Replies

1. 
   WINSTALL | Nov 06, 2006 06:43pm | #1

   Go with the MARVIN. Best overall warranty and service. Quality best I have ever seen.

1. 
   wdsnow | Nov 07, 2006 03:37am | #11

   Thanks for your comment.  Do you have any experience with the Integrity line.  Marvin doesn't make them just puts its name on it.

1. 
   oberon476 | Nov 07, 2006 02:39pm | #18

   Marvin does make the Integrity.  They have two plants specific to that product.

1. 
   wdsnow | Nov 07, 2006 03:28pm | #19

   I'll get the Integrity then. The Dbl Hung are more $ than Anderson, but the casements I need are cheaper, so for 6 windows they are $200 less then Anderson. Plus, I get to buy from the local lumberyard instead of a Big Box Store. Thanks for your help, I'm a novice doing my own work, and it's so much more fun when you can have a bit of confidence in your decisions!

1. 
   RRooster | Nov 07, 2006 07:45pm | #23

   Plus, I get to buy from the local lumberyard instead of a Big Box Store.

   Always buy local, support your local businesses, friends and neighbors. 

   http://grungefm.com

    

2. 
   jocobe | Nov 07, 2006 08:53pm | #24

   FYI - Andersen owns Eagle Windows......View Image

2. 
   WINSTALL | Nov 07, 2006 03:41pm | #20

   Actually,  Marvin does make them in a "dedicated" plant in N.D.  They do their own fiberglass pull-trusions,  and Cardinal makes their glass from a facility that is "piggy-backed" to the assembly plant.  Turn around time for us from date of order to dock is about 10 days..... very good service.  My only problem with the line is that i can not get a 5 1/4" jamb extention from the factory... we have to apply them locally.  We use a lot of 5 1/4 jambs in the Derby City.

2. 
   ar7499b | Nov 06, 2006 07:58pm | #2

   I have owned a house that was re-done with andersons. They were fine, but they do not offer a true divided light option. My current house house has marvins with true divided light, and one room with pellas.

    

   I would rate them based on appearance, ease of use, and my opinion of quality:

   1: Marvin by a wide margin

   2: anderson

   3: pella

    

   I am in a cold region where double pane is a must, and the traditional look of the marvins is crucial for my tastes, and the older houses I live in.

   best of luckhope it helps

   ar

    

1. 
   DoRight | Nov 06, 2006 08:31pm | #4

   True divided lights?  Are the divides in between the glass or applied permanantly to the outside glass, or ??

1. 
   ar7499b | Nov 06, 2006 08:43pm | #5

   on my andersons, I had the snap in interior grid, and we paid extra to get a vinyl grid affixed to the outsides of the windows. This helped match the appearance of the original windows from the outside (we did not re-do the whole house). Up close, you could see that it was all fake. There was an additional option to get a metal grid between the two panes of glass that would help with the illusion, but the cost did not sem worth it.

    

   On the Marvins I have now, the windows have six or eight separate panes of double glass. They look great.

    

   ar

    

    

2. 
   Piffin | Nov 07, 2006 04:26am | #13

   With true divided lites, the muntins are separating the individual panes. When muntin bars are applied to the surface, it is a similated divided lite 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   DoRight | Nov 07, 2006 06:37pm | #22

   Exactly, that is why I asked teh poster the question.  I did not know if the poster knew the difference and was just saying "true divided lights".  I think you wold have to be crazy or just enjoy burning fifty dollar bills to have true divided lights and I did not even know anyone built the things.

2. 
   Tim | Nov 06, 2006 08:44pm | #6

   I would adjust your list and make this number 3 "Every other window manufacturer except Pella", and then make Pella #4.

1. 
   pill128 | Nov 06, 2006 10:50pm | #7

   I second that Tim.  On a recent remodel, my crew lost 4 full days to Paella screwups and pissed off my clients immensely.  The worst was the result of a warning in their Mullion kit instructions that stated if the composite widow size was going to be greater the 10' contact your Paella dealer for further instructions.  It appears that I was the first person to ever read their direction because no one at two Paella dealerships nor their corporate office could explain what the warning meant.  I took over 8 hours to get an answer from a Paella engineer--don't lift a composite window from a corner, pick it up at a seam...woohoo.

   The other big screw up had to do with hardware colors.  There is a huge up-charge to change the color of the locks/handles on the windows and sliders.  Low and behold, Paella does not produce certain hardware parts in any color except pewter including the handle for the screen door and the lock on the bottom of the sliding door.  This made my clients absolutely livid and Menards gave them a hard time when they tried to return the white hardware because it was a special order.

   These two things were just the worst of the bunch.

   I am not making a statement as to the quality of the windows, they seemed decent in that regard - but for such a large company, you would think they would have their act together a little better when it comes to the details.

1. 
   Tim | Nov 07, 2006 12:58am | #8

   I only have Pella windows in my home, so I don't know if the others out there are as crappy as Pella.

   4 years ago, we renovated and added on to our home. This included alot of widows and french doors. We spent around $60k on the best Pella had to offer. Overall, we have disappointed from the sale, to the present. The quality of the people we dealt with is as poor as the quality of the product. I have on several occassions decribed the faults of these products and will continue with the hopes that someone else will not end up with same junk that I (or some future owner) will need to replace or live with.

    

1. 
   DoRight | Nov 07, 2006 01:07am | #9

   This is amazing!  Pella has such a "good" name.  At least among customers.  Here, contractors hate them and many customers as well.  I guess teh higher you are the harder you fall, except that it takes thousands of unsatisfied customers to caught on before the vendor does.  At least it appears this way.

2. 
   Tim | Nov 07, 2006 04:24pm | #21

   Pella does one thing very well. Marketing. I can't recall how many people saw the Pella stcikers and said "Wow, Pella, their the best!" Pecerption is reality, especially once the checks are cut.

   Their present maketing line is "Pella, viewed to be the best". They do look good. I would have to add "but in operation, mediocre". I have no recourse other than word of mouth. I will always share my experience with Pella at any opportunity. You know what they say, "A happy customer tells 2 people, an unhappy customer tells 10 people, an unhappy customer with an internet connection tells 10,000 people." Buyer Beware!

2. 
   Piffin | Nov 07, 2006 04:30am | #15

   Not only that, but Pay-ella has changed their hardware a coupl eof times so that if you are adding to a house with Pay-ella windows from 10-12 years ago, the hardware will be a totally different style. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

3. 
   Piffin | Nov 07, 2006 04:34am | #16

   Talk about scedule delays from Pella -
   I had them loose a picture fixed unit 5'x6' in the center of a prominent bay on a house. by the time it arrived, the drapes were hung, the floors finished, and the furniture in place, with plywood and plastic covering the hole and staging still set up outside. When it finally came, we had it installed, trimmed and painted in two days, and all the staging gone./You think I'll ever be able to sell that couple a Pella again? 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   Piffin | Nov 07, 2006 04:27am | #14

   AMEN! 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

3. 
   cmcguire1 | Nov 06, 2006 08:19pm | #3

   Looking at the same choices I was steered to Eagle windows by an architect friend.
   Same quality as Marvin and 15% less expensive (on our project).
   There is a six week lead time however.

1. 
   andy_engel | Nov 07, 2006 02:35am | #10

   I installed Eagles on a house I framed a few years back. Seemed like good units, everything on the order was right. The salesman even came by to check. Only complaint was the that 8 ft. high doors were stunningly heavy.

   BTW, true divided light windows will have a substantially higher u-value (meaning that they leak more heat) than windows with one insulated pane. That's because the greatest heat loss in most windows is around the spacers, and true divided lights have more linear feet of spacers.Andy

   "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein

   "Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom

2. 
   Piffin | Nov 07, 2006 04:22am | #12

   I've seen Eagle windows. They do seem to be a decent unit, but no way are they in the same class of millwork as Marvins 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

4. 
   sawdust58 | Nov 07, 2006 06:08am | #17

   I wouldn't go near a Pella, nothing but trouble and poor service. They are very over-rated, a lot more sizzle than steak if you  know what I mean, Marvins are good then Anderson