Why I will not buy Marvin Window Products and neither should you. In 2004 we renovated our kitchen, replacing three windows and one door with Marvin Windows. At the time we purchased Marvin because I felt they were high quality. Marvin’s website says, “We are committed to design that is as functional and intuitive as it is beautiful. Crafted with exceptional skill, our products deliver quality you can see, touch, and feel, the beauty that brings joy, and performance that stands the test of time.“ My view of the ‘test of time’ for windows that I put in my home is a long time, decades. Apparently, Marvin’s test is dramatically shorter. Less than 20 years after installation I noticed that the window had rotted all the way through the frame. I am not sure how many years it took to decay, but clearly it did not happen overnight. Their test of time failed quickly. I called Marvin and was told that the warranty is only 10 years. I understand how warranties work and asked for Marvin’s help repairing the window. They said they would not offer any help since they no longer make the model. I called dozens of companies and was told these Marvin windows were not repairable. I am left with one window out of six that failed out of warranty but clearly started failing years ago before the warranty had expired. I now need to replace all of my kitchen windows in order to have a consistent look. I thought that maybe this is a one-time issue and not very widespread. It turns out Marvin lost a class action lawsuit on this very issue. https://www.yourlawyer.com/construction-defects/marvin-windows-lawsuit/. Apparently, their product team feels they can continue to turn out products that do not stand the test of time. Marvin’s marketing department may tell you they are committed to a lot of things but it is clearly a lot of marketing and they do not stand behind the actual quality of their windows. So when you look to purchase windows for your home my strong recommendation is to look at anyone other than Mavin.

@ Windowdog--I do think the man who came & measured our windows knew what he was talking about. He did tend to want to tell me what I should buy/order. In fact he got back to us today after I called him to see how the quote was coming & he had plugged in things we hadn't discussed when he made the quote. Unfortunately my husband couldn't be here when he came, but they have talked on the phone & we are going in to his office to talk to him. He also told me the grids could only be ordered in 4 standard colors inside. The other company told me 6 colors & then they told me special order could be any of their colors. He also told me that the grids that are removable & on the outside of the glass are set inside a frame & the frame just pops out. The other guy had ones to show us & you had to squeeze each grid to get it to come out. I really am beginning to wonder if any Marvin window dealers know their product.

Thanks for the explanation. It sounded like frame jumping was only one method of retrofitting, but I think it's a finer distinction than that. After looking around more, I think I see why people make a distinction between frame-jumped and non-frame-jumped retrofits. With very old wood windows, once you remove the stops, you're basically down to the main opening of the window (the jambs, sill, etc.). An insert can then be fit in with no significant gap. However, with sliding aluminum windows popular in the '50s and '60s (which is what we have), apparently it can be difficult to remove enough of the original aluminum pieces (rails, etc.) to get down to the actual window opening, so most of the time it is left in place and "jumped" over, resulting in a larger loss of glass area, and a gap that must be covered with extra vinyl trim and extra large stops (as East Bay 10 mentioned). With this project coming up, as I look around, I've been wondering why so many '50s-'60s era houses with new windows have very thick looking window frames, and this explains it. It kind of makes one want to go the full-frame route, especially if you want new interior trim anyway, as many '60's era houses have little or no trim to start with.

We have mostly vintage, antique, and seventies reproduction (Kindel, Henkel Harris) furniture with some new Lee Industries chairs and sofa (I would love to find a place to reupholster and slipcover my 25-year old Altman's sofa), but we do have a number of things from Ikea, and will be getting more for our new house -- the kitchen, and also bathroom vanities (decently made and hard to beat the storage and design for the price point) and Aina 100 percent linen curtains ($69/pair); curtain rods and hardware are decent too. Industrial-style pendant lamps for the pantry and laundry room. We live in Canada far from the U.S. border and not too close to any of the bigger cities, and are stuck with a lot of crummy chain stores. I prefer to avoid HomeSense, Winners, etc. and the furniture at Sears, Ashley, as noted above, isn't even worth talking about. Because of our location, winter is long and dark, so I also like Ikea's unscented votives and tea lights -- we go through a lot, and the price is right. Oh, and the solar Chinese-style round lanterns, going strong in my greenhouse for five years. The Oftast tempered glass dishes (dinner plates, bowls, salad plates etc.) for 79 to 99 cents each are great for entertaining. Considering the cost of paper and plastic, they paid for themselves after a few years of larger summer and holiday gatherings. We'll need some more occasional chairs in the new house and I've been thinking of Ikea for that. I would love a chaise longue somewhere, and Ikea might be the only way to justify it. I find Ikea in general works well if you do it like the best Ikea kitchens here on GW -- mix it up a bit so it's not entirely Ikea. It works well/looks best when it's in a mix of low and high (cost/quality).