Good morning,

My husband and I are trying to get our new home construction rolling and don't want to sign a contract not knowing what our expected window budget will be. Our builder quoted us about $14k for MI windows (which I will not use), so I know that the budget will only go up from there. He sent me a list of other window brands that his normal supplier carries and I can't find one in the heap that I want to use. Pretty much everything listed has a less than stellar reputation for quality/performance, or terrible warranties, or both. The list includes Jeld-Wen, Pella, PlyGem, Silver Line, Simonton, Atrium, Sierra Pacific, United, & MI. He has stated that if I want to go with another installer, he won't cover them under his one-year builder warranty, which I completely understand, but it's also something to consider. I certainly realize that more competitive window warranties reach leaps beyond this one year mark, but if I fail to do a thorough enough vetting of my outside installer then I'm SOL anyway. That's a significant amount of pressure, hence the analysis paralysis.

His other supplier carries Marvin, which I would be willing to look at and get an estimate, but from what I understand, they can be pricey and air infiltration is not where I would want it to be. (But if I'm wrong here, let me know!) They also carry Andersen, which we have in our current house. They have been pretty solid windows for us, but they seem to be priced even higher and I'm not really interested in subsidizing their massive advertising campaign.

We live in southern PA and will be in a wooded lot without much direct "harsh" sunlight unless the leaves are down and we also get some nasty winds in the winter and early spring. With those things in mind I would prefer that we go with an upper tier vinyl window, rather than wood, composite, or fiberglass, for better U-factor and air infiltration numbers. I'm not sure if SHGC and U-factor are more or less tied to one another, but I would imagine that a slightly more elevated SHGC would be preferable to allow for passive solar gain in the winter. Do higher SHGC and VT numbers tend to rise and fall with each other? Being on a wooded lot, bringing more natural light into the house is also a concern, so that is a factor as well. The home we are building will be craftsman/transitional with white on the interior and exterior of the windows with mostly DH and picture windows, as well as a few casements and swinging patio doors.

Reputable brands that I've been able to find in my area include:

-Sunrise (Unfortunately only Essentials and Standard)

-ProVia (Not sure what lines the installer specifically carries)

-Polaris (UltraWeld, ThermaWeld, and DynaWeld)

-Okna (Sadly, it's probable that the installer/dealer may not cover my county. These were my first choice.)

I would like a window that looks nice, but performance, durability, and a solid warranty are the key players in my book. Affordability doesn't hurt, but I'm willing to invest in a solid product. We intend to live in this house for the long haul. Sorry for the ramble! Thanks in advance for any input!