and lots of plants around the foundation.

I highly recommend them although sometimes I think they work too well at keeping the heat from the sun out. Having wood floors throughout probably doesn't help either but I wouldn't trade them, either. : ) They are very airtight but if you go with DH the screen will be the height and width of the window so they can rattle a bit in the wind. Also, if you are considering DH don't go with their widest width. We did that on a few because of existing openings and found they are heavy when tilting them in for washing and take more effort to open/close.

Open both series at the window store and really check the frames and construction. I think you'll see the difference.

The choices in the styles and finishes in the 400 series are better and they are better windows. That's what we are using. We've got Pella's architect series in our current house and I can tell you that Pella's customer service is the worst I've come across in a long time. THe installation was done through the local Pella rep and was shoddy. Pella national refused to help in any of this. It also took me over a year to get service on a broken pane. The local (KC Pella/ Falls Church VA) never responded to repeated inquiries about how to obtain a replacement/repair and the National refused to do anything other than relay us back to the local office.

ronnatalie we had better luck with our local pella store. we used it for the las house we built.
I think that the Pella's contractor line (called Proline or 450) is a lot nicer than the Andersen contractor series (200) We were happy with the alumninum clad exterior, wood interior and they look strong. Pella also have the Architect series and the designer series.For this home we are getting pella and Anderson bids and We will go with the lower price one because in the end the both are the best you can get.

We went with the Andersen 400 (casements, sliders and fixed pane). Because of the grid design we wanted, we had to do the 400's, especially in the custom sized windows.

We have had good customer service (large custom arch window arrived with loose grids and they replaced/installed the entire window and also sent out some defective slider window hardware.)

Overall we have been happy with our window choice. In MN we have some extreme temperatures and they have performed well.

One tip, initially we got a bid from Home Depot, but the wait time on them was quite long. We took the HD bid to our local lumber yard where they matched the price and the windows came in sooner. My understanding is that HD sends their orders into a central office and they are held there until they get enough orders for a volume discount. The local lumber yard order went directly in to Andersen. Something to think about if you are on a tight time frame.

Also, if you sign up at the Andersen web site they will send you offers for rebates and incentives. Unfortunately our windows were received just after the offer ended so we couldn't take advantage of it. But you might want to check it out.

Jill

We have about 8 large crank-out windows. I'm very concerned about the quality of the hardware and the tightness and longevity of the seals.

Anyone have experience with Anderson 200 or 400 crank-outs?

My parents have had Andersen 400 series casement windows (crank out) for 10+ years and my father swears by their quality.

We also went with the Andersen 400 Woodwright Series and LOVE them. They are very easy to open and close and look great. We went with divided lights on the front of the house and the doors and interior removable grilles on all the others. It cost more per window but really dresses up the front of the house - Definately check Home Depot - we didn't get ours from there but probably should have - if you get pricing make sure you tell them to send to the bid room - you will get at least another 10% off. A bit of info they don't offer up unless you ask.. (only note - because we just ordered our interior doors from them) be prepared to do some of the leg work yourself to check and make sure everythign is correct.

Good Luck!!!

We have the 400 series tilt wash. Link to pics below...

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Picasa Albums

My house has A400 windows and doors. Many of the windows are casement, and they are a high quality product - frame, glass and hardware. I have some double hung windows too and they work well.

I went with the Anderson A400 line mostly for the frictionless 3 point locking patio doors which are I really like (I have 6 of these in the house). No more worn out rubber seals on the thresholds! Very easy to open and close - very tight seals all the way around.

I will say little, for their products speak for themselves... if you can afford them.

http://www.marvin.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: Marvin Windows and Doors

We went to a Marvin booth at a local home show. They wouldn't give us the time of day, literally ignoring us. I guess we didn't have the smell of money.

No other vendor treated us like that. We talked to at least a couple of dozen regarding their products without issue, some extensively, including Anderson. They were very nice and very professional. We will likely go with them.

I couldn't find pricing on the Marvin web site...must cost more than Anderson which we all already know is good quality so why waste time with Marvin?