Well, I certainly like my Marvin windows! They are double-hung, have simulated divided lites, wood inside, and aluminum-clad outside. I've had mine now for about 6-7 years and they're great. They cost me, at the time, about $1000 @ window installed, plus interior painting.

I would recommend going to several local building material supplier and ask them. They would have the most knowledge in your area. Ang....I don't know what size windows you have but $1000 bucks a window is insane for most normal sizes...!!!!!!!!!!! You must have HUGE windows!!!!!!!!!!! I know for fact....I've said this numerous times before and actually hate to say it.......But a majority of GC's are multimillionaires because of this...... BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you ask enough people (i.e. like the internet), someone is always going to have a problem with someone.

That said, there are typically well respected brands inside the different families of products. Do you have preference on look and feel of the materials?

Fiberglass windows like Marvin Integrity are my recommendation. Nothing vinyl.

Why nothing in vinyl? You will find more specific complaint stories about the Marvin Integrity in this forum than you will about vinyl?

I really don't like the way vinyl windows feel when you slide them up and down, and I hate the look of the big plastic tracks they run in (talking double hungs here), at least the ones I've seen. The hardware used tends to be very cheesy pot metal or plastic that breaks if you look at it wrong. I'm unconvinced that they will have any longevity.

I did install vinyl casements in my son's house-- given the quality of the rest of the house I wasn't sure it had another 100 years in it, and he simply didn't have the money for something better. So I guess I'm not in the "never" category. Energy performance can be quite good when they are new. I don't know how that holds up with time.

I know that wooden windows will last 2-300 years here in New England if they are maintained, I'd be shocked if vinyl did the same. I don't imagine I'll be around long enough to find out.

$1K/window installed and painted seems pretty reasonable in my experience for a good quality window. I think the ones we installed (Marvin Infinity) ended up perhaps twice that-- but those are Boston prices. There's a lot of detail work in correctly flashing them. It can be a lot more for stained hardwood interiors, for reasons that are inexplicable based on the differential cost of the materials involved.

The wood windows you will get today, are not the wood windows of old. Make no mistake about that.

You can buy very nice high quality windows made of wood. You can also buy very nice high quality windows made of aluminum, or fiberglass, or vinyl.

You can buy mediocre or downright junk windows made of wood. You can also buy mediocre or junk windows in aluminum, or fiberglass, or vinyl.

What is really important is who made the window. It's more about the quality of the company who you buy from than the material that the window is made of.

Also keep in mind that some very high quality companies may have various quality levels and these different quality levels may (or may not) be dictated by the material that the window is made of,

As with many other items, when buying windows it can be true that you get what you pay for.

Higher quality wood and fiberglass are going to be expensive, especially wood. Higher quality vinyl will likely be less expensive in comparison, but top quality vinyl products aren't going to be coming in at window world pricing.

Lew, you want good quality that won't break the bank it sounds like. Do you want the finished wood aesthetic, or would you be happy with something that isn't wood as long as it's a resonable quality product?

Any particular options you might like to have?

We are in upstate SC so our window energy requirements are different from yours. Our builder typically uses Jeld Wen but we talked with the local building supply house and decided on Sierra Pacific aluminum clad wood windows. The energy specs were excellent and the information on the materials used on their windows certainly sounds like quality materials. We did all casements (most about 32x66 in size) with Low-e 366 coating, argon gas, front of house with simulated divided lites. We have about 62 windows and the cost was a bit under $29,000.

We lived in Indy for a number of years and I don't think that I would go with wood windows in the cold part of the country. In Indy, our windows had condensation on the very cold winter days and eventually the condensation caused the paint to pop off. I have mixed feelings about using wood windows in our new home but in the price range of our home, people "expect" wood windows. Time will tell if we made the right decision.

* I would like vinyl on the outside and wood on the inside. something I don't have to spend time with outside and looks nice inside.*

That's pretty specific. Are you okay with a wood veneer on a vinyl window?

I much prefer wood inside and aluminum-clad outside. I just don't like the look of vinyl.

I have Okna casement vinyl windows. I put that in the category of "glad I went this direction" after building.

I have white trim so it just didn't make sense to get a wood painted window and pay thousands upon thousands more.

I think my bill was $18K installed. That was 30 windows (not openings), 4 transoms and patio.

Majority are 70" tall. Air infiltration ratings smoke most other brands.