Jeld wen is a common brand in my area. A lot of my clients have installed them with no problems. What is the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC)? You should look for shgc less than .40 This info is on a sticker from National Fenstration Rating Council (www.nfrc.org) and will list U-factor, visible light and climate location. Best of luck & make sure that the windows are flashed correctly!

My husband resided our house with vinyl shake last summer. I'll ask him to give you specifics tomorrow - he's already asleep ;-) Meantime, here are some pictures of ours in process - maybe this will give you some info, although we not only changed from clapboard to shake but also changed color. oops - he made a liar out of me - he's up and says typically you *could* use the same j and trim but doesn't know whay you'd want to. That's a minimal expense in the scheme of things and removing the old gives you a chance to fully inspect all your junctures for any water damage. Plus, it's easy to damage them in the tear off process so why not start fresh? I have no idea what I just typed, I am just the messenger.

Thank you everyone, for your thoughts and opinions! I guess we will pick the Pebblestone Clay, although it's probably the same intensity of color! Since we are opting for the verticle Board and Batten, now, that is the closest to the feel of what we already have. The fern color would have been perfect--but like I said, not an option with the vertical!! And, it does make sense, that the fading would be so gradual as to not be noticed, until time to repair it, if necessary!! janice

Most windows are better than Andersen. They're overpriced garbage living off of their name. I've been installing Softlite windows for over 20 years. I have also installed Marvin, Simonton, Thermal (now out of business), Crestline, Alside and a few other of brand windows. I personally use Alside windows for my business but mainly subcontract for a company that uses Softlite. Softlite would be my second choice out of all of them. Marvin's are probably the best windows of the bunch but definitely not worth the extra cost. Especially if you plan to move in 15 years. New construction type windows are great but can cause a world id issues if not installed 100%correctly. It also adds a major headache and a lot of expense in the future for the new owners or you if you end up staying. If it were me, I would save some cash and have the builders build buck frames and use replacement type windows. Since you're starting with a clean slate you can usually get a better fit and better insulated opening doing it that way.