WB Marta, First a clarification - 5/16 and 7/16 refer to laminated glass which is two lites bonded either side of a plastic interlayer, those thicknesses are not the actual thickness of individual glass lites. 5/16" laminated glass consists of two 1/8" lites and 7/16" laminated has two 3/16" lites so that the 1/8" difference is really 1/16" x 2. Different glass thickness does not mean different frame thickness, it doesn't even affect the width of the reglet or glazing channel in the sash. Because the vast majority of glass that goes into the sash is going to be a dual pane package that will be the same width (or depth depending who you are talking to), even when different glass thicknesses are used by changing the width of the spacer between the two lites, the overall IG width doesn't change. In other words, if window company xyz has an overall glazing channel of 1" for their dual pane units, then that's what the IG unit has to fill. Depending on the window company the tolerance for the IGU width might be as little as 1/64". Available options might be two 1/8" lites with 3/4" space between, or could be one 1/18" plus one 1/4" with a 5/8" width spacer/airspace. Or if they were manufacturing an impact window with 5/16" laminated and 1/8" mono glass then they would use a 9/16" spacer to once again come out at 1", and so on. In your case Marta, you are being told 5/16 and 7/16 but are they selling a single laminated lite in a frame or are they going to be IG (dual pane) units? Either option is available in Florida, but IG is more common. This part is a bit more complicated..... The advantage of thicker laminated glass in an impact window has to do with wind resistance and potentially the DP rating. Simply thicker glass generally has higher load tolerance (wind and otherwise) than thinner glass, but thinner glass that has been heat strengthened or tempered has a higher wind loading tolerance than does non-heat treated (annealed) glass even when the annealed glass is thicker than the heat treated glass. Need to raise the DP of a given window? Temper the glass and it immediately goes up. What all that means is that if the 1/8" glass in the 5/16" laminated has been heat treated and the 3/16" glass in the 7/16" has not, then the thinner 5/16" heat treated laminated glass has substantially higher resistance to wind pressure and low level impacts than the non-heat treated 7/16" laminated product. However note low level impact resistance. There is no appreciable difference between 5/16 and 71/6 laminated glass when subjected to the 2x4 hurricane impact test requirement. Heat treating glass might protect from an errant baseball but the 2x4 doesn't even notice the difference, heat treated or not. The downside to heat treating is that it can introduce distortion in the glass, distortion that may even be unnoticeable in a single lite of glass can become quite noticeable when two lites are laminated together. I am not saying it WILL be distorted, far from it, just saying that the possibility is potentially greater. And most (but not all) distortion when it does occur is very mild and only visible at acute angles to the glass, often even affected by lighting conditions to see it. Marta as you move forward the first things that you need to find out are, a) monolithic lami or IG unit in the windows b) is the glass heat treated, either heat strengthened or tempered c) if an IG or dual pane, is the non-laminated (also called sacrificial) lite heat treated d) if monolithic lami what LowE coatings, if any, are used in the construction And all else being equal, monolithic can be okay and IG can be okay. Depending on location and application eat treated can be a good option, but non-heat treated might be just as effective. Coatings are a necessity, mono or IG, that one isn't negotiable.

PGT owns CGI but we are PGT distributors and I have never seen CGI products so I can't comment on what product line is superior. #1 I am a big fan of the PGT vinyl sliding glass door and a 3 panel three track would be nice for that opening. As far as the aluminum the 780 door is nicer than the 770 #2 yes if you add tint the solar heat gain goes up. In the case of the PVC door with the Energy Shield Max your solar heat gain goes from .19 to .24 when bronze tint is added. #3 Argon gas retention is very good with the spacers used today. #4 I have never heard of a higher risk of breakage with argon. PGT uses stainless steel screws but you need to upgrade to stainless rollers on the PVC door and the Aluminum 770, the 780 is standard with stainless rollers. #6 your factory order and NFRC sticker on the window will list the type of low-e and the performance numbers. I suppose you have to have faith on this one. Below is a link to a PGT vinyl 3 panel 3 track door in operation. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39410396/PVC%20Multipanel%20Sliding%20Door%20Video.MOV

I am pretty happy with the look and feel of the Aluminum Clad windows. The Integrity was bad for 2 major reasons. 1. They were unable to come close in many of the windows sizes (these windows are pretty tall, some are about 7'6") 2. The "tract" where the window moves up and down is tan or white only. I want a black on black window, the tan tract on the inside of the window is extremely unappealing. The Kolbe is able to do the black aluminum with the black painted wood interior. This house is a contemporary rancher and the exterior will be white board and batten hardiboard (cement block construction) with a dark grey metal roof. All the windows and doors must be impact for code in my area. The house will eventually see for about $800,000 (so I cannot spend a million dollars on windows) and the windows should be great quality, but not best quality. I also have 8 sets of french doors. Spending $100,000 on windows and doors does not make me feel great.

Whomever told you that your windows needed to be impact rated did you a disservice and made you a target for salespeople to push expensive impact windows on you. Impact windows only need to be used if you are not going to protect whatever windows you decide to install with approved hurricane protection. So, in a way, you might be viewed as an "easy mark" as someone stated earlier. Don't feel bad - I hear these stories every day. You would be surprised to hear the many folks that I speak with who say "I don't need shutters - my windows are hurricane proof!" There are no hurricane proof impact glass windows available to the general public. Simply stated, if you windows are made from glass - no matter what king - they're going to break - period. Click on the link below to see what happens to an impact window during a large missile impact event: Impact window test This leads to my next question of, "If you opt for the more expensive impact windows, how are you going to protect them from breaking?" You see, impact windows ARE resistant to hurricane wind load pressures but they AREN'T that good when it comes to being impact resistant. They are a "sacrificial" form of fenestration designed to break when impacted but remain in place to preserve the integrity of the building envelop and thus prevent pressurization of the structure during a tropical weather event. They were never intended to "survive" or "withstand" a hurricane impact. Quite the opposite is true. And as you can see from the video, once they are impacted they no longer pass air infiltration or water penetration standards and need to be replaced. Those impact windows weren't cheap when they were installed and they aren't going to be cheap to replace. So, no matter what windows you choose, protecting their investment cost only makes sense. Whether you decide on a high quality aluminum framed version with a 50+ year life expectancy or a pvc framed unit that only lasts for 25-30 years, protecting them is something to consider to avoid the expense, mess and inconvenience of having to replace them when they break. The bottom line is do your homework before you plunk down a ton of cash for new windows. There are dozens of types, styles, construction materials & methods, glazings and sealants used for manufacturing. If you're environmentally conscious you'll probably want to stay away from pvc because of their toxic hazards during the manufacture and disposal. However, if you're a "flipper", you'll most likely opt for the low cost of pvc and not worry about lifespan or toxic effects. If you're looking for something dimensionally stable, steel frames might be your choice. There's also aluminum, fiberglass and wood models to check out, as well. Once you decide if the up front expense or long term payoff is more important, your choices get easier. Good luck with your search.