Good golly Miss Molly, I did not say that rest of the unit is immaterial. I only stated that the OA glass unit, and the the Low-e selected is a very big component of the overall effectivness of the the unit. Millworkman, you are absolutely right about the aspect of a poorly constructed window. As regards to adequate weatherstrip, I've got my opinions on that one too. Most window companies that manufacture easy-tilt windows use "finseal" weatherstripping. This is a "woolpile" with a thin film of plastic designed into the pile to stop air infiltration. Most window companies have two rows of the "woolpile" designed into the systems. Premium window companies have three rows of this weatherstripping. A lot of other systems rely on a jambliner with a foam backing to "press" the jambliner against the sashes. This system makes the window easier to install because the window can be slightly "out of square" and still perform adequately. The problem, for a consumer standpoint of these systems, is that the sashes are more difficult to tilt-in. The "Achilles heal" that many companies have is the sill tower. Many companies do not have "finseal" designed into the sill tower, which can cause massive air leakage. As far as whether or not 0.29 is a good U-value: hey, shop and compare. I'll say this, I've seen a lot of numbers out there and there is a lot of distortion out there. Numbers can be manipulated by the size of the unit tested. I've seen it, I've personally been to the testing labs and I know what some people are doing. A lot of the purchase decision is going to made by the reputation of the manuacturer as well as the reputation of the distributor. OK, now about materials: *Is wood a good insulator: yes. *Is vinyl a good insulator: yes. *Is fiberglass a good insulator: yes. *Is non-thermally broken windows good insulators: NO. *Is thermally broken aluminum windows good insulators: Somewhat Regarding the differences between the energy efficiency of wood vs vinyl, the differences are marginal. To millworkmans point, the quality of the manufacturing plays a big role into the overall efficency of any window.

Hi, I did get them. I then sold my house. The windows did help with noise, but there were a few problems: The house was almost 100 year old and had a crawl space, so noise and vibrations still came up through the floor. I could feel car stereos, etc. It had the original glass front door and matching front window that added a great aesthetic value, so I did not want them replaced. They also faced the busy street and therefore noise was still quite loud in the living room. A front bedroom also facing the street but with all new windows was noticeably quieter, but you could certainly still hear outside noise. Third, I am extremely sensitive to noise. Much more so than the average person. So what others might not even notice, I often find intolerable. Other issues encountered: Most of the windows installed did not stay open upon installation. The Brothers installers believed that the windows did not have the correct balances, i.e. the "sound package" glass was heavier than the usual glass, but that was not accounted for in the manufacturing, so the windows were too heavy to stay open. After reading the horror stories of trying to deal with installers and manufacturers, I was not going to wait months just to get the runaround, so I refused to pay the rest of the bill until they fixed the problem. Brothers was helpful, but Simonton reps were a pain. I insisted that the Brothers supervisor come out to oversee the Simonton people when inspecting and adjusting the windows, which he did. They were then fixed, but that should never have happened. Shortly after installation I found water pooled in one of the window frames. There was a ton of rain this year, so maybe it would have eventually drained/dried. I don't know, but it was a bit concerning. The light filtering properties, which I had been told were not noticeable, were very noticeable to me. The light coming in had a greenish cast and made things darker. I think most people wouldn't notice, but again, I have sensory issues. To me it felt like I was wearing polarized sunglasses in the house. I asked about it and was told it was unavoidable in the energy efficient windows. So that's my experience. I did NOT get triple glazed, so those might really cut out noise more. I personally would not buy these again just because after installation I didn't feel the noise reduction was sufficient to warrant the hassle. I will say it was quieter in my bedroom, BUT I like to sleep with my windows ajar, which defeated the purpose of noise reduction.

I worked at Milgard Woodclad for 2 years making the fiberglass painted and woodclad product line. I made the fiberglass portion of the window as well as I know little bit about fabrication of the window. I am also familiar with the Vinyl windows since I dealt with the product with coworkers and had them in my old house. I will just list a bunch of points about Milgard Woodclad and Vinyl windows and doors. Some of my comments are true about any manufacture. 1. Milgard is a very good manufacture of windows in general 2. Milgard like other manufactures have poorer quality line of windows so you can't look at it as a whole. You have to look at every line individually. Here are my thoughts 3. Woodclad Picture window 4. Woodclad single hung 5. Woodclad casement 6. Avoid Woodclad Double Hung, until the perfect the assembly 7. Woodclad is very good looking window, I would go with Bronze for the outside color 8. Vinyl sliders are OK, but the are perfect all other lines are OK, but I am not a fan of double hung windows, too many chances of failure 9. Milgard Woodclad Doors are very nice, but have water infiltration issues, not recommended for north west locations on the house. Sliders are better than French 10. Their Vinyl window and doors are Gold labeled AAMA certified, they Woodclad window and doors are Silver labeld AAMA certified and fully guaranteed. Not much difference from silver to gold except more quality control in the raw materials. 11. Milgard installers are better than certified contracted installers, there is a difference in training. 12. Probably the worse thing about Milgard windows is that they have a very high turnover rate of employees, like 50% overall. That means their quality can be unstable. 13. Personally I would consider Milgard Windows, but you have to look at the construction of each style of window and door you want and look at it very closely. Ask and look at weeping design of water. How a window is glazed and sealed. Look at spots were air can come in. Look at how much weather striping is used, it is a clue on how sound the construction is. Bottom line, look at the quality of the windows you get once they are installed and be picky. 14. Milgard will stand behind their window and doors, maybe not the contractor but Milgard will so talk to them directly if you can. 15. Another tidbit, the majority of the Woodclad windows are made in Tacoma WA, a few in Simi Valley, CA. But there are 14 sites that make Vinyl windows. The Vinyl window manufactures distribute the Woodclad windows, so alot the locations that sell the windows don't know a whole lot about the Woodclad windows. I am currently making product for a bunch of small WI window and door companies. I have one those companies windows in my new house that I am buying, they are Kolbe and Koble double hung wood with aluminum clading. I didn't pick them. but they look pretty well built and good looking. We will see how they work out. Buyer beware when picking out windows.

I would definitely see one in person. Most manufacturers have what is called a "dealer locator". I would contact one and let them know what you want to see to make sure you are not wasting your time going there. Here is a link for Milgard: https://www.milgard.com/dealers