After several attempts to find the right words, I am going to suggest a few questions you might ask yourself and/or your builder...

1. What style of window is he planning to build?
1a. What wood is he planning to use for the sash and frame?
2. If double or single hungs, how is he planning to keep the window up when it is open? If they are other than double or single hung, then where is the hardware coming from?
3. Where are the IGU's (dual pane) glass inserts coming from? Are they going to have a LowE coating or argon fill?
What is the spacer system used in the IGU?
4. Warranty on the window?
5. Warranty on the IGU?
6. How is he planning to weatherstrip the units?
7. Will they meet energy code? If he says yes, then ask if he has appropriate test data...this one can vary a good bit depending on where you are building.

I find myself very skeptical of his claim unless he doesn't value his time at all. Good woodworkers can make windows, and they can make very nice windows, but the idea of making very nice custom windows and claiming he can save you big money over the window company just doesn't feel right to me. The numbers just don't seem to add up. Custom windows can be very expensive - those from private window crafters can be astronomical.

As a final question, I might ask him why he wants to make them versus buying them...If he replies "because he wants to save you money" I would probably increase my skepticism...

And ultimately, maybe he really is a great guy with lots of time on his hands and a desire to save you money and build you the best window in the world at the same time...but I would proceed very carefully if he were my builder.

And, finally, he may simply really enjoy that sort of woodworking and it fits in with something he likes to do...as I consider the option, unless I saw and examined and operated windows that he had built and that had been around for a few years, I wouldn't personally consider it.

One more question to ask, what kind of warranty can he offer? Most window manufacturers have a good warranty on seal failure,(on IG units), leaking, etc. Will he be around in 9 years to stand behind his product?

Oh man, glad I asked!!! Maybe we'll just stick with the Jeld-wen. We've heard they are good, plus we like that they are made here in Oregon.

Have either of you worked with Jeld-wen windows? Knowledge of various product lines?

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

We're in Oregon too, and just finished the excruciating process of choosing windows. (IMHO, the whole industry is organized to keep homeowners from being able to make good comparisons on quality and price of products and installations. We are so thankful for the experts and professionals who share knowledge on this and other forums, otherwise we would have been TOTALLY in the dark!)

Jeld-wen of course is a huge company, and they have a wide range of quality in their products. Some are not so good. Which types of windows and which Jeld-wen series would you be using?

Among all the wood window brands available here, we thought Loewen seemed the best in general. We are just soooo over-budget we finally decided we just couldn't pay the price, but suggest you take a look at them.

Your builder may charge you a lot more if you don't use a brand he's got a deal with. Altho as he wants to cut out Jeld-wen, I guess he doesn't have much of a deal with them. . .

We are looking at the Custom (formerly Pozzi) line in either fir or red alder. They seem much more substantial than their other lines. Our builder did not steer us toward any particular manufacturer.

I've been hearing about the Loewen, so it must time to check them out. We have budget issues, too. What did you end up using?

Thanks!

I would also strongly recommend against the "home made" units. Too many issues to cover. Window companies spend millions a year in research and development to produce the best products possible.
I work for a window manufacturer, and will always recommend getting the best windows & doors you can afford. It's well worth the investment, and offers the best chance of recovering the cost when you refinance or sell. If you keep the property long term, the better units will save you money over that period of time, even if initial cost is higher than some other options.
All the big window companies offer custom sized products, so I would get as many quotes as possible. Don't limit yourself to any one contractor either. And always be sure to check references.
I don't work for Jeld-Wen or Loewen, but can assure you both put out a quality product. Check out websites, we all have them. Most have all the information, minus pricing, readily available to help you make an informed decision.

Pozzi definitely is one of Jeld-wen's top windows. I seem to remember that they had some problems before being purchased by Jeld-wen, but I'm hazy on that and I think it's supposed to be behind them now. (I'm only a customer, not an expert by any means, but DH and I did a LOT of research on windows last year.) I still would compare with Loewen; I seem to remember that Loewen's glazing system is better - SuperSpacer, double sealant using PIB, etc.- and a better sill construction. But you may be charged big $$ to switch to Loewen and maybe Pozzi has some features which are better so they are roughly equivalent. Also, of course appearance matters and the Pozzi look may be preferable for your house.

Mike35, you are one of the kinds of people I was trying to thank in my earlier post - someone with real experience and much better understanding of the issues than the simple consumer like me. I by no means want to discourage that kind of contribution here. But I must respectfully disagree that manufacturer's websites make readily available all the information for an informed decision. Naturally their sites are designed with the priority of selling their own products, presenting them favorably versus others. While they may not misrepresent the facts, they tend to stress pretty pictures and remain silent on facts which put their products at a disadvantage, even in the specification sections (and they have the right to do that). Manufacturers also strongly influence requirements of the "independent" reports by various organizations so they don't give complete details either. Salespeople often are not well trained - we got a lot of misinformation in showrooms (I assume out of ignorance). Out of all the decisions we made in our project, we found windows to be the most frustrating area to get really useful, accurate information, and of course manufacturers have the info and could make it more available if they chose.

Apologize for the long rant. . . Good luck with your house, piegirltoo!!

remakr,
No offense taken. I agree that too many manufacturers have terrible websites. Check out the big companies, like Andersen, Marvin, Pella, etc. They are pretty good. I use my company's website, and our competitors, to compare products all the time. I'd be leary of a company that doesn't have that information readily available. As for "influencing" the testing agencies, that is not accurate at all. Some will make claims based on "in-house" testing, but the quality companies use independent agencies whose job it is to put these units through the ringer. These results MUST be verifiable by other labs, as well as the competition.
Many showroom people need training. I do quite a bit of training every year for the new employees, and the old ones that need a "refresher". It's a challenge to get everyone fully informed. Some of them have no experience in this field. If you don't get the answers you need, request the factory rep's contact info. If you can't reach them before a sale, imagine the service!
No company will highlight the down side of their products, it's just not going to happen. But specification sections are terribly confusing for the average buyer. I'd avoid those as a source for information.
As a consumer, you are the life blood of these companies. They need to bust their butts and earn your business. Make them work for it. Whom ever works hardest, deserves your business.

Here is a link that might be useful: Andersen Windows & Doors

remakr,

Actually, Loewen and the higher-end Jeld-Wen manufacturers use the same glazing system...also the same one used by Andersen, Marvin, and many other window manufacturers. It does not include SuperSpacer.

As you and Mike were discussing, web sites are primarily advertising and often give little useful information. This is unfortunate, but consider that as a general rule it is the marketing folks rather than product development or QA folks that "own" the website and whatever literature that the company distributes.

Concerning independent lab results, well statistics can often be interpreted from different angles...it doesn't make them wrong, but it can be misleading without ever saying anything incorrect.

Case in point...The folks at EdgeTech who make SuperSpacer have an absolutely amazing marketing department. They have quite literally introduced the concept of spacers to the general populace and in so doing have made many people believe that their product is so inherently superior to anything else on the market that a consumer would be foolish to consider any other option. Yet, the major manufacturers haven't jumped on the superspacer bandwagon...one might ask why not if it is so obviously superior?

Well, one recent advertisement in an industry publication showed the results of a third-party P1 testing. The P1 test involves dropping samples of the IGU into a chamber with intense environmental conditions including heavy doses of UV light and 100% humidity levels. The idea is simply to see when the IGU fails.

Some folks like to equate one week in a P1 chamber to one year real life in the field, but again, that is primarily marketing folks. Product development folks prefer to think of one week ina P1 chamber as - one week ina P1 chamber.

So, the edgetech ad came out touting that superspacer did 80 weeks in the P1 without failure...it also showed the system that is used by Loewen, Andersen, Marvin, etc as "40+" weeks in the chamber. The ad didn't state exactly what "40+" meant though...in fact, the "other" system also stayed in the chamber for 80 weeks. Did the edgetech ad lie? Nope, it was quite truthful...was it misleading? Absolutely.

Understand that I am not in any way slamming superspacer or edgetech...I am just saying that they have an amazing marketing concept and that it works really really well with consumers who are doing in depth research on their new windows. Which is the whole point of marketing.

Which again takes us back to the websites that are also designed by marketing folks to draw consumers in...I do think that some companies are starting to understand the power of the internet and are making changes that affect how people are viewing their products, but I agree 100% that many web sites have little useful information.

And enough rambling...have a great day!

Hi again...

One thing I forgot to mention, superspacer doesn't use PIB.

Following is a relatively short excerpt from a post I did on different spacer systems (on a different site) sometime back. The post was taken from data that I did a specific report on sometime before that...so the original is really long! Which isn't a surprise for folks who have read my posts for the past few years! ;-)

SuperSpacer uses organics as the primary moisture and gas seal. It uses an acrylic as the primary structural seal. Unlike other systems, SS is "backwards" in that it places the structural seal inside of the moisture seal. Does this make SS an inferior product? Nope, not in the leastÂactually SS outperforms every other system on the market, including TPS, in energy performance numbers. Given that it is generally only about ½ a degree or so better than TPS and about 2 degrees better than the stainless systems...and this only within 2" of the IGU edge and only when comparing unsashed units. When placed in a sash, then the components of the sash may affect the overall edge temperature performance as well.

The hot melt systems used with the SuperSpacer system also have a very specific application temperature range of about 275º  325º. If the applied material is outside of this range, then the P1 chamber testing can be significantly reduced  to as little as two to three weeks to seal failure.