Don't get too hung up on the foam vs. no foam. If you look at the U-Factor, that is the best representation of thermal resistance in total.

Old cladding would normally be torn out as part of the installation.

Ask about foam vs. no foam, removal technique, consumables used, cladding and wrapping style, and go look at some work samples.

One more q, is the simulated divided lights a good option to get in terms of durability. I have not seen one but that option would emulate more closely the old windows I have. Mine are sculptured grids too. Thanks again for your very useful advice.

I looked at both windows and the Soft Lite wins each and every time. I actually had soft lite imperial installed so i know first hand.

soft lite puts foam in the sill plus they use foam in the frame and sash whereas simonton does not. This definitely adds insulation value. Why doesnt simonton do it? Probably because of cost. It takes time on the production line to put foam in a window and it also costs money for material and equipment.

soft lite uses kevlar( non metal ) reinforcement which is very rigid and strong while simonton offers an aluminum reinforcement as an upgrade, aluminum is cheaper and very conductive.

soft lite uses triple fin weather stripping with an antimicrobeal whereas simonton uses generic double fin. Soft Lites stripping is AMAA gold certified, simintons is not.

soft lite uses Qlon gasket seals whereas simonton again uses only a generic/ very basic gasket seal. look up Qlon and you will see why its better and much more durable.

Soft lite uses a welded sloped sill a d doesnt rely on drainage through the frame and unsightly weep flaps that can clog.

the soft lite window is much nicer looking while simonton is very bulky and rather cheap looking in my opinion.

finally, look at the performance number of each window. Soft lite has a MUCH higher structural number, a much better Ufactor and a MUCH MUCH lower air infiltration numbet of a .02 opposed to simontons much higher .17 .

i can go on and on but i think you get the point. The common theme, evertthing soft lite utilizes is " best in class" material while simonton relies on the generic. To me, that speaks volumes.

That is great information and I would agree with that. Most companies offer one Air infiltration number per type and per line of window where as Simonton will show the different ratings per test size which I do like but ads confusion since they are the only ones that list it this way. I believe all there testing is done without reinforcements as well.

I am waiting for quotes on the soft lite before I make up my mind. Though price is not the main criterion I note that based on feedback my simonton quote is a little on the high side and if SL comes in at a comparable value I should take it since it is superior. Note I'm comparing 5500 to LS.

the point about using the very best raw materials reminds me of a story from the world of computers.

Compaq computers once built a solid high performance PC that could withstand adverse physical conditions. The founder Rod Canion did not care what materials cost as long as it met specs. Then the imports started building pretty good machines that served the purpose well using lower specs and started gaining market share. I think Canion was removed by the board because he would not change strategy.

Not a fair comparison since PCs became a commodity business with limited useful life due to tech advances, but it's useful to ask if there are diminishing returns to some of these enhancements. For me using best in class is always appealing but I think I also need to ask what it provides.

thank you both for the info

As far as raw materials go they are both using virgin vinyl in the structural parts. The glass packs can be upgraded on the Simontons. The performance difference is coming from a newer and better design and probably better Assembly equipment not the materials.

I just didnt think the simonton was well made. It also looked and felt very generic and the performance numbers were not nearly as good as the soft lite. My advice to simonton: redesign your window, its a dinosaur .