Sounds to me like your picking windows based on colors. Milguard is so-so. Black heat absorption and so-so window do not a happy window combo make. 2 cents is all I got :)

Essence is brand new to the market and just rolling out. That is why you are getting sketchy information on it.

Well, yes, I admit the color is important. But I live where we are lucky to get 2 weeks of hot weather if that, so heat is not much of a concern. Low maintenance led us toward fiberglass.

I thought that Essence was new, but I wasn't sure how new. That's why I thought it was odd that he said the fir "wasn't available any more."

We could look into the thermal break aluminum and get an ever sleeker look, but I'm assuming that would cost even more and we'd have to re-do the energy (heat loss) calculations for the house.

I guess I was trying to make sure we stayed middle of the road on window costs. We never considered vinyl, never wanted white windows, but also don't want to end up painting wood. We've done the "old house" thing for the last 25 years, and would like to leave that behind!

Lori, I will try to take some pics of our windows tomorrow. Our new house sounds like a twin of yours. Red siding, corrugated steel, steel beams, wood and concrete floors...

I love the black on black windows. Like you I wasn't able to find any locally to look at, so I took a chance and just ordered them. Now that they're in I wouldn't have it any other way. Beautiful windows inside and out.

Once you decide on windows, have you considered ordering just one window to make sure they're what you want before ordering the whole houseful? That way, if you aren't pleased, you won't be out nearly as much $$$. Maybe you could get a bathroom window which might be small and isolated from the other windows. If you changed your mind and ordered different windows for the rest of the house, perhaps it wouldn't be a big deal if the bathroom window didn't match.

Kendog, that is an interesting suggestion. We could do that and just store a small window til we needed it. I'll consider that!

CWirick, saw your pix on the other thread, thanks so much. I'm 99% convinced on the black interior after seeing them in the showroom. the Essence had nice fir, but too many pieces of it, looked a little chunkier than was I was envisioning.

The windows in the showroom (this was adjacent to the factory) had perfectly flat mitered corners, with none of the issues of the one I saw last week. Sales person did point out that the one I saw was a sample that travels to home shows, etc. and assured me that I should expect the miters to be perfectly flat. So I hope that is the case. Our contractor is pretty picky, I think, so they'll have to pass inspection before getting installed.

Hello, I'm looking for black on black windows for our 1909 farmhouse (replacing the original single pane windows). My husband and I are interested in fiberglass because of the low maintenance and also we live in Boulder, CO where temps are hot and cold. We are doing the modern farmhouse look as well. Please share your experience with your windows and where you got them!!

Well, they've been through one winter and we do like them so far. Some are fixed, a couple are awnings, several are casements. We went through a local window place that sells many brands. We did need to specify the flat trim (a contemporary look) and I think there was a small up charge to make the interior piece that separates the windows black instead of silver. Well worth it! I wish I knew the correct terminology...

Forgot to say we also had to specify all the low-e coatings we wanted. In a lot of your reading, you'll find that people do not want any solar heat gain as they are in cooling dominant climates-- not the case for us! So we have a different coating on the south side and it does make a difference.

I think you were referring to the spacer in the IG unit. Standard is silver with options for black etc.

Thanks Lori - did you go with the Milguard Ultra, Milguard Essence or the Marvin Integrity?