We have Marvin Ultimate dbl-hung, casement and french doors, dbl pane, Low-E II, Argon. We stained the interior using supposedly environemtnally friendly stain. They were installed 2 years ago. No leaks, no "sweating", no cold draft in winter and keep us relatively cool in the summer and warm in the winter. No problems so far (knock on wood) and hope to remain so for the next 20 years. The Marvin units replaced cheap "construction" grade Aluminum windows that leaked, sweat and mildewed, were drafty and had no Low-E coating.

We wanted Aluminimum clad exterior and wood interior and went to see Pella, Anderson, Milgard and Marvin Integrity in showrooms. We picked Marvin because of its fine choice of wood grain and fine woodwork.

It pays to see the windows in person so you can pick over all the details that really matter to you.

We actually just went through this process as we are building a new home in New Jersey. We currently live in a 1911 colonial and after dealing with the maintenance of the original wood windows, there was no way that my husband wasn't going to get maintenance free windows for our new house. Just to give you an idea of how long we researched windows, we got our first estimate in January and didn't order the windows until the end of June. We visited many different showrooms and spoke with many different reps. We also spoke with people we know who have each type of window and did research with consumer reports, etc. Our 40 Marvin Ultimate Clad Double Hung windows with 1 1/8" SDL grills and our 2 sets of french doors with transoms in the upgraded wineberry color just arrived on Thursday and they are GORGEOUS.

We were also comparing the Marvin Clad, the Pella Architect Series and the Anderson Woodwright. Every response we heard and all of the research said that the Anderson and the Pella were comparable in price, so that wasn't an issue, but they said that based on construction they wouldn't choose Anderson. We also ruled out Anderson because if you pressed on the center of the glass window, it really gave and felt really flimsy, the others felt substantially stronger. So that narrowed it down to Pella and Marvin. Next we looked at the cross sections of each window. The exterior of the Pella has wood that is wrapped in the cladding material and there is a space where water could easily get behind it and rot the wood. The exterior of the Marvin is 100% cladding, no wood, so you never have to worry about rot. That was the deciding factor for us, next to not having a significant price difference.

We were 100% leaning toward Pella because our cousin works for the main factory and we were getting a 30% discount (FYI - there is a 100% mark-up on windows). So we got the best possible quote from Pella (verified by our cousin), which came to $35,000 and change, for a standard color, standard hardward, and the smaller grills. We got our Marvins in the upgraded color with the larger grills size for $39,000.

A few things that we learned regarding pricing from the process is that for both Marvin and Pella, selecting a non-standard finish (we love oil-rubbed bronze) for the hardware adds thousands of $$$$ to the price, while upgrading the color and grill size really doesn't add that significantly to the cost. So we chose to get the standard white hardware figuring it will be covered by window treatments and it will blend in because we are painting the interior of the windows glossy white (we ordered the windows pre-primed).

If the cost is prohibitive for the Marvin Clad, you should look into Marvin's Integrity series. The principles are basically the same except the exterior cladding material is made from a different material and you can't customize the windows (two choices of hardware colors, and only a few choices of exterior colors). Also if you have obscure shapes and sizes you might have to mix and match the windows with Marvin Ultimates. The other difference with the Intergrity is that the hardware to get the windows to tilt out is recessed in the top ledge next to the sash lock, where with the Ultimates it's part of the sash lock. If we couldn't have afforded the Ultimates we were going to definitely go with the Integrity over Pella.

Don't get me wrong, Pella is a great window, but for the $$$ Marvin just had more advantages. Pella can easily such you in because they have a lot more cosmetic features that Marvin doesn't (e.g., vivid view screens (you can't tell there is a screen on the window) and those blinds in between the window panes), but I think that hands down Marvin is better quality and construction.

I hope the novel that I've just written helps. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me.

I'd go with a Marvin any kind of window. We just happen to have the Infinity fiberglass, and they're great. I agree with jersey jamie, and no maintenance is the first thing I looked for. All my research on the web indicatd that Marvin stood behind their windows even in bad times, so that's why I went with them. Also, we live near their distribution center, and they have a "learning center" where their installers are trained. Ours did a fabulous job.