We have Pello Windows. No wood here as weather is a factor. Too cold in the winter, and hot summers. Expansion not good. Son in law installed them, but price was way below what you quoted. Less that 1000.00 for three front ones. Double pane.

We have Marvin Wood/Clad, low-E 2, argon, dbl-hung, casement and french doors and they are five years old now. We are in central CA, south of SF Bay. I am not a pro, just a homeowner.

I have no first-hand experience with the other two brands you listed nor did I research them (2002-2003). We did research Milgard, Pella and Andersen and saw Loewen at a friend's house. So the experience here is just on Marvin, not a direct comparison. Everything could have changed since five years ago.

We wanted wood interior to stain so we required the best looking woodwork. The best looking woodwork at the time was by Marvin with stainable matching wood screen for the casement. They had very tight tolerance and were beautifully finished. The extruded AL and Kynar coating used on the cladding helped our decision. We also had a few simple custom requests and Marvin, at the time, was the one that had no problems meeting them. If all things were equal, the ability to customize and the woodwork quality would be given the most weights in our decision.

It was then one of the more expensive bids but we have no regrets. After five years, they have been through 115-F heat and 25-F cold, exposed to direct sun, some snow, several hail storms, hit by balls, bikes, frisbees, some wind-whipped gravel and everything still works like new so far. No discernible fading yet.

In terms of comfort, they have kept us relatively cool in the summer and pleasantly warm in the winter due to the low-E and argon. No nasty cold draft, no condensation except the bathroom one due to high internal humidity. Installation was top notch so they keep our house very quiet inside.

We are in a state listed wildfire zone so we needed AL clad and tempered glass to resist the heat of wild fires.

These ones do have metal spacer between the glass panes and we have learned that it is not the best in terms of limiting thermal transmission. We do not know if Marvin has changed that.

With the large differences in price, you may want to carefully compare the three in terms of construction, material and then see which fits your application requirements. For example, if the intent is to paint, and they are all more or less equal in quality, then go with the cheapest. If the intent is to stain, then the best woodwork is important. If you plan to live in the house forever, it pays to get something you will be most happy with day to day for the next 20 years.

Good luck!

Look at the LePage brand,I don't know where you are so I could not recommend a dealer but they make a beautiful product at a very reasonable price

PELLA will provide you with a great window. If wood is not something your married to try their fiberglass window. Awesome in cold climates

I dont know the size of your windows , so I cant firm whether it is expensive. but I guess the price is too high.
but I can give you sqms price as reference.
awing: 343$/m2,
fixed: 271$/m2,
compare it to the Marvins, you will found it , which is expensive.
wish it is helpful for you.

I don't know where you are, but if you're in the west and they're available, look at Sierra Pacific aluminum-clad wood. We had them installed only a few weeks ago in our new home but they went in easily, they work perfectly (double-hung, sliding, and awning) and they haven't leaked so far. I believe their headquarters is in Redding, CA.

I have to second what valleymagpie just said. I am in the process of building a new home and had Sierra-Pacific windows installed (99 windows and doors to be exact). The product is beautiful and of great quality. Their customer service was excellent. They have been installed since April of this year and we've had no problems at all. You can see pics that I posted under the thread about "Anderson being the right choice" on this forum if you want.

Alliern,

Yes, I forgot to mention the customer service--it was awesome! Our Sierra Pacific rep got everything right although we (I) changed my mind several times on colors, grids, etc, and our window needs evolved as our plan evolved. One large window came with a slightly broken jamb liner and the replacement part was there and it was fixed just like that (No I don't work for SP; in fact I never heard of them before our build).

(Wow--99 windows and doors--what a house!)

BiltBest is the cream of the crop on the list.

Michael