Well, I have a low-slung rustic ranch and in my opinion, anything but the real thing or a really good faux shake looks wrong (unless the house has been modernized--I'm in a pretty big 1950s subdivision so I see a lot). I don't get any weather where I live now so I am less concerned about durability than you might be. But the old Tudors...different story! You want faux slate! :P I've seen some good metal wood-look roofs on Tudors. Since they're taller you don't always get as close as you do on a ranch. But there's always a bit that dips low, where you can see it up close, isn't there? You might need to just drive around and see what others have used that works, or check with a historical district in your area an see what's recommended. Ask the old house forum here at GW. When I was looking at paint options for my Tudor a few homes ago (the POs had roofed it with nasty flat "architectural" shingles so I was stuck there) I drove around Indian Village in Detroit for inspiration--if you have a similarly cool old neighborhood locally, spend some time in it. (All I can say about the durability of the treated shingles vs untreated is that they'll probably last longer in a fire. Haha you'd hope so at least!) Do see if you can get any recs at the old house forum. I don't think they'd allow you to misshingle up a cool old house. Here is a link that might be useful: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/oldhouse/

Andersen is a pretty big company with quite a few smart engineers. If the product is that good, why not issue a lifetime warranty on the frame. I have seen quite a few examples of premature material failures in the case of the fibrex material but those are just my observations and should be taken in context of the small sample study. I strongly disagree with the idea that fiberglass (Marvin or otherwise) will only last just as long as fibrex. The resins in fiberglass are much more UV stable than the vinyl used in fibrex and there are thousands of examples of 30 year old boats that are doing quite well in far more inhospitable conditions than a home's window placement. Fibrex is 70% vinyl by material make-up, if that is okay, you can probably go to a 100% vinyl window and be just as good off for much cheaper.

The material for the Taylor King Recliner mentioned earlier has a backing also. Thanks

I have had the Cline dining chairs in Charcoal for about 2 weeks, I love the look of them but herein lies the danger of ordering online not having been able to see them/check them out in person beforehand - they are not very comfortable at all I am contemplating returning them. Frustrated because I ordered them and they took 3 months to get here and now I need to find another option. Oddly enough I like the 3 Cline counter height stools I ordered at the same time and will definitely be keeping those. The dining chairs are 1/2" narrower and when I scoot back all the way the verticals of the backrest crowd my bum. I'm 5'-7" 150 lb. but if I don't rest my back on the backrest then my lower lumbar gets super irritated. I have bulging disc issues so if I don't have proper lumbar support I am in pain. :(