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Windows Remodeling

Remodel window choice: SP Aspen vs Marvin Ultimate

5 years ago

Received quotes for both Sierra Pacific Aspen casements and doors, and Marvin Ultimate casements and doors, aluminum clad wood for each.

Sierra Pacific Aspens come with Cardinal 366 while the Marvin Ultimates are speced with Cardinal 270, for west and north facing house at Rocky Mountain altitude (5500ft). Marvin Ultimates came in $13k more than the Sierra Pacific.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Featured Answer

PRO

Windows on Washington Ltd

5 years ago

No real difference in price with the Low-e 366 vs. 272. You could easily specify the Marvins with that glass if you wanted. The bigger differential is in the windows themselves. How many windows are you talking about here that spread out that difference.

The Marvin is definitely the superior window but if you are telling me that there are 4 windows, 13K is hard to stomach.

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Comments (7)

ddgdl
Original Author
5 years ago
Total of 50 windows or doors. However, both the architect and interior designer prefer the SP to the Marvin for our craftsman remodel. We care more about quality/performance, longevity, and warranty than a minor difference in appearance though.
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I ended up telling Sierra Pacific that they were the same price as Marvin & that I was going to buy Marvin. Sierra reduced my whole house price by $12,000! Hard to refuse that offer. What is the primary difference btwn SP & Marvin? Also- is there a rating that tells you how the glass will reduce the chances of fading my hardwood floors & furniture? Is there more than just LowE2 rating to tell me how well the glass helps in fade prevention or reduction?
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Hey. It’s me again! I just thought a round-up/semi-conclusion to this thread would be nice for anyone else struggling to make this same decision. Our house will be finished in another month. I went with all 366 windows. The dealer and the builder thought I was crazy for ever questioning it, FWIW. Here’s my takeaway: The visible light transmission reduction is noticeable. It’s not terrible but it is a slight bummer. The solar heat gain coefficient is no joke. I stood in front of the giant south facing window on a cold sunny day in black leggings and never warmed up. My black leggings were cool to the touch. A dog looking for a warm spot would be very disappointed with 366 windows. That said, I’m assuming it will do a good job of keeping the heat out in the summer. I just wanted to chime in and affirm that these ARE noticeable things. They are real trade offs. The jury is still out for me as to whether I made the right choice. But I’m certain my furniture and floors will be happy with the 366.
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Perhaps not, but as we know we can use the best material in the world and if not engineered properly or quality control standards adhered to you can a product that is subpar in performance. Have you had any experience with the higher quality vinyl windows, ones that have higher PG ratings, better air infiltration ratings better U-Value ratings? All these would have far better numbers than the Marvin unless you want to use there numbers that are using tests that are irrelevant .
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millworkman
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
"We care more about quality/performance, longevity, and warranty than a minor difference in appearance though."

For $250 more a window I would use the Marvin product if you can swing it. I have sold SP and while the newer Aspen was not around when I sold residential I was never impressed with the SP brand/company as a whole, and still knowing people in the residential business no one I know has changed their opinion of the company. My .02, take it for what you want....................
ddgdl thanked millworkman
ddgdl
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Based on your input, we went back to the Marvin dealer and updated the quote with 366 glass--- you were right, the price difference was negligible.

Now the question is whether, at 5500 feet in CO with almost all of the windows on either a northwest or west orientation, the 366 or 270 is better. I lean 366---even though CO can get cold, we are in the Front Range where it can stay in the 70s through December and we have 300+ daya of sun per year. Thoughts?
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
5 years ago
The 366 won't really offer much improvement over the 270 in terms of keeping the heat in the home. What it will do is reduce radiant heat into the home and some passive solar to be honest. If the climate observations show more effort trying to keep the home cool vs. heat the home, then 366 is definitely the way to go.
ddgdl thanked Windows on Washington Ltd
Miranda33
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I looked into this question of which lowE coating to get. There have been several posts on this forum from people who get LowE-366 who say their windows look tinted due to the higher level of LowE coating. I'd get the 270.
ddgdl
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Whole window VT with 366 was quoted in various windows as between 0.44 and 0.51, while VT for the same windows with 270 was only 0.49 to 0.56. Not sure how much of a practical difference that makes, or whether it would be noticeable except in a direct comparison. Any of the window experts have an opinion on that?

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