We are building a new home in Virginia as well, more in the Central Va area so there are lots of different vendors to choose from. We had originally planned to use the Marvin Integrity series line, b/c we liked the wood interior and the Ultrex - seems like some kind of fiberglass - exterior. In the end, we decided that we liked the aluminum clad exterior better. We went with Lincoln windows, just installed last week and they are great. They were more cost efficient than Marvin's top of the line, had comparable energy efficiency and style. I do think we had to compromise on some of the sizes of the window b/c our plans spec'd Marvin - like an inch here or there taller or wider. You'd never know.
My husband is a carpenter and we are building our house with through the company he works for with the best materials we can afford. We have 40 windows in our house and our bill was around $16,000 dollars. Ours are a mix of casement and double hung - and I must say, Marvin's casements are nicer in that you can swing them in to clean.
Our windows are warrantied through the manufacture - I'd have to read through our contract again but I doubt there is much our builder would do if they failed. Unless they were improperly installed.
My advice would be to go with the window company that is interested in helping you buy the windows YOU want, there are several stores in our area that sell all of the windows we considered, not just one brand. I really felt like they helped us to determine which brand fit all of our needs. there was a good article in fine homebuilding on choosing windows - I'll see if I can find a link.

thank you so much for responding - I feel like my head is a tornado - so many decisions!!! intheville, if you could find that link I'd love to have it.

All our windows are stock sizes, casement, awning, and fixed, so now we've narrowed it down (haha!) to the following wood clad windows - and of course all the cladding materials are different:

pella pro-line, marvin ultimate or integrity, andersen 400, kolbe ultra, milguard wood clad fiberglass, jeld-wen.

porchguy, I sure wish I had your disposition!

I just added Lincoln to the list...

I'm own my own, no contractor and have been looking at Golden windows. Don't seem to read about them anywhere, but have a friend that loves them. Also, they do better with solar heating in winter as they are made in Canada. I want wood windows that will look most authentic in my old dutch colonial. Anyone out there use Golden?

I hate to be the rain on the parade but Andersen double hung sashes are not clad on the exterior.... they are painted.

ibwindow-

You may be right on Andersons new construction windows, but I know that the renewals by anderson (replacements) have a fusion coating attached to thier fibrex composite material (similar to a vinyl look). Supposedly this fusion coating bonds to the fibrex and will not allow any water etc., to get between the outer coating and the material underneath it, so rotting will not occur. His sales pitch was on clad windows whether aluminum or vinyl, will eventually sperate and moisture will get in-between the two layers and potentially rot.

I did find out that Anderson has certain windows for new construction and certain windows for replacement. I can't speak for new construction, but this is what I was told regarding the replacements.

Now we're thinking fiberglass, interior as well as exterior. The only US companies I can find for casements are Milgard and Marvin. How come the energy ratings are so hard to find/compare????

The Canadian companies are quite forthcoming in this regard. Does anyone have experience with them - I'd like to know how they compare in cost before I spend much time investigating. We're coming down to the crunch. Since I live in Va (with its supposedly temperate climate), is it worth thinking about Canadian? I imagine the shipping alone might be prohibitive.

I oersonally think Fiberglass is the WAY TO GO. I ahave been in theconstructon business for 15 years, and I have seen, sold, installed, and dealt with MANY window products. I like the characteristics of the fiberglass window. they are thermally efficient b/c they do not conduct heat or cold energy. it is the TOP OF THE LINE in window materials. Remember that any window sales person is going to "sell you"on thier brand, the one that makes them money. Consider this, why are Columns now made from fiberglass instead of wood? Why does the Professional contractor who uses a ladder daily, have a fiberglass ladder strapped to his truck? why are over 90% of boat hulls made of fiberglass? the list goes on & on. I was able to find you the link for the marvin "Integrity" performance specs, follow the link and then click on "ADM - Product performance" then go to page 1.6 of that PDF document. thats a nice site! at the home screen, if you watch the screens scroll, it will flash a "learn about the tax credit" screen that comes up. if you click it, it will tell you which of your windows will qualify for he energy tax credit for 2009. If I find the info on Millguard, will also post it here. It seems there are several Marvin/Integrity dealers in your area to choose from. :)~

Here is a link that might be useful: Integrity Windows Ratings

Here is also a link to the Milgard tech specs and ratings. I would offer one caution on the millgard window however, from looking at their drawings on their tech website and then comparing to the Integrity brand, if your goal is to have a wood interior, it appears that the milgard people glue a paper thin wood veneer to the fiberglass, and the Integrity folks use an actual wood interior that is locked into the fiberglass & looks about 3/4 inch thick. Speaks to quality in manufacturing in my eyes. I would definitely ask either company for a corner cut section so I could see what I am getting for my money. Hope the info helps; let us know what you decide to do. JH :)~

Here is a link that might be useful: MilGard Window Ratings

Ava,
Another wood window you cannot go wrong with is Lepage. You can find them locally at American Cedar & Millwork.

Here is a link that might be useful: American Cedar & Millwork

Price I've been quoted for Golden double hung 6/1 wood is around 450 for new window, less than Marvin more than Lowes brands. I do like the way they look in showroom. No matter where I post can't seem to connect with anyone that has used Golden. Does anyone know where the big US companies actually manufacture their windows?

What big US companies do you have in mind?

Pella manufactures most of their windows in Pella Iowa, and a few outlaying facilities but all are made in the United States. Marvin makes the bulk of their windows in Minnesota, as does Andersen

I like the Monarch window as it had the easiest opening operation for a wood-clad. It is rather inexpensive to boot.

Milgard makes a good wood-clad and fiberglass window and they're backed by the lifetime warranty which (trust me) is probably the best in the industry - parts and labor for life.

However, if you have the budget for it I would most definitely look into the Marvin line as they make an incredible wood window but you will defintely pay for it. If you don't have a bunch of odd sizes you can take a look at Marvin's Integrity line which is their builder series and comparable to the Milgard Wood Clad in terms of price but made by Marvin. You can get pricing on the Milgard windows here: www.thewindowstore.com and compare them to whatever you get for the Marvin / Integrity series. I couldn't find pricing for those online. Pella is just a great marketing company. I've been told their windows aren't all that. Aside from Marvin and Milgard you should take a look at Jeld-Wen too. These are all big and reputable companies that aren't going anywhere. I think you'll be happy with any of them. It really just depends on what you want to spend.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Milgard Pricing

Noone has mentioned Sun windows. We are undertaking a new build in TN and several builders here have recommended Sun. They have dealt with them in the past and all were very pleased with them. Any minor problems were quickly resolved by the service rep. Apparently, since they are manufactured in KY, the service was excellent for this area and cost was lower since they are local. Does anyone have any experience with this product?

I am a Sun and Hurd distributor in PA. We ship to Virginia. Bang for the buck, you can not beat Sun. But, we sell over a million in Hurd each year and have for 8 years.
www.hurdreplacementparts.com
we are also renowned for our mahogany doors
www.millworkforless.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Millworkforless

greetings all. hope you haven't given up on this link. i, too, and building a new house -- in southern maryland. we recently sent out bid requests to eagle, marvin, weather shield, loewen and pella. all of them scare me: pella because of the old class action lawsuits; marvin because the salesperson was a jerk and the windows in the showroom didn't blow me away; loewen because they are supposed to be so expensive (went to the showroom and they were beautiful, but heavy); weather shield because I don't know that much about them (a prospective contractor recommended them, so I added them to the list) and eagle because they also reportedly are quite heavy, and many people say andersen windows won't hold up. I tried and tried and tried to do price comparisons on new windows, which would at least tell me if Loewen, Marvin and Eagle are too expensive for my budget, but apparently there is a secret handshake you have to know to get prices from the window companies. The postings I have seen on this forum have me leaning towards Eagles; my architect, who has led me down so many stay paths that he no longer has any credibility with me, wants me to go with Loewen (naturally -- the most expensive!) Another prospective builder loves Pella -- came to our first meeting in a Pella sweat shirt (I thought the architect was going to gag -- definitely worth the price of admission! I wish he had!) I hardly know where to begin anymore. I know it is my decision, and I am happy to make it. But isn't there anyway to compare these products? I suppose after the prices come in, I'll have a lot more information to go on. But qualitatively, can anyone out there stack these windows up for me? Which are the best value for the money? If I buy eagle instead of loewen, will I or anyone ever know the difference? Is weather shield really the best value for the dollar? Are Marvins really that much better than Pellas? Anyone?