Windows in new homes will have LoE-272 coating on the glass, and if you are in the southwest, likely LoE-366 which is a stronger coating. That should minimize sun bleaching. If you find the sun coming in your windows directly, use semi-transparent shades or some kind of window treatment to cut down on that.

You should find out from your builder what kind of windows your new home will have, regardless. This issue comes up on the [Houzz Windows Forum[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/windows-dsbr0-bd~t_28591) frequently - where window upgrades were available, but the homeowner didn't ask. Windows are proportionately one of the highest-cost items of building a home, yet home buyers don't ask about them often. (As an aside, I actually don't like LoE-366 coating; it tends to leave a tint on the windows.)

I suggest you work with HIGH END windows. You want to work with the mid-range or TOP RANGE windows. Today's Low-E windows (low energy) have UV coatings. The "entry level" (aka the cheapest) run about 45% UV blocking. That is NOT enough to STOP or even slow down the aging/bleaching process. The mid-range windows will have roughly 70% - 75% UV blocking film. This is good enough to significantly slow the bleaching process. This is where I would START looking.

If you like house plants, you will need to stick with this level of UV blocking. The highest end windows have UV blocking as high as 97%....which will KILL house plants (but are AWESOME for heating/cooling costs and keeping all interior colours PRISTINE for decades).

No wood will stay the same in the presence of UV. The other thing to do: stay AWAY from area rugs for the first YEAR of life with your floors. The most amount of change happens in the first year of exposure.

Personally I would vote for mid-range or top-end windows with UV block. Up front it is more costly, but the long-game means you will save tremendous amounts of money on heating/cooling costs.

They also have a Mylar coating they can apply to existing windows - kinda like car window tinting. I have this on our windows that take direct sun.

SJ McCarthy is not correct that the level of UV protection on windows is related to whether a window is "entry level", mid-range" or "top range". LoE does not denote "low energy" as SJ said. LoE means "low emissivity", and is the measure of the coating applied, not the grade or quality of window.

Cardinal Glass makes the glass for virtually all window manufacturers, low-end and high-end. The glass comes with LoE-272 coating standard. To get windows without LoE coating would be a special order. To get a higher degree of LoE coating of LoE-366 is an upcharge, but only a small one, and is an option available with most window brands of varying price points. Where windows actually differ between low end to high end is a function of how well they are made, from what materials, and what cladding they have. Also, as I mentioned earlier, while a higher level of UV protection of LoE-366 sounds like a good idea, you run the risk of having windows with a tint to them.

Do you have access to actual samples of the floor options?

Thank you, everybody. Sorry for the late reply. It took a while to find information on the windows. Here's the flyer I received:

I can't tell from these sheets what the Low-E coating is. Can anyone figure it out from the info here? Thank you, again!

Also, here are some photos of the flooring I'm considering. All in Armstrong American Scrape series.

First couple pics are of all the walnut colors available to me. Then photo marked A are for the "Buck Horn" and photos marked B are for "Dark of Midnight". So dark but so many variation in color depending on lighting. I hope I make the right choice. It’s extremely nerve wracking. I def don't want floors that are espresso, java, or anything that's TOO dark. Sometimes the two I'm considering look VERY dark, but I can still see grain. The lighting def plays tricks on me. In direct sunlight, "B"/Dark of Midnight even looks red whereas in other photos it looks nearly black with green undertones.

Both are ranked as "dark". Just because you can still see grain, doesn't mean they are not dark. The "straight on" angle shows all the pretty colours. This is the look you will see in FULL SUNLIGHT and either staring STRAIGHT down at your floors or SITTING on your floors. Every other lighting situation will give you the look of the "angled" photos where they look as if they are painted (they are that dark).

If you don't want dark floors, then I suggest you get lighter by 2-3 steps. It is obvious you want deep, dramatic floors. This is completely possible WITHOUT having floors so dark they look like they are painted.

The show room has enough lighting to keep a small town lit through the winter!!!! That is WAAAAAAY too much light to make an assessment of "mid-tone" vs. "dark".

I would start looking at floors that are 2 steps LIGHTER. Take the samples HOME (I know you can't see them in the home being built...don't worry we'll figure something out). Now put the sample in the DARKEST PART of the HALLWAY (or somewhere with ZERO natural light). Good. Now turn OFF the lights.

That is how you assess "dark" flooring. If it looks like a BLACK HOLE in a dark hallway, then they are DARK FLOORS. I can guarantee you these two floors (A and B) will look like dark in a darkened space. Absolutely guarantee it.

The only way these floors will look "midtone" is in a glass house. I'm not kidding. The same amount of lighting in the store would HAVE TO BE in the home to get these to look lighter.

Most people do NOT have that amount of lighting in their home. If they do, they would not be restricted by builder's materials. They would be building a $5M fully customized home with 4 walls of windows in each room.

Please take these home to assess the REAL depth of colour. The show room is WAAAAAAY too bright.

Do you have options other than the “scraped”?

I just tore out ‘hand-scraped’ engineered floors like this - too dark and the hand scraped texture is awful. I replaced it with 5” wide natural 3/4” ash - the real deal. I have huge soaring windows and my husband’s an electrician- so plenty of light. Take the samples home with you. See how they work with your furniture and colors.

Heather, do you have any samples / photos of your floors? We will also have huge soaring windows (2 floor entry and family room) which will help. Ash is definitely nice. I don't have that option.

Ash is similar in color and grain pattern to white oak. Ash is harder than oak, but oak will serve you well as flooring. My floors are a ‘mid-tone’ not dark. Keep in mind that dark floors will show dust and hair. We bought a rustic modern from 1987 and it’s all fir trim and ceilings, which they paint these days. She told me to paint out the window trim in the same color as the walls (we picked Monterey white, which is an update to the Spanish white it was originally painted in) to showcase the views. I chose SW Agreeable Gray cabinets and painted the old oak cabinets I repurposed the same color. I had really good luck with Behr paint on those cabinets. The pros were really impressed with the paint job. Stay away from cherry wood - it takes on a purple tint when exposed to UV light, which is unavoidable with big windows. My new floors aren’t in yet, but here are some WIP photos.

Old Flooring - mid tone, hand scraped 5”wide planks (everything you see is getting replaced).

New cabinets (drawer fronts not in yet, but the new floor is that color - no stain, just natural).

And the paint job for repurposed cabinets in new pantry. No, I’m not done, still have 1 door to finish painting....

I hope this helps.

Also, I have to work around a fir ceiling, which isn’t in the budget to paint out. Fir takes on an orange hue as it ages and so colors are a bit tricky, but since yours is a new house, you don’t have to worry about that. And the view from my kitchen window :-)