I would advise thinking about how you want each window to function - from how much you see it, what time of day or night you might want to open it, to whether you'll want to keep it covered or not during the day and if so with what kind of window coverings - and also from the outside, what kind of conditions will the window be exposed to? It is possible that upspending will be warranted on one side of the house but not the other. For example, the windows under our porch overhang get almost no weather at all, and the curtains are almost always closed. So when we replace those, it will be with inexpensive wood windows. But when we replace an east, south, or west window that gets brutal sun or the full force of the rain and wind, we will be spending a bit more. We learned this when we put an inexpensive wood window in a very exposed location, and after 15 years had to rebuild part of the frame that was rotting. I realize people like windows to match, but you may be able to get a very comparable look from manufacturers at different price points for different applications. Karin L

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.

Thank you Toddimn and EcoStarRemodel. Toddimn, thanks for the warning about the need to install a header if we combine the windows. We'll definitely look into what is involved before deciding if we want to go that route. I went to another window store that had a better variety of display windows. They carry only Milgard. Milgard seems to have the corner on the market in this area. After seeing the both the Style Line and Tuscany windows, I would definitely choose Tuscany. The Style line have thin, unimpressive frames and look very similar to our aluminum windows. The Tuscany frames are much beefier, more like a wood window. The uneven sight lines in the Style Line windows doesn't look good to me. The operable windows have glass that is at least 2" smaller, whereas the Tuscany windows have matching glass sizes. The Tuscany locks are nicer and the weepholes are covered. Montecito is the same frame as the Tuscany. The Montecito lacks a few of the nicer features of the Tuscany and doesn't have the glass breakage warranty. The saleslady told me that the price of the two lines is almost the same ( usually within $2 to $5) so she doesn't ever sell the Montecito. Home Depot gave me a quote for Montecito windows. That might be one good reason to buy from a window supplier rather than Home Depot. Neither window store that I visited had any double hung window displays. I would be interested to see one. I was told that the double hung windows have thicker frames than the single hung. I don't think I would want an even thicker frame for our narrow kitchen windows so the double hung might not work for our home. I guess the single hung could look mismatched since the screen is only on the bottom but I wonder if it would be annoying to have to look out a screen at the top? I will do the contoured grids just in the top of the windows. They don't come in a smaller size. EcoStarRemodel, the window salesperson said that they can order picture windows with frames to match casement windows. She suggested making the two center windows into one picture window and putting casements on the sides. That way the view in the middle wouldn't be obstructed by the center bar of a double casement. However, she said that the picture window in a casement frame would cost almost as much as a casement window. I didn't realize that all of the windows in the house should be of the same type If that's the case, then I wouldn't want to go with casements. We would need 13 of them which would be way too much $$$. Would it also look weird if we combined the two center kitchen windows into a picture window with single hungs on all the other windows?

I have decided to go the full frame replacement. I have been looking at various types of sill pan flashing. One product that I like (at least the idea behind it) is the Protectowrap Sill Pan Drainage System. It is installed over flexible membrame flashing and it is layer of sloped foam covered in a water wicking material designed to draw any moisture into the flashing and away from the interior of the structure or so it seems. Most methods I have read about use either a metal sill pan, liquid flashing or flexible membrane. The Sill Pan Drainage System seems like an added bit of security assuming your initial flashing and window sealing is done properly. My question is: Is it worth it? I got a quote for 100' (of which I will likely need about 50') for just shy of $250. Most flexible membrane flashing and liquid flashing is about $40-60 for 50-75' depending on width. Any thoughts or perhaps other practical ideas for making the best possible water tight/ optimal draining sill pan? I'm not trying to be cheap, just practical. This product must be special ordered whereas most of the other protecto wrap products can be bought off the shelf leading me to believe that the Sill Pan Drainage System is not commonly used in my area ( Austin TX) either because it is not needed or due to cost or better alternatives .