Personally about the same quality. Marvin has a little larger product offering and custom-ability but for 20% if the the Kolbe has what you want and it is apples to apples to me it is a no brainer. Loewen should be in the same range, maybe slightly more depending on your locale.

thanks much for the advice -- this is very helpful! i'd be happy to save the extra cash and put it towards some other part of the project if it didn't compromise the quality windows significantly. in terms of quality, do you think the loewens are better or worse than the kolbes/marvins? i understand they use douglas fir. the rep. here claimed their "fit and finish" and warranty were also superior.

Warranties I am to certain of these days, but the 3 are all about the best commercially available wood window produced today. While DF is generally acknowledged as a superior wood product, with the FJ and veneer most use today an d the fact that all the pcs are short it won't make much difference in my opinion. I will say don't expect a beautiful looking wood interior if you go with Loewen as they use mixed grain as a std and it will not look like a beautiful vertical grain doug fir would. Don't get me wrong it will still be a very nice finish.

One thing to consider is the dealer network in your area. For me, Loewen has only one dealer close by, and the next nearest is about 40 miles away. If the one close-by goes out of business, and I've bought from them, and I have a problem, I am now having to turn to a dealer quite far way, with no one else to go to. I believe Loewen has a strong presence in the northwest and west, so check for your location. For my area, Marvin is very well represented, so that was a factor in my decision. I am not really familiar with Kolbe.

As to DF, I was told DF is stronger, but that difference will only become apparent in 20 years or so. If you are going to be painting your trim, so don't need to see the wood grain, then DF should not be a deciding factor. I'd go with the contractor I like best and who seems to do the best work.

thanks much to everyone for the detailed and useful comments. we will be painting the interior, so the appearance of the DF vs. pine is not a consideration for us. based on the comments above, we are inclined to go with the kolbe's. i managed to find a place to see the kolbe's in person, so hopefully that will help us settle things.