@Windows on Washington Ltd and @quasiexpert Sorry if my last message came through in a different tone, I'd been up for awhile and was just stream of consciousness posting. From my research here on this forum, it just seems that invariably quite a few posts discount the entry level windows and recommend the Anderson 400 or Marvin Integrity ++ type windows. Hoping that I can learn from you all. Our situation is a new construction in the deep South (Birmingham AL). About 60 windows on the house. Front facing windows I believe have to be aluminum clad, the rear might be able to get way with a vinyl window. Rear will be facing the South West, but looks like there will be some tree coverage as well as decks/roofing for the majority of the windows. The builder has spec'd Piva Group vinyl windows. They are Argon filled, double glazed, Low E 366. U-factor 0.26, SHGC 0.21, Visible Transmittance 0.49 and air leakage < 0.3. He mentioned that the Anderson 100's might be within the same price range, and we would be interested in the Smart Sun if it's available with the low E4 coating to help protect the wood floors. While I can appreciate the beauty of the wood interiors, our preference is for something low maintenance and can handle sun without fading. We've never had a double hung window before and a single hung is fine. We open the windows in our current house maybe 8-10 times a year to air the house out, otherwise they stay shut. Sadly, we wash our windows even less times /duck Given the above criteria, might you have some thoughts or recommendations, or are there any additional questions I might answer?

I did mix them all throughout the house (my window style is a cottage 4-over-1 grid with both interior and exterior grids), and after all my fretting, no one would ever be able to tell from the inside or outside! (I even have to look and try to remember whether some of the casements are 100s or 400s.) If it weren't for needing some very specific sizes (and wood grids to stain in our den), I would do all 100's because I cannot tell the difference in terms of operation/quality on the casements and you can barely discern the difference in terms of looks. And even in rooms where I chose the 400 series because I wanted to have double-hung windows, I wouldn't do it again....as appealing as the notion of being able to open the upper or lower sash was, what I've found in day-to-day living is that I only ever open the bottom sash, so I would've been just fine with simply doing single-hungs! Overall I'm satisfied with my Anderson windows, but I like my friend's Marvin Integrity windows better than mine--hers operate better and just have more of a "quality" look (mine still look fine.....I was actually going to do Integrity originally, but they did a price-hike during construction, and I just couldn't justify the extra $15-20K). I will say, however, that my Anderson 100 sliding windows that I did in the basement are ATROCIOUS in every way. Incredibly difficult to lock (you have to slam the window shut in order for the locking mechanism to "catch"--I far prefer the manual latches I had on my previous sliders), don't slide open very smoothly, let dirt in (we live in a very windy climate but still I've never seen so much fine dirt piled up on a window ceil!), super cheap--the lock plates have snapped or broken off over half of them in just the first year (and we almost never even use them). Needless to say, the inexpensive vinyl sliders we had in the basement of our last house were far superior.

I am not someone who posts reviews on the internet, particularly negative feedback. But, given how much false information and untrue ads are out there for the “high quality” of Marvin, I have decided to do what is right and post my experience with them on a few websites, such as Houzz. Four months after we placed the order, Marvin delivered the windows. Some of the windows had obviously been dropped before delivery. Scratches on the outer frames and bumps on the inner side clearly showed that. We noted the issues as they were unloading the windows and took pictures on their truck. They may claim that they have good quality windows, but when they are dropped it basically does not matter anymore as the structure of the windows is certainly compromised. As for customer service, the windows were delivered in April and we notified the vendor and Marvin of the issues immediately as they were still unloading the windows. Four months later, we are still nowhere and nothing has been fixed. They just delivered one wrong frame for a window which we never asked for a fix and they are not even coming to remove it from my property. No word on when they are going to fix the windows. Total mess on their side and non-existing post-sale support. === Update of October 2021 I got an email from Marvin regional manager today; and it's the middle of OCTOBER -- 6 months after installation date. They plan to replace the broken sashes -- get ready -- in JANUARY NEXT YEAR. This joke is not even funny. Stay away from this company at all cost. They couldn't care less about you once they have your money. Go with anyone but Marvin. I mean, the worst thing that can happen is that you get broken windows and they never fix it --- well, that's Marvin.

I have used both extensively (over 200 remodels - most had window upgrades). We used Blk/Blk A 100's on our place in Sacramento, CA (can see pics of both in our profile - 45th St used A100, Quonset for the Ply Gems). I was a little disappointed in them, honestly. They looked great and made the design element pop, but the single-hung units felt cheap and less-sturdy than many of the Ply Gems and MI's I have used in the past. Now building houses in TX, and again considering A-100's vs Ply Gem 500's for a couple projects. Pricing is a huge factor (both have good warranties), but I have not had ANY leaking with either window.