ccsikyr wrote:
Dealer's choice.

I don't doubt Andersen makes a decent product, but I'm skeptical of
vinyl in general.

Over time, after a beating from wind and rain, I think aluminum will
hold it's shape better than
vinyl. There are examples all over my neighborhood of vinyl windows
coming apart, not even five years after installation.
Granted, they aren't Andersen.

I'm open to persuasion, though.

A sure sign of intelligence.

I'm working on a project right now that has 25 year old Andersens. No
problem getting replacement hardware, screens, whatever. That's a
major benefit if you plan on staying in the house for years. The vinyl
has the color throughout and is clad over wood. On some of the windows
painters had slopped some paint on the vinyl, old caulking had to be
removed to install new flashing, etc. With the vinyl I can be pretty
heavy handed and just scrape the old paint and caulk off. I clean up
the last remnants by scraping a razor blade along the vinyl. The end
result is a clean, white window. Try doing that with aluminum and
you'll have a clean mill finish aluminum window.

I don't think Andersen is the "best" window out there, but I think it
has a good price point and the widespread use and long history are
major benefits. Check out an Andersen glider in person, they're
nothing like the casements or doublehungs. Much beefier.

R