Thank you for the feedback. I am concerned re Pella standing behind its warranty in the event of window failure. My concerns are based on posts I've read re other people's experience as well as the Pella dealer warning that we should have them install as Pella would void its warranty should the contractor not strictly follow the required install instructions. Of course, his quote is 10 - 15k higher than Marvin's, and we can't afford it. We do like the product itself though, and the options available. eal51 - you're right. The cost savings offered by Anderson do not justify reframing the windows. I just received the written quote and realized the additional labor costs to cut down and fill in the windows account for almost $3,000 of the total cost - money that could be going towards the product itself. I was hoping for feedback on Lincoln, which appears to be a well-made window with many options similar to Marvin and Pella. This isn't our "forever" home, but we would like a quality window that functions well and also adds value to the home for future resale, and without breaking the bank! Thanks again for your comments.

We replaced the windows in our house with Marvin Infinity 2 years ago. They were definitely not cheap, but they have been worth every penny. The day after they ere installed, my son mowed the lawn, and it sounded like he was 2 yards away. We have severe winters, and have always put plastic on the windows in the winter. If we didn't, we'd get inches of ice buildup on the inside of the windows and frames - which is one of the reasons the windows needed to be replaced in the first place. Since we got the new windows, we get very little condensation on the inside, no matter how cold it is outside (it was -18F here on Saturday). There are lots of places to cut costs. Window quality would be near the bottom of my list. Is there a room you can leave unfinished for a while? Any work you can do yourself? This post was edited by annkh on Sun, Mar 17, 13 at 17:17

Over the past nine years I have purchased and paid for installation of 26 Pell Designer series windows and a patio door. I was replacing Rockwell windows which had rotted, warped, leaked and were clouded between the glass. The windows I purchased from Pella are aluminum clad outside and wood trim inside - all casements. I purchased the Pella rol-screens when available and mini blinds between the glass, also when available. But here are the significant problems. Yesterday I discovered the interior wood trim on the portion of the window that cranks out is peeling off. On a guest bedroom window that is used rarely I discovered the trim is completely off. That caused me to inspect the other windows and discovered 16 windows in total are peeling from 2 inch to 8 inches starting from the top and working down. Some of these windows have been in as briefly as 5 years, some up to 9 years. This is the final straw in a series of disappointments. The first disappointment was cosmetic - the realization that I could not get the mini blinds on all sizes. So the cohesive, clean, contemporary look I was striving for is unattainable. The second was quality - 22 of the windows have blinds. The blinds are poorly constructed - some of them do not drop all the way to the bottom of the window - this appears to be a matter of mismatched tolerances, a manufacturing problem. About half of them have the protective piece installed over the string mechanism falling off, a materials/adhesive problem. Some of them have warped blinds, blinds that have never been outside the glass are distorted. On these "older" blinds, the strings are a hassle - they blow between the window and its frame and they tangle, and washing the window around the hooks provided to wrap the string is cumbersome. Which is the third frustration - when Pella introduced their new design without strings, they left all the earlier customers without an opportunity to upgrade. And I repeatedly asked for an upgrade plan. Finally I reached the phase of replacement where we were installing tall narrow windows, and then I discovered Pella doesn't offer true casements. The benefit of casements is that you can wash both sides from the inside - but not with Pella. Pella provides you a casement window with a butt hinge which means you are (I am) dragging out the ladder and buckets to wash these windows from the outside - and yes, blinds are not an option for these windows either. Oh, and to lock them requires multiple mechanisms. After being surprised when the first set of windows arrived with butt hinges, I waited four more years for Pella to get with the program. Finally I replaced the remaining nine windows with Andersen windows. Should have done that in the first place - the Andersen windows have a great strong hinge, open for ease of washing, have a single mechanism to lock the tall windows (vs multiple on the Pella), have more glass for light and view than the comparable Pella windows, and were clad by Andersen to match my existing investment in Pella. No, I am not employed by Andersen - I am just tired of being ripped off by supposedly credible companies like Pella. Pella got over $50K of my money and I got a series of problems and disappointments.

Purchased a home in 2014. The windows were Pella proline aluminum clad/wood. the home was built in 1999, so at the tie of purchase, the house was approximately 15 years old. we received a $1500 write off for the 2 windows that were rotted at closing. the home inspector stated that the pella proline was probably one of the worst windows ever built. the class action suit closed in 2013 , so we could not take advantage of the settlement. we are now looking at a couple of other windows that have severe rot in the bottom rail. I have already replaced several of the cranking mechanisms. My question is , is there a none Pella version of the sash that I could have installed ? the frames are (to my surprise) in fairly good shape. A sash replacement is more cost effective this point in our lives. we are both retired and on fixed incomes. Thanks Art and Helen