I looked at windows recently and decided to keep my aluminum windows and trim them out with wood on the interior. Replacement windows would consume my window sills. For a patio door, I bought a wood door clad with aluminum exterior. If I were replacing windows, I would look for the same. I'm not sure if I would choose that where you are, because different climates have different needs. However I was not impressed with the looks of vinyl, composite or fiberglass windows. The high quality wood windows looked ao much better. I would not want to maintain wood on the exterior though.

A lot of people like Marvin aluminum clad wood windows.

Our builder is proposing "Paradigm Premium Vinyl with low-e, argon gas." I have not seen the windows yet but would appreciate any feedback. These would be double hung and picture windows with colonial grids. The priorities are efficiency and price with appearance coming in a distant third.

"The priorities are efficiency and price with appearance coming in a distant third."

Paradigm offers none of the above, very very average from anything I have heard and or read.

I kept aluminum b/c in TX everything plastic has a short life, relatively speaking. Fences, windows, etc. Sun is brutal

I would really love some advice on how I should proceed with evaluating the windows that have been proposed and I what I can choose that would be better. Better meaning air tight, efficient, rigid and comparable cost. I have not yet engaged the builder in this conversation and I would like to be a little bit educated before I do. For example, can I get quality vinyl windows? Or should I focus the conversation on wood or fiberglass? If I can get quality vinyl windows is there a manufacturer in the central NY area (or nearby) that I should explore? My only real point of reference is the Anderson 400 windows that I have no - which are not going to be in the budget for our new home. Thanks

a high end vinyl window will be extremely durable and long lasting. as for performance, high end vinyl will render a significant advantage in air infiltration over both wood and fiberglass windows. Andersen and pella have very poor air infiltration ratings based on their respective test results.

some high end vinyl window brands are Okna, Soft Lite, Sunrise, Vytex, and Kensington.

Based on your climate (i.e. not Texas where thermally broken aluminum could be considered), you need to look for windows that have an air infiltration rate of 0.05 or below (ideally), U-factor of 0.21 and below, and CR of 60+. If you are okay with vinyl, you will get all of those numbers at a better value proposition as compared to wood and fiberglass.

Is there an on-line source where I can view the U factor, SHGC, VT and AL for various window manufacturers and models?

NFRC.org You need to know what you are looking for though. Get your top 3-4 windows down to a list and then ask for CPD Numbers.

It seems that there are hundreds of vinyl window manufacturers. And that there isnt much point in exploring windows from the West Coast. I am in Syracuse NY. Okna is in PA - a few hours from me. Any others that people know are in the NE?

u have dealers in your arrea .

The NFRC is not a very search friendly tool, but I am not sure it could ever be given the vast array of products and options inside of each one of those products. Best bet is to start with a short list of products that you hear good feedback on and then contact those manufacturers to get vendor references in your area.

Good info above. There most certainly are high quality vinyl windows, just like there are poor quality vinyl windows. Same can be said for wood, fiberglass, etc.

High end vinyl windows generally lead all materials in performance, particularly u value and air leakage. The downside only comes in with appearance, and more subjective areas where they can't quite match the look and feel of a beautiful wood window... For those who value function over form, or where one likes the look, its a great choice.

I have no problem with the look of vinyl. I started looking at the data on soft-lite and compared them to my Anderson 400 series. I dont know what either one costs but the Soft-Lights seem much better on air infiltration. U factors are pretty close.

The Ufactor is much better on the Soft Lite as well. Andersen doesnt have a good Ufactor.

additionally, soft lite has a much higher structural rating than andersen.

soft lite wins by a mile on every metric.

What do you mean by "structural rating?"

+1 on the u value. If apples to apples glass packages are used the difference will be several points in favor of the softlite.

The structural rating generally refers to design pressure. That should also be much higher on the softlite.

What does "CPD numbers" stand for and mean?

Certified Products Directory on nfrc.org

.30 u factor is not Energy Star qualified in schreibdave's location of NY. It would need to be .27 or lower for the Northern Region with a few small exceptions.

I am very interested in that "polymetric" formula though. Perhaps you could provide more data on that? Also you mentioned the fusion welded, multi-chambered construction. Those features sound impressive. Is this the only product on the market that has those features?

HomeSealed, that does indeed sound impressive, perhaps it could become a market trend?

poly ----> many, much, more than one (polyethylene, polyester, polypropylene, polyvinyl) -- polyvinyl? hmmm that could be a clue!

metric ----> quantifiable measurement

polymetric ----> multiple quantifiable measurements?

That does indeed sound important.

I was looking at the site for possibly the AI numbers to go along with the U value and could not seem to come up with any data?

High west siding and window, that sounds like a clint eastwood movie.

anyway, enviroview is nothing more than an alside excalibur window with a gimmicky name; at least it was, perhaps it changed. I think it was started by some guy with the initials RG.

None yet. Still trying to sell our current house before we break ground on new one. If u have input i would love to hear it.

Premium and crestline or jeldwen do not belong in the same sentence.

Not sure what you were expecting from that Sunrise triple pane casement. That is an airtight, high end window. Short of laminated glass you won't beat that setup for sound, and its a darn good window all the way around.

I like the sunrise but the only dealer in my area sucks,he had a opertunity to get my bussiness on windows but lost out to a marvin dealer,it's like he didn't even try,than I gave him a oppertunity again on two patio doors and no response again,makes me wonder howhe would help if there were ever any issues down the road.It is a good looking and performing window though.

I will check the sunrise out. As for sales people, I have tried to buy cars from dealerships and never received calls back, so ...

The two factors that you are looking at for sound mitigation are an airtight assembly, and an appropriate glass package. Beyond that there is not much difference from one manufacturer to the next as sound transmission is concerned. The Sunrise casement is about as airtight as they come, although to be fair, most casement windows seal well. Triple pane glass does not offer as much of an advantage over double (for sound mitigation) as some sales guys might lead you to believe, but it doesn't hurt either. You might consider laminated glass or offset glazing glass options designed for improved sound mitigation if it is a high enough priority for you.