Tacky. I would have trimmed the J molding.

1. The Bainbridge is the narrowest of their windows and the Soft-Lite Pro is also narrow. 2. Not necessarily. Soft-Lite is a well engineered window so it, with the optional meeting rail reinforcement, should be fine but some other narrow windows will not fare as well. 3. Typically, replacement windows, as a result of their thicker glass and more airtight insulation, will perform better. There are applications where the existing combination (usually with a storm window) might out perform the new double pane IGU window but not if you have single pane window without a storm. a. and b. Impossible to say without knowing exactly what type of window you have now. If you have single pane, both will outperform your existing windows. If you have double pane, it is very likely that your new windows will still outperform and be more sound resistant than your existing windows. 4. 0.09 is not drafty by any means and will probably be a huge improvement over your existing.

Updating this thread for others considering aluminum frames: We did install the Milgard aluminum windows. They are really neat looking! My one regret is that there are a few windows where the old had a fixed pane and a casement. I ordered double casements instead, and probably should have stayed with the original layout. This because the double casements have a lot more 'frame' showing than we originally had. A few other things: 1.) We had some problems making casements work in some bedroom locations - due to emergency egress requirements. Basically a Milgard casement must be 30" wide for egress. Narrower and it won't meet code - even though the hinges are on the jamb. Wider and it becomes too heavy to work right. So we had to use sliders instead. 2.) Energy-wise, Milgard offers 'thermally broken' aluminum frames, but, strangely, not in California. I did order our windows with Milgards "Suncoat Max" upgrade though. It is interesting to place ones hand on the frame and then place it on the glass. Big difference in temperature. However, combined with other things in the construction (e.g., IB Systems membrane roof, and Techshield radiant barrier decking), the house is staying suprisingly cool during the current heat wave. (Got up to 100° yesterday.) And the insulation and drywall have yet to be installed! So in our case the aluminum frames don't seem to be a big problem. But if one were to insist on thermally broken aluminum, then Fleetwood seems to be a better way to go. (FWIW, I gave the local Milgard area rep a hard time about not being able to order thermally broken in California. Seems silly that you can order them in other states, but not here.) 3.) Milgard delivery was *fast*. Like less than two weeks from order to delivery. 4.) A nit: Our frames are dark bronze color, almost black. For some reason the screws mounting the casement lock handles are bright colored. Yet other screws, such as the ones holding the screens, are black. I need to call Milgard to see if they can provide some black screws to make the bright ones 'disappear'. 5.) For the master bath, I ordered reeded obscure glass, on the thought that it kinda carried the theme of the reeded obscure glass in the sidelight of my front door. (Of course a workman accidently broke the original 1950s sidelight a couple weeks ago, so now I get to match the sidelight with the master bath instead...)

In regards to your question and comparison of the two homes I woul dlike to make a comment. Wood is the best insulator known o man, hence the effiency of a properly built log home that being said I would venture to say the difference you felt in the 2 houses was due to installation methods were the vinyl winodws professionally installed, and possibly the wood replacement windows installed by a homeowner who thought they knew what they were doing and did not get them istalled or insulated properly. meeting rails should be reinforced to provide some rigidity because vinyl by definition is a flexible product and will bow and give over time if not reinforced. There are some vinyl companies out there that do provide a triple pane but My experience with them over time is they do cause the bottom rail to sag, A triple pane while it would be nice is not really needed. the trick is to compare the u-rating of the windows you are considering, do not go by the center glass rating, ask for the whole window rating, the lower the number the better the insulating value. A good range window should be .32 to .35 for the northeast. A Pella can get their windows o the .23 to .25 in the designer series with a triple pane but are very pricy as they offer options between the glass like shades and privacy panels. Spacers an aluminum spacer will ransfer the cold if it is unprotected by the frame so if using between the grilles in a window a dark colored foam is preferable to give a more authnetic divided light look in the edge of the windows aluminum is th emost cost efective and easiest way to go becuase the frame material of the window will insulae the aluminum. An Inert gas is still a viable insulator, if you want proof look at the U-values again you can go to http://www.nfrc.org/ and check the ratings for any company that is part of the National Fenestration Council. Windows are not a place to cut corners on price. as they can cause he largest amount of nergy loss in your house. As an aside I do not like vinyl because a) as a plastic it require petrolium for the manufacture process and with the price of oil going sky high conserve as much as you can, and b) it outgasses leaking harmful vapors into the atmosphere and your home, which is why vinyl is not recommended for greenhouses Here is a link that might be useful: national fnesstration cocil webpage