Cheri, that may be a fair criticism of my use of the word "impervious", with some caveats. There is no product that can truly say that it cannot be damaged by woodpeckers. That said, we have replaced cedar siding on many homes over the years due to repetitive woodpecker damage, and after the Smartside product was installed, they stayed away. I have not seen a single instance where that was not the case in my own experience. The product is much harder than cedar and does not harbor the insects that they are looking for. I'd also clarify that in the context of my comment I was comparing the product to fiber cement, and the Smartside product does have superior impact resistance, which would logically correlate to its resistance to woodpecker "drumming" as well as hail. As far as your picture, is that your home? When was that installed and which product was it? The pic is a little foggy, but it looks like a smoother texture than that of the LP stand based lap siding... I can't say for certain, but that doesn't look like the product. This seems like a questionable first post to the forum as well, particularly since the thread subject is not even about siding. Given that the thread is about Beechworth windows, it should be also mentioned that as was speculated by some professionals as a possibility-- if not likelihood-- a few years ago, this product is no more. http://media.graytvinc.com/documents/Beechworth+Windows_11-08-18.pdf It looks like Rachel was considering the product just a month before the shut things down, I hope that she was not left high and dry.

Why would an interior extension jamb be vinyl wrapped? I suspect you might mean an epoxy coating which Andersen sometimes pretends is a cladding. In general, extensions jambs are painted when the trim is painted. Here are the details of these windows in question. You can discover much of what you need to know by comparing them carefully. 400 Woodwright 400 Tilt Wash 200 Tilt Wash 200 Tilt Wash sill detail The 400 Woodwright has a very handsome sash fully clad with a smooth composite material called Fibrex (a very tough material made of wood fibers and PVC). The depth of the sash frame allows a full height mullion like you would expect on a traditional wood window. The sash of the 200 and 400 Tilt Wash is not clad; its wood with an epoxy coating that Andersen sometimes calls a cladding. The frame is almost flush with the glass so the mullions are not very high and are not convincing. You need to see the actual unit to determine if you like the mullions. Some of these details are old so don't rely on them; go see a window sample! Both the 400 Woodwright and Tilt Wash have the same composite (Fibrex) steeply sloping sill (with a notch below it to prevent water from getting behind the siding). IMO this is the best sill design in the business. The upper parts of the frame of both of the 400 windows are vinyl wrapped. One of my pet peeves is the way the Andersen 200 (and other similar builder-grade windows from other manufacturers) has a virtually flat sill so if the screen weeps get clogged or the wind force is great, water will rise until it overflows the interior dam since the seal under the window will not stop water in a storm. And if the screen weeps do not clog, water will roll over the nosing of the sill and run back horizontally to the top course of siding where it only has to penetrate a line of caulk at best (its difficult to apply and not very effective) and this caul is often applied poorly or not at all. Andersen even shows caulk at the top point of tapered clapboard siding in the above sill detail and even includes a tiny little round backer rod in a parody of a proper caulking detail. Caulk should never be relied upon to stop water from getting behind siding at a horizontal joint. Windows have had slopping sills with drips and notches for siding for hundreds of years. Why would Andersen use that design for the 400 series and not the 200? The Woodwright is a great window. I specify it when a client doesn't want to spend the money for the Marvin Ultimate series. If you cannot afford the Woodwright and can live with the lesser sash design of the 400 tilt-Wash, I recommend it. I cannot recommend the 200 Tilt-Wash nor would I specify it for any house for which I was responsible.

We closed on our lot yesterday! Finally! To save time we started schematics while in escrow and our schematic design is in for design review with our DRC. If that goes well, our architects will start on permit-ready plans in January. Right now it feels like we'll never get to the fun part - building. Hopefully early next year.

I am in Austin, TX. The window will be facing north with not too much sun exposure. The house is a 1937 brick bungalow with a clapboard/Dutch Lap addition done in the late 40's. The window will be installed into the addition part of the house but it's right next to where the brick & the addition meet. The entire house has all original wood windows so I'm not trying to match anything. This will be more of an 'odd man out' feature window about 4' from the back door which is a black 15 lite wood French patio door. There are no steel or steel-like windows or doors in the house. The addition is to be painted a charcoal grey. Going for a sort of 'farmhouse' look with the window.