Andersen's Renewal is made with "Fibrex" a sawdust and PVC composite material.

There are two Andersen 400 series double-hungs: the Tilt-Wash and the Woodwright. They both have PVC-clad wood frames but the Tilt-Wash has a special paint on the wood sash and a PVC compression jamb and the Woodwright has a Fibrex wrapped wood sash and a wood "hidden" jamb.

I would consider the Woodwright to be superior to any other Andersen non-architectural series model and any other Pella roll-form aluminum-clad model.

You need to get someone to advise you will put your interests above theirs. I would at least start with another Andersen dealer.

Thanks Mightyanvil. I am going to visit a couple showrooms and see what I can learn before committing. I am really confused by the "sales" talk I got about needing Hp smart sun windows.

You should also look at Marvin's Infinity fiberglass windows.

I will! Just found out there are two dealers in my area. Thanks for the suggestion. Do you prefer their windows over Andersen or Pella?

I asked the same sales guy today about Woodwright windows and he gave me the long story about having to paint or stain them because they're wood and not terratone.

The only wood showing on the Woodwright is on the interior where paint or stain is fine. I don't know what you mean by "terratone". What model are you comparing it to?

You should try to avoid asking for opinions about brands without specifying the models; it's just a waste of your time and invites kneejerk irrelevant responses like you are getting from the salesman.

The terratone he's pushing does not have to be painted which is his selling line apparently.

There is no model number on the quote. I believe he said these are being made specially for this company, and is different from the 400 series. Of course he claims it's superior!

Here is a link that might be useful: Andersen

Okay, so I called the same salesman and asked for a model number and he said it is called "Renewal by Andersen" which is custom made, and is "superior" to the 400 series. Whatever.

Then I called the Marvin dealer and they will send someone out. At least I will be able to see other options. Thanks again.

Mari

By considering the Renewal by Andersen window you have left the normal world of windows and entered the world of REPLACEMENT WINDOWS. They are sold by an entirely different kind of sales force that uses all of the tricks and exaggerations typical of home improvement sales people. I would not trust anything they told me.

Andersen's normal windows are sold for replacement and I would consider them for a superior comparison.

I just purchased Andersen Woodwright Insert windows - installation starts today. So I've been through all the decisions. These are the "400 Series" - I thought that Renewal by Andersen windows were the lesser "200 Series" - but I'm not sure. I assume that you are looking at "insert" replacement windows and not sash replacements nor new construction windows.

I looked at Pella, Marvin, Harvey (a regional brand?), and Andersen - I didn't look at Renewal by Andersen because I just didn't want to deal with any pushy, franchise salesperson. For looks, build-quality it came down to this for me - Marvin, Andersen, Pella, and then Harvey. Harvey was a lot cheaper but I just didn't like the look/quality. I didn't get a price from Pella - seemed like they wanted to send a sales person to the house. Marvin - of course - turned out to be the most expensive - about $150/window more than Andersen. I just couldn't justify the extra expense for something I only liked marginally better. But you should compare prices since they vary by size and options.

I would start by going to a good window/door distributor - who should have sample units on display. You can price installation separately.

Andersen "Sun" glass is just darker - lets in less light as far as I know. "Terratone" is just a color - brown. TruScene is just a more transparent screen - nice but expensive - for me it was about $50/window.

Hope that helps!