The Okna 700/800 models are some of the most recommended and revered windows on this forum, they would be at the top of my list if they're in your budget and available. Even if they're slightly over, they may be worth it to save up a bit more for them. Other good options are Sunrise, Simonton as you mentioned, & Polaris.

I look at a labor warranty and equate that to how good the contractors think their work is. If they only give you a year, they don't expect their work to last much longer than that and don't want to pay for it. I'd be running the other way from those guys. I'd be looking for a minimum of 10 year labor warranty, if not 25 to lifetime. Assuming they're a quality company, if they were fixing mistakes for 25 years on all of their installs, they wouldn't be around long cuz it's hard to make money working for free. (and do yourself a HUGE favor, do not use HD, you don't want their minimum wage guy doing your window install do you?)

As always, check reviews and references of your prospective installers, and don't just pick a installer because they're cheaper. Most places are more expensive because they use better quality products, pay better quality installers, and take the time to install it right. A quality installer is equally, if not more important than the quality of the window they're installing.

If you are feeling air infiltration, #3 is the clear winner if that is the source of some of your discomfort.

Thank you all for your input. I am comfortable going with Okna, however, its distributor/installation company in Indianapolis (Mr. Window) provides only 1 year of warranty. When I talked to them about longer warranty, they say that 1 year (four seasons) warranty is what they have always provided and that they have been in business for 30 years without any issues.

I am inclined to go with them but skeptical about issues due to improper installation after 1 year.

Thoughts and recommendations???

Thank you once again!

I like to see a longer workmanship warranty myself, but their reputation should speak to the quality that you can expect. If they did poor installations and told a bunch of people to pound sand since the one year warranty was up, I'm sure that you would find their reviews littered with one-star ratings... If they are generally well reviewed, you should be in good hands. The fact that they choose to sell a high quality, high performance product that costs more should be indicative of their practices and philosophy as well.

As the others mentioned, this is really a one-horse race on the product front.

Thank you all!

@colts2018, can you tell me how your experience has been with Mr. Window? I am looking seriously at the Okna casement from there, but not sure about the 1 year labor warranty and some of their typical installation methods that they told me about...e.g. cutting out rotted sill and brick mould and filling with foam before wrapping.

I am sure and hope they meant that they cut out the bad and replace with wood and then foam the window in once it is set.

@Darin Campbell - FYI - I have Vinyl siding. All I saw them do is cut out the old window, put new window in, put J channels and caulking. I did not see them cutting any wood/sill, may be that is why they did not put in any foam insulation. My overall experience was good with Mr. Window. I did not see a need to contact them since they installed 3 years back. Hope this helps.