Thank you very much for your input. lzerac -- your beam sounds beautiful, as do the bamboo sills. Really nice details! virgilcarter -- our house probably is best described as transitional. We have tried to stay true to the original Concept (is that the Parti?) but there's always been a bit of tension between the architect (who leans modern) and the family (which leans traditional). We like the lines of primitive/Shaker but not peeling paint, and "utilitarian" is a good word to describe the "style" (or lack thereof). dadereni -- thanks, we might go this direction with natural/stained windows and painted trim. It might look odd where we have transoms, so we will work with the architect to try to be coherent and consistent. The manufacturer for most of the windows is Loewen, we have a few Marvin in-swings. I wanted to say again how much I appreciate the opinions. We are on the hourly part with the architect so it's really wonderful for us to be able to have a sense of whether or not we're way off base before we go back to the architect for more. It's been a great collaboration thus far, just not inexpensive. So . . . THANK YOU!!!!

Thanks, folks! I would love to do reclaimed floors. Unfortunately, they have been impossible to find here in the right size, and having them brought in from elsewhere would completely blow the budget at this point. We tried very hard to save the kitchen flooring so we could at least use part of it, but it was in horrible shape. I am going to keep my eyes open and see if I find anything for reclaimed wood. The floors were not stained when we refinished them, and they have never been waxed. (Except if kittens sliding across it on dropcloths count! When we were doing some plaster repair, Oliver and his brother, Toby, would jump from the stairs and slide across the room.) So I guess it could be either Douglas or Southern yellow pine. Does the fact the house is in Massachusetts make a difference? We got samples of Mercier pre-finished hardwood flooring, and the closest matches were in their honey finish: white ash, then white oak, then maybe red oak, then hard maple (for color, not at all a match for graining.) So unless something comes up for reclaimed flooring in the next two weeks, we will be using the white ash. Thanks again, Emmie

Way off topic, but what the heck. Puts a bit of a different spin on the subject: January 7, 2013 Marvin Windows & Doors and Loewen usually battle for sales with homeowners, architects and builders, but this week, employees of the neighboring window and door makers will face off in an international border battle for bragging rights on the hockey rink. About 90 miles separate Warroad, Minn.,"home of Marvin" and Steinbach, Manitoba "home of Loewen". A group of Loewen employees will make the trip south on Saturday, Jan. 12, to help inaugurate WarroadâÂÂs newly remodeled Olympic Arena. The game begins at 4:30 p.m. There is no charge for admission to the game, but free-will donations will be accepted to raise funds for new tables and seating in the arena lobby. Concession sales at the event also will go toward lobby furnishings, and there will be a raffle of VIP hockey gear and other items. âÂÂWeâÂÂre happy to invite our friends from Loewen to Warroad, to show them how we play hockey in Minnesota,â says Paul Marvin, Marvin's director of materials. âÂÂAll kidding aside, these are two great companies that share a Northern heritage and a love of winter sports that crosses national borders. WeâÂÂll have players from just about every department, and every age range." Refereeing the game will be Warroad native, NHL All-Star and 1980 Olympic gold medal âÂÂMiracle on Iceâ team member Dave Christian. Despite being a Warroad native, Christian is uniquely suited to referee the game without favoritism, as he is also quality manager of Cardinal Glass in Fargo, N.D., which produces insulating glass for both Marvin and Loewen. Another local legend, Marvin plant manager and 40-year employee Ron Lund, has signed on to manage and coach the Warroad squad. âÂÂIt will be a fun event to raise money for a worthy cause "and one team will go home with some friendly bragging rights,â Marvin says, adding that there are already plans for a rematch in March on LoewenâÂÂs turf. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.windowanddoor.com/news-item/noteworthy/marvin-and-loewen-face-hockey-match This post was edited by oberon on Sat, Jan 18, 14 at 20:03

I have worked with Marvin for several years and am very familiar with their products, so I hope I can offer some helpful info. Marvin's aluminum cladding is superior to others. It's extruded rather than roll form -- it's much thicker than the competition. Think of the thickness of a quarter vs. the thickness of a soda can. Marvin also uses a DuPont Kynar finish on its aluminum, which is extremely durable -- you should really have no problems with pitting. I don't know why someone told you that. If you were talking about the very old, 1960s style bare aluminum windows, then I could see pitting develop, but not with a finished aluminum surface. The previous posters are also correct about the difference between Ultrex and Fibrex. Ultrex is a pultruded fiberglass that's stronger than steel and also has a superior finish that's 3 times thicker than the finish on most competing composite products. Since Ultrex is made of glass fibers, it doesn't expand or contract with heat or cold, so the odds are better that the seal between the glass and frame will remain intact. One thing to clarify: Ultrex fiberglass is offered in Marvin's Integrity and Infinity lines of windows. The Marvin brand window is a wood window that comes either as all-wood or wood with aluminum clad exterior. Integrity (which is probably what you're considering) is available either in all-Ultrex or Wood-Ultrex, with fiberglass on the outside and wood on the interior. Over the last few years, I have replaced most of the windows in my house (in Minnesota) with both Marvin wood windows and all-Ultrex Integrity windows. I've been extremely happy with the performance of both.