I bought the PElla wood vinyl-clad. I've had these before for at least 6 years, and was satisfied with them. There are only a few cosmetic differences between Pellla's highest series (Architect?) and the next one down (which is also wood vinyl clad), but the cost difference can be substantial. I recently bought some new Pella wood vinyl-clad from Lowes. Lowes carries the next one down from the top, and is cheaper than a regular Pella store. also, if you can get a stock size, that will be cheaper still.

We're in the process of building and just had our Marvin Ultimate casements installed. They are gorgeous. The Eagle quote we received was around $4000 less than the Marvin. If I recall correctly, most of the price difference was in the french doors (four pairs with sidelights, one pair without). The window prices were pretty comparable. What swayed us to the Marvins was the better exterior finish and the fact that the Marvin dealer in our area was VERY helpful. The Eagle dealer -- uh, not so much.

sandyponder, thanks for the details. That is a good deal, to be *sure*! I went to the local Sierra Pacific rep on Wednesday; he took all the specs and told me he'd e-mail me with a quote for pretty much what you got except brown on the outside. He has never written me back. Maybe time to call him. Where do you find auctions that have those kinds of things??? Do you go to them often? People find the most amazing things at auctions. I can tell you that reclaimed probably old-growth DF flooring goes for *quite reasonable* prices out here...no more than any other wood, and less than some...we're in the PNW, though. Now that you've told me the price, I'm going to bug the SP guy...maybe he thought I wasn't serious or was just blowing me since we're just buying one door? I don't know...but that's at least $1K less than other similar doors. Hard to resist. If I can just get him to offer it to me LOL

Thanks, windowsonwashington. And to the novice, I've done some further digging and I now feel dumb about the amount I was about to pay for windows. I did not realize the mark-up until I priced the Ultimate and Integrity product without the installation (Do this first if you can before you invite anyone into your house. I did not). On average, I was being charged $1700 per window for window and install of the Marvins (Integrity, Infinity and Clad) and about $1,050 per Inline window installed. This seems a lot given that only a few were full frame replacement. Worse, only one of the six quote did a decent job explaining the installation process. A word of advise to folks window shopping, be discipline, methodical, analytical and do not treat the process as something to get done immediately (though I understand why you would feel this way). If you do, you likely will be taken advantage of. Do yourself a favor and give yourself the time to work through the process. Also, there's lot of misinformation out there about the superiority and inferiority of one product vis a vis another. Caveat emptor certainly applies for a purchase this costly. Another thing, read the warranty before you sign. By doing this, I was able to rule out the Infinity product, much as I liked the aesthetic of the casement. I'm sure there's more to come.