1. The Bainbridge is the narrowest of their windows and the Soft-Lite Pro is also narrow. 2. Not necessarily. Soft-Lite is a well engineered window so it, with the optional meeting rail reinforcement, should be fine but some other narrow windows will not fare as well. 3. Typically, replacement windows, as a result of their thicker glass and more airtight insulation, will perform better. There are applications where the existing combination (usually with a storm window) might out perform the new double pane IGU window but not if you have single pane window without a storm. a. and b. Impossible to say without knowing exactly what type of window you have now. If you have single pane, both will outperform your existing windows. If you have double pane, it is very likely that your new windows will still outperform and be more sound resistant than your existing windows. 4. 0.09 is not drafty by any means and will probably be a huge improvement over your existing.

I'd recommend looking at JELDWEN's Siteline EX product. I used to sell Marvin's for years and still do once in awhile. In my area, I sell almost 7 figures a year in JELDWEN windows. I can say that their quality is near Marvin's and is 30% less. They also have a color called "Artic Silver" which looks like clear anodized but is an applied finish. Anodized coating SUCK as they scratch easily and cannot be touched up. If you don't believe me, ask your dealer what they warranty is on anodized product. If they don't say 5 years or less, ask for it writing prior to ordering. Artic Silver is a 10 year warranty through JELDWEN(20 years if you look at their Custom series product, which is equal to Marvin). As for Hurd, if they're close to the same price as Marvin I would pick the Marvin if you're not interested in JELDWEN. Hurd is a crappy brand name and what's the point of buying "knock offs" if there's not enough savings to justify it? I don't go to the flea market and expect to pay 10% less. My advice, look at JELDWEN's Siteline EX product. If you don't like the quality, buy Marvin. Find a GOOD dealer in your area that knows what he's doing and you feel you can work with. Call the manufacturer and see who they prefer in your area(they'll give you their best dealer who buys the best). Lastly, remember pricing isn't everything. One mistake can easily suck out what you saved by "shopping around"...

Re: Painting aluminum, most reps I talked to say it voids the warranty, b/c you have to sand the aluminum to get the paint on, apparently and that interferes with the finish, so it voids the warranty on their finish, whatever that means. I have widened the possibilities to Eagle, Loewen, Pella's Architect and Marvin. Pella was too expensive for what I wanted. The rest were competitive in price, even though it had to be custom size for Eagle and standard for Marvin and Loewen. Pella had to be custom, so I am assuming that's why it was so expensive. Marvin also has a shorter lead time of 4-6 weeks vs Eagle and Loewen had to be 8-9 weeks. So, I am inclined to go with Marvin, but I haven't seen any of these windows in person yet, so I am worried about looking at just one and deciding. On the other hand, time is way past for ordering these windows. Never knew how stressful window picking would be! Pinar

I suggest getting a clad window with Douglas Fir as the interior wood. If the Marvin Fir price is too high, try getting a price for Loewen or Sierra Pacific. Make sure you paint or stain every square inch of the exposed wood, as the elements WILL find a way to damage the weak spots in the wood. My concern about an all-wood window is not necessarily the quality of the timber, but the quality of the fabrication. There are lots of one-man-shops who can build a beautiful-looking wood window, but what are the odds that a handcrafted window is going to hold up to the constant barrage of the elements? And do you think Joe Blow Windowmaker is going to give you much of a warranty when the wind and rain is blowing right through the cheap weatherstrip he installed? I don't think so.