Not sure how the RBA salesperson would find fault with vinyl and a composite seeing as those two terms would define Fibrex. What look are you going for?

Did the RBA Andersen rep tell you the price? And then immediately offer to "discount" it by 50% if you sign rioght now?

So they demonstrated that everything, but Fibrex, is going to fail.

I am guessing you picked up on this fairly self serving presentation.

I agree that a sloped sill (i.e. non pocket sill with weep holes) is preferable, but that does not exclude all products but the RBA. The reality is that a majority of the products on the market will be equip with sloped sills. Depending on your climate, pocket sills aren't an issue either. It's just a application where there are more than enough sloped sill windows out there that you should opt for one of them over a pocket.

His/Her points about cladding and fiberglass are pure rubbish as well. There are plenty of clad windows that do quite well. I guess they would rule out Andersen's own E-Series window (aluminum clad) based on that fact. Why would Andersen make a window that would fail if that were the case.

Start with what you want the window to look like. If you are okay with the look of a premium vinyl, you really can't beat the performance, durability, and value in that material category.

Following...

What area of the country is the home located? Some of the more highly thought of window offerings are somewhat regional in nature.

Marvin Integrity is a solid option.

Choices in vinyl are a bit thinner out there. Millard makes a decent window and your typically hear Anlin thrown out there as another name.

I went to the energy star website and at preliminary glance the Marvin and Milgard seem to have uFactors around 0.16-0.18 and a condensation factor of 72? Not sure if the higher number is good or bad there. But the andersen renewal has a 0.23 at the lowest end on average for uFactor and 50 condensation rating. I'll try to take a look at the Integrity and Milgard windows this week at some showrooms in the area.

The numbers that you see for Milgard and Marvin would be in a triple pane and the number out of RBA would be double pane. I don't think they make the RBA in a triple for some reason. Someone once said it was an issue with a lack of frame strength, but I don't know that for certain.

How about suggestions for replacement windows in the Deep South? What are the pro’s and con’s of vinyl, fiberglass and wood? I want windows without mullions since we installed plantation shutters. Trying to help equalize widely varying temps in different rooms. One wing was added and has nice-looking windows, but rest of house has 1950s wooden windows with 2 horizonal wood mullions.

Looking for brand recommendations in the Savannah-Jacksonville area. Are there special considerations for coastal areas? Looking for something for a 1963 ranch that has nice jalousie type windows that leak like a sieve.

Did the rba salesman offer to reduce the cost by 50 grand if you let him put a sign on your lawn ?

Right now we are still pending. After some research I have to say that Andersen has top quality looking windows but a very high price point. Milgard has mid range windows which will fit the bill but have had some bad experience with milgard quality. Marvin is the next one to check. I am sure they will be high in price based on Ultrex material.

Seems like they all have good glass for blocking the Sun with Andersen having a very high bar for Smartsun.

We had our windows replaced a few years ago with Milgard fiberglass frames and the highest UV protection we could get (since we live in Hawaii).

Yes, the UV filtering seems to be pretty good and the fiberglass frames don't warp in the heat like vinyl has a tendency to do. The house is wonderfully quiet when the windows are closed.

However, I'm disappointed with the overall purchase for several reasons:

The quality of the workmanship is very poor. The joints on all the windows have glue sticking out that is impossible to remove. After these few years, that glue has attracted dirt that makes the window corners look very poor. I tried GOOP and several other cleaners before

The screens on some of the fiberglass frames are very tight and difficult to get in and out. After accidentally bending two of the screen frames, I had a local screen pro come in to build new ones and he told us that the tightness was OK for vinyl frames but should not be that tight for fiberglass.

Finally, the lifetime warranty does not apply to Hawaii (and if I remember correctly - nor within 2 miles of any ocean).

I am debating between Washington Energy Services Lindsay Window and Home Depot Millgard Trinsic. WES is a few thousand more expensive. We live in Western WA. Any thoughts on comparing the two?

@dennisgli, not sure if you're still around this site, but if so, how are your Andersen 400's (Tilt Wash? Woodwright?) holding up? Am also looking at wood interior and have looked at Harvey Majesty (wood interior, aluminum clad exterior) in comparison to the Andersen 400 Tiltwash which has a vinyl, Flexacron finished wood and Fibrex exterior versus Andersen Woodwright which has a Fibrex exterior, if I understand correctly.