Are these all casements and sliders, or double hung? We put 3 Marvin Essential casements in our bathroom (one was in the shower) with the rest of the windows Elevate. Can't tell the difference from the outside. We don't have grilles, so can't comment to that. Was going to go all Essential, but they were more expensive and size selection was limited.

All casements and sliders. My understanding is that on the essential line, the grids could not be put on the exterior.

Agree with millworkman. However, it can't be done on any of the essential's slide by units (gliders, single and double hung) as it interferes with the operation. Casements and awnings are not a problem. Again, not everyone selling essential will do this.

Seabornman, Going all essentials would have been more expensive than doing all elevates? The elevate is the more expensive model line I thought, due to the wood interior

Are the bathroom windows in a shower? That's the only reason I can think of to use the Essential model.

Yes they are

Yes, the Essential should be less expensive than the Elevate. It would be great if there were list prices of windows; then one could compare. I found the Essential had less choice in window sizes, so I asked for some custom sizes, which would affect the price. But some units were standard sizes and still were more expensive. It may be because these are all casements, who knows.
Now that the windows are in place, I still scratch my head. Marrying all of that clear pine to the fiberglass would surely cost more. One thing to remember, I still have to finish the pine, whereas the all-fiberglass doesn't need any more work. I got a price for factory- finishing and I thought it was more than I wanted to pay.

We just had Milgard Ultra fiberglass windows (triple-glazed) installed here in LA (Glendale) in their Bean Black color. We love them!

They’re mostly all casements with a few awnings (one for a kitchen window and one for bathroom near shower). They’re outstanding. While we didn’t use lites on our windows at all, Milgard does offer multiple lite options for these both internal and external depending on the aesthetic one prefers.

JBolD ander Did you happen to price out the Milgard Tuscany vinyl and the Milgard fiberglass? We are in LA too and trying to figure out some windows for our 1960's ranch style house. How do the screens look on the inside? We currently have sliding windows (screens outside), so I'm not sure if I'll like having the screens on the inside.

Thanks!

I hope Milgard has improved the quality. Our LA house has 20 year old MW windows and 70% have had the seal fail and 50% have had the casement crank mechanism fail/break, out of around 55 windows in the house. A few months ago we spent $3500 repairing 6 windows. Maybe that is the normal lifespan for windows, but they started having some of those failures at the 10 year mark.

The little research I did showed bad paint for Milgard fiberglass so I think I’ll skip that. Our Milgard Tuscany windows are doing ok (installed 6 about 8 years ago). One of the windows has something wrong with the glass - not condensation but it’s hard to see through. They are coming out in April to replace the glass under warranty. We’ll see how that goes.

@hapahaole, April is a long time away! The glass replacement is relatively easy. The sealed glass frame is pre-ordered and then they just pop off the framing and do the swap. At least you still have the warranty.

Thanks chispa! I didn't know how they did it. 2 months is a long time, but considering it's been fogged up this way for probably 5 years and I've just been sitting on it, I don't mind too much. lol

JBolD ander - your fiberglass windows look really nice! My head is spinning for all the reviews I've been reading. I think the Milgard fiberglass ones I read were from maybe 6 years back...that talked about the paint coming off when they pulled up the blue painter's tape that had been on the windows. Do you know if the black color is painted onto the fiberglass? How do the screens look on your casements? Most of our windows are sliders so the screens are on the outside, but I'm thinking of switching to casements.

Milgard Ultra are beautiful inside and out. The frames seem a little thicker than the Marvin Essential. As for price they are the same or similar priced product. The only reason I may go with Milgard Ultra is because I like the Muntin's or Grids on the outside. Looks more authentic. But I also love the Milgard Thermally Improved price is about 1/2 of the Ultra although you have to get grids inside the glass. Still

a great look for the money.

So what did you end up going with??

For an add on in 2012 we went with. Milgard Tuscany. Then when we redid the rest of our house last year, we went with Kolbe aluminum clad wood (black aluminum outside with painted wood inside).

We did put in a black Milgard Trinsic (vinyl) window in one of the bathrooms. It’s fine and a bit thinner frame than the Tuscany, but the Tuscany has better finishing at the corners.

Milgard Thermally Improved.

Not my home just a picture of the windows I picked glad I didnt go with Trinsic. I feel they are to Black. The Milgard Thermally improved Alluminum look great and the price was right.

Hi Kate, Just curious how does the mix of the white and Black windows look in your home? The Tuscany is in White and you later ordered the Black wood Clad?

I had a quote from one company for the milgard thermally improved, thought they looked nice too. Then 3 other places all said our title24 calcs would need to be redone if we went with aluminum, and basically would need to be making up for the energy efficiency loss somewhere else (we're in California). So I've been going back to fiberglass now for our new build. Waiting on another quote for milgard casement vs SH.  I do like the look of the Marvin essentials casement. I think for SH I really liked the milgard.

I heard that too! I am doing a remodel so its OK! You may want to call the County yourself. Everyone gave me different information. I purchased at Home Depo. They seemed to be knowledgeable.

My Favorite was the Ultra Black Bean it is pretty. I did get a French door in Ultra Black Bean and its beautiful! I love it and the color is perfect. The Trinsic was a bit to balck for me. I loved the Marvin but like the Milgard a little better as well.

Awesome. We're planning black/black too. Thought the Ultra black looked very nice. Have heard some issues from other sites about scratching with white then showing through, but I don't think was just a milgard thing, I think it was a fiberglass thing in general. Nothing's without a couple downsides I suppose! 

From your understanding, were the Milgarc windows through Home Depot same as you'd get thru local window company? I know things like faucets, for example, often have a "special" home Depot brand, often not a good thing, but reason for the much cheaper cost. When looking at model numbers though they're often slightly different, like D145 for direct model vs D145-HD for home Depot model, for example. But when researching Migatc windows, model number looks the same. So thinking it's same product? Was it a lot less thru them vs local company? My husband gets military discount at home Depot too, which would be awesome if it could be applied! Maybe exempt on ordered things like that.

Right now Milgard has a 15% sale until June 2 Im not sure about your area, you need to check it out for yourself. Plus any discounts you may receive from them. I saved over 15 Thousand going with them verses a local Window store. The picture of the window below is a new construction home the Thermally Improved are beautiful as well. I would call the County or City if you like the windows. Iordered a touch up Paint pencil from Milgard to match my windows just in case of scratches. Mine are Alluminum so they scratch too!

I did slider windows. The cost for this older home was getting to be to much. I wanted casement although I am extremely happy with my choice!