When I built my home 23 years ago the contractor would only install Weathershield products. I asked him to switch to Pella but he refused. He stated that the weathershield products were far superior to all other brands. I should have "FIRED" that builder. I allowed him to build my house and use the best wood and exterior clad doors and windows that they had at that time The Weathershield windows and especially the 4 section sliding patio door have been a disaster. We had numerous problems and the factory people and their REPS were a joke. We have lived with our bad decision since our house was built. I can't attest to the quality of their products today but when we bought them 23 years ago it was our biggest mistake.

We actually just went through this process as we are building a new home in New Jersey. We currently live in a 1911 colonial and after dealing with the maintenance of the original wood windows, there was no way that my husband wasn't going to get maintenance free windows for our new house. Just to give you an idea of how long we researched windows, we got our first estimate in January and didn't order the windows until the end of June. We visited many different showrooms and spoke with many different reps. We also spoke with people we know who have each type of window and did research with consumer reports, etc. Our 40 Marvin Ultimate Clad Double Hung windows with 1 1/8" SDL grills and our 2 sets of french doors with transoms in the upgraded wineberry color just arrived on Thursday and they are GORGEOUS. We were also comparing the Marvin Clad, the Pella Architect Series and the Anderson Woodwright. Every response we heard and all of the research said that the Anderson and the Pella were comparable in price, so that wasn't an issue, but they said that based on construction they wouldn't choose Anderson. We also ruled out Anderson because if you pressed on the center of the glass window, it really gave and felt really flimsy, the others felt substantially stronger. So that narrowed it down to Pella and Marvin. Next we looked at the cross sections of each window. The exterior of the Pella has wood that is wrapped in the cladding material and there is a space where water could easily get behind it and rot the wood. The exterior of the Marvin is 100% cladding, no wood, so you never have to worry about rot. That was the deciding factor for us, next to not having a significant price difference. We were 100% leaning toward Pella because our cousin works for the main factory and we were getting a 30% discount (FYI - there is a 100% mark-up on windows). So we got the best possible quote from Pella (verified by our cousin), which came to $35,000 and change, for a standard color, standard hardward, and the smaller grills. We got our Marvins in the upgraded color with the larger grills size for $39,000. A few things that we learned regarding pricing from the process is that for both Marvin and Pella, selecting a non-standard finish (we love oil-rubbed bronze) for the hardware adds thousands of $$$$ to the price, while upgrading the color and grill size really doesn't add that significantly to the cost. So we chose to get the standard white hardware figuring it will be covered by window treatments and it will blend in because we are painting the interior of the windows glossy white (we ordered the windows pre-primed). If the cost is prohibitive for the Marvin Clad, you should look into Marvin's Integrity series. The principles are basically the same except the exterior cladding material is made from a different material and you can't customize the windows (two choices of hardware colors, and only a few choices of exterior colors). Also if you have obscure shapes and sizes you might have to mix and match the windows with Marvin Ultimates. The other difference with the Intergrity is that the hardware to get the windows to tilt out is recessed in the top ledge next to the sash lock, where with the Ultimates it's part of the sash lock. If we couldn't have afforded the Ultimates we were going to definitely go with the Integrity over Pella. Don't get me wrong, Pella is a great window, but for the $$$ Marvin just had more advantages. Pella can easily such you in because they have a lot more cosmetic features that Marvin doesn't (e.g., vivid view screens (you can't tell there is a screen on the window) and those blinds in between the window panes), but I think that hands down Marvin is better quality and construction. I hope the novel that I've just written helps. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me.

Only you can determine if they're worth the extra money. Andersen, Pella, and Marvin are among the largest manyfacturers in the country and all three have their acts together. I have Pella and Marvin in my house. If the specifications were the same for all three brands one would have a tough time justifying spending twice as much. However, you're not comparing similar specs with all three. The Pella and Marvin are aluminum clad. The Andersen is vinyl clad (depending on the Andersen door, the frame might be clad and the door panels painted only). If you're getting a bind in the glass from Pella, then you're presumably getting triple glazed from Pella but probably only double glazed from Andersen & Marvin. Pella's standard screen door on the triple glazed doors is self-closing, whereas it is manual-closing on the Andersen & Marvin. An interesting issue is the between-glass blinds. How does one cover up the door for privacy without that covering being in the way? Usually I see vertical blinds, which is fine, but being inside the glass is very very nice. So if you were getting a quote from three manufacturers and all three were offering the same thing, I'd probably disregard the one that was twice the price. In this situation, you'll have to decide if it's worth it to you to spend more for between-glass shades, triple glazing, and a self closing screen door. I'd say yes it's probably worth it if you want those features, and no it's not worth it if you really don't care about those features. One thing that's nice to see is that you're looking at three decent brands.

We've had Pella sliders with built in blinds for 9 years. I raise and lower them almost daily. I slant them depending on amount of light I want in the room. Live in the upper midwest with hot summers and cold winters. No insulation problems and they do block road noise. I've even gotten used to the slight blue color of the low e glass. Never have to dust the blinds. The dog and grandchildren can't put their respective noses, paws, fingers through the blinds to damage them. The interior pane opens with a hinge? effect if we ever have to have the blinds changed. I would have a Pella person do this if it ever becomes necessary, I would not want to do this myself. I almost want to "knock on wood" that these have worked out so well for us when I see the negative responses to them.