Marcy, If I may, make a couple of suggestions. My personal recommendation for you would be to use a fiberglass window. Fiberglass is impervious to moisture, chemicals, salts, etc. for your pool environment. It does not conduct heat or cold (thermal performance) and is not affected by extreme heat & cold either. Vinyl expands and softens (melts) at high temps, and contracts rapidly as it cools. This will cause it to become brittle with age. Aluminum conducts heat & cold, wood requires Paint & maintenance. So I would recommend fiberglass inside and out for your design. Most underground storage tanks, chemical equipment, and boats are made from fiberglass because of its strength and because it performs so well. Vinyl is the most cost competitive product sold today, however, I personally would stay far away from vinyl if your intent is longevity of your windows. Aluminum windows are still popular in your part of the country, however, even thermally broken aluminum will sweat in that environment. Let me qualify "Fiberglass Window" by saying an INSULATED (cavities foam filled for sound reduction if sound reduction is important) fiberglass window frame. Also Be very careful of what some consider to be or call "fiberglass" and what truly is fiberglass. For instance, certain companies have products that use the word "Fiber" in their name, but it is merely a composite of wood, vinyl, and fiberglass strands for reinforcement. Thats NOT fiberglass. True fiberglass is thermally set during the manufacturing process, and once cured (in about 20 Minutes) its shape cannot be changed by re-heating or melting. In the interest of full disclosure, I work for a distributor of winodw products, and thus have gained a VAST education in the subject of Manufactured goods & thermal performance. Thus, I wont recommend a specific product, but I will tell you that spending a little more for a fiberglass frame in your area of the country will give you many more years longevity, & they can even be painted (even dark colors) without voiding the warranty. If you think about it, Fiberglass windows & Glass (key components are derived from silica sand) are both made of the same raw materials. Therefore, what small amount of expansion and contraction they do have from hot and cold temps is minimal, but they will move at the same basic rate. This prevents separation of frame & glass, and degradation of the product over time. Tri Pane windows are expensive, and will improve your thermal performance and your STC/OITC rating, but not enough to justify the expense unless you are in a severely cold climate. If noise & thermal control are your primary concerns, I suggest you ask any window seller to SHOW you their STC/OITC ratings, their thermal (NFRC) ratings, and a Corner cut sample of the product you are interested in. Much can be learned about quality and serviceability by these 3 things. I do however recommend you use at least a doubled layered (LowE2 - 1 Layered and 1 sputtered) coating on your windows. Double coat low-e reflects heat gain in the summer and retains heat in the winter. It provides some solar heat gain during the winter months as well. This is difficult to explain, but the mental picture is this: The secong coat is sputtered on and done so at an angle. The reason for this is because the angle of the sun relative to the earth is higher in the summer and lower in the sky in the winter. Therefore, in the summer it reflects the suns rays and the winter it allows more of those rays to pass. Since the area is enclosed, without some sun protection, you simply wont be able to cool the area when competing with the power of the sun. I suggest you use solar sun shades for summer time as suggested above, this way you can manually control summer vs winter heat gain, and even on an hour by hour basis. Besides, they will also provide you privacy for a night swim if desired. As for your plants, Low-e coatings still allow a generous portion of the suns spectrum through to nourish your plants. My house is covered in vegetation that performs very well behind these coatings. I hope my knowledge helps you better understand how these things work. Best of luck! JH

Hi Central 79, Glad to hear you are narrowing down your window options -- it will be good for you to get the decision made so you can move on to the next big decision. I don't know anything about either the Windsor or Plygem windows, but hopefully you will get feedback from the window experts on this forum about these two brands. I know Integrity is a popular choice on this board. As per mixing different window materials, I think that would not be a problem with the attic windows, or any basement windows. We have vinyl in our basement, and on the north front face of our home. Before starting our addition we had recently replaced all the north facing windows with a high quality vinyl windows. When we chose to go with fiberglass for the addition, I was worried they would not go. However, this has not proven to be a problem given all the windows on one side of the house are the same. All of our windows are white like you are suggesting. For sure the vinyl windows we have have thicker mullions than the fiberglass, but they don't look that different. Now we don't have wood on the interior as you are considering as our fiberglass windows are fiberglass on the inside and outside -- not sure if that makes a big difference. I was unclear from your post where you were planning to mix the windows. Will different windows be in the same room? Will different windows be on the same side of the house viewed from the exterior? I do think the attic fixed ovals will not look out of place with your main floor fiberglass windows. Are you planning to mix two or three different kinds of windows? What do others think about mixing different windows? Carol

PA has a bunch of good options in terms of replacement windows. What part of PA are you from? Commonly thought up good options will be Sunrise, Soft-Lite, Okna, Kensington Quantum 2, etc.

If you choose aluminum clad wood, be aware of the maintenance issues, particularly in certain climates. Years ago, the upper end of some brands of wood casements were made using Douglas Fir. When the casements were left open for long periods of time, the windows failed to close properly. Although I doubt that's an issue at present, it's something you may wish to inquire about. If you're seeking virtually no maintenance, go with fiberglass. It lacks the warmth of real wood, but avoids maintenance on wood sections. W hatever you select, you'll need skilled craftsmen to provide you with superior installation skills. You'll notice that some parts of the country have experienced many more installation problems than others, dependent upon the brand. Marvin appears to have a stellar reputation. I agree with millworkman's rankings. Loewen makes great doors, as well. Research the dealer's/installment team's reputations, as well as the company's customer service/warranty.