Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

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icy
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Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:27 pm

Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#1 Post by icy »

We're in Illinois and have narrowed down our selection for doing window replacements
(17 double hung windows) to either Sunrise Restoration Vinyl or Marvin
Infinity Fiberglass. I'm looking for something that will be the LAST window
that I ever put in this house ... so it should last 20+ years and more!!!
The Marvin Infinity will cost about $162 more per window
($2754 more). We also looked at Alside Ultramax ... but I was not
as impressed by their warranty.

We like the look of the Marvin Infinity and the fact that we could get a
cream or sierra color on the interior and a darker tan or even grey on
the exterior (The Sunrise selection doesn't allow the cream on the
interior - just a tan or a painter's white). I think that either vinyl or fiberglass
would be fine in comparison to other homes in the neighborhood.
Also, I like the idea of no thermal expansion issues w/ the
Marvin Infinity windows.

However when I look at the warranty:
Sunrise: Lifetime Non-prorated warranty
Marvin Infinity: Lifetime

Also, I can't find the air infiltration numbers for Marvin Integrity,
but it seems that the Sunrise is pretty good.

Finally, I'm a little tired of the line .... How long are you going to live in the
house? If not long ... then go with vinyl .... but if long, you might want
to consider wood or fiberglass. So, if the warranties are both lifetime,
why should I spend the extra money for Marvin Infinity fiberglass?
It seems like the premium vinyl windows have solved the problems
w/ the greater expansion of vinyl versus fiberglass and from what I
read seal problems have more to do with the spacers in the glass
than the frame type in the frame is premium vinyl or fiberglass?

So, any thoughts? Is Marvin Infinity really that much better?
Are the fiberglass windows better insulators?

Thanks ....
Isaac

Skydawggy.
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Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#2 Post by Skydawggy. »

If you are looking strictly at the energy efficiency differences between the Sunrise and the Marvin, the Sunrise wins hands down. Although it's difficult to pin down an Air leakage number from Marvin, I believe it to be in the .20's. The Sunrise is .03. Many people who purchase Marvin Windows are looking for an alternative for wood not vinyl. Truthfully some just don't like the look of a vinyl window or just don't feel it fits their homes decor. It could be they own a historic home and want to preserve that look. The Sunrise Restorations is without question one of the finest vinyl windows on the market today. Not only in aesthetics but also in build quality and energy efficiency.

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Randy
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Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#3 Post by Randy »

I agree with Ecostar's assessment, and I'll just add that the Sunrise windows are some of the nicest looking vinyl windows made. With narrower sashes and frames, they allow for maximum glass, and look a lot like wood windows.

Skydawggy.
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Location: Northern Virginia

Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#4 Post by Skydawggy. »

I agree Randy. One of the best selling tools I have is to take several window samples by different manufacturers with me when I visit a potential client. Almost everyone ends up going with the Sunrise. Not just because it's a really nice looking window but I think they really like the look of the Max-Edge Spacer. I show Super Spacer and Supercept but they always prefer the Max-Edge.

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#5 Post by Windows on Washington »

I do like the idea of fiberglass but it is not that much better and in this particular comparison (Sunrise vs. Infinity) the numbers are worse on the Infinity.

Sunrise is a nice narrow profile and that is well received by most clients when compared to some of the bulkier options out there.

For your application, you can't go wrong with either.

masterext
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Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#6 Post by masterext »

Sunrise restorations is a very nice window. It is close in performance to the Vytex " Potomac" window.
The Vytex potomac series has a slight advantage in energy efficiency but both are very solid windows.
Last edited by masterext on Mon Mar 20, 2017 5:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

icy
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Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:27 pm

Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#7 Post by icy »

Thanks so much for everyone's comments so far.

Our original windows (when we bought the house) are wood,
but they are all painted an off-white on the interior (and
dark brown on the exterior). So, we don't need to have
a wood grain look and are not attached to the windows
looking exactly like wood. The comment about fiberglass looking
like wood did make me rethink a bit ... but we definitely
will continue to have white or off-white interior windows,
so this does help confirm that vinyl or fiberglass are still
equally valid options for us.

I still get a bit attached to the argument about fiberglass
not "moving" or expanding/contracting as much, but as
a number of responses indicated the Sunrise vinyl windows
have much better energy efficiency numbers. Also and the
little bit of info that I've found seems to indicate that
the R-value of the frame is actually better for the Sunrise
than for Marvin Infinity.

As far as life expectancy of the windows - it would appear
to me that vinyl and fiberglass are probably comparable
(especially if the window is a premium vinyl). Are there any
sources of updated info about life expectancy of vinyl
vs fiberglass windows.

Thanks again ... this is really helpful.

buddy11
Posts: 780
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Location: Lower Hudson Valley NY

Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#8 Post by buddy11 »

icy wrote:Thanks so much for everyone's comments so far.

Our original windows (when we bought the house) are wood,
but they are all painted an off-white on the interior (and
dark brown on the exterior). So, we don't need to have
a wood grain look and are not attached to the windows
looking exactly like wood. The comment about fiberglass looking
like wood did make me rethink a bit ... but we definitely
will continue to have white or off-white interior windows,
so this does help confirm that vinyl or fiberglass are still
equally valid options for us.

I still get a bit attached to the argument about fiberglass
not "moving" or expanding/contracting as much, but as
a number of responses indicated the Sunrise vinyl windows
have much better energy efficiency numbers. Also and the
little bit of info that I've found seems to indicate that
the R-value of the frame is actually better for the Sunrise
than for Marvin Infinity.

As far as life expectancy of the windows - it would appear
to me that vinyl and fiberglass are probably comparable
(especially if the window is a premium vinyl). Are there any
sources of updated info about life expectancy of vinyl
vs fiberglass windows.

Thanks again ... this is really helpful.
The thermal expansion of fiberglass is much less than vinyl and therefore theoretically it should hold it's air leakage numbers longer, but there's no proof of that. There are no impartial studies comparing longevity but fiberglass has a much greater modulous strength than vinyl.

Infinity has better color and finish options than Sunrise. Don't get caught up in the warrantee. Both windows will last 20+ years
That said, Sunrise makes top quality vinyl windows which should last you a long time.. you won;t be disappointed in them

pondscum
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Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#9 Post by pondscum »

I'm actually trying to decide between the same two brands of windows. :?

A couple years ago I had the Sunrise Restorations put in my house in Boston, and was quite pleased with them. I had to rule out the Infinity at that time because of local dealer issues. Now I've moved to Colorado and, guess what, my new house needs windows too.

Aside from the vinyl vs fiberglass thing.... I'm at 6200 feet elevation here. The Sunrise dealer says they can either give me triple-pane glass with air fill or double-pane with argon (Sunrise has some sort of special pressure valve for high-altitude installs), for the same price. The Infinity dealer says they can go up to 6500 feet for the Low E-366 glass with argon, so I'm right at the upper end of that. If the manufacturer says it's still OK, is it really OK? One of the picture windows is very large and might be more susceptible to bowing than more normal-sized windows, right?

I'm going to be getting a mix of sliders and awnings, plus two patio doors and some big picture windows; no double-hungs. Any reason to prefer one brand or the other? E.g., I noted the Sunrise slider has brass rollers, while the Infinity is a true slider, and I'm not sure if one design is better than the other.

Price-wise, the Infinity quote came in at about 10% more than the Sunrise. Is that ratio about typical? If I decide to go for the vinyl, I'm also going to try to get a quote on the Sunrise Vanguard, which I know is essentially the same window as the Restorations. Any other thoughts or recommendations?

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Randy
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Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#10 Post by Randy »

If those two manufacturers say the elevation is fine for their products, I'd be confident in them. For just 10% more, I'd make the jump to fiberglass.

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#11 Post by Windows on Washington »

A 10% jump is nothing from the vinyl to fiberglass comparison. That is a great price given that the price on the Sunrise is remotely sane.

pondscum
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Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#12 Post by pondscum »

Verrrry interesting. I've now got a much more aggressive price quote on the Restorations window, so the price difference is now more like 25%. I'm thinking that tips the balance back in the other direction..... :? It's hard to justify spending almost $200/opening more for fiberglass when I know first-hand that the Restorations is a high-quality product, at least.

pondscum
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Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#13 Post by pondscum »

Just to update: I have decided to order the Sunrise Restorations windows. Two things tipped the balance. First, after I got my initial set of estimates, I had some crises at work I had to deal with so I had to put the window decision aside for a while, and meanwhile the Infinity dealer started getting very pushy, tried pulling scare tactics on me, etc. It made me feel very uncomfortable with doing business with that company. Then, I talked to the Restorations guy some more.... he said that he could get me the Infinity too if I really wanted it, but he told me that the reason why they stopped trying to sell it as one of their regular lines a few years back is that Marvin didn't want to put in the argon fill in for this altitude (and it didn't meet the tax credit requirements without it, which of course was a big deal back then). So, seems like the Restorations is the better choice, with better pricing and better performance outweighing the fiberglass vs vinyl thing.

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#14 Post by Windows on Washington »

Keep us up to date on the after install.

Great choice in window and good luck.

pondscum
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Re: Sunrise Restorations Vinyl vs Marvin Infinity Fiberglass ...

#15 Post by pondscum »

OK, I had the Restorations put in a couple weeks ago.

Installation was very different from in my Boston house, where they pulled the wood exterior casings, installed new-construction-type windows with a nailing fin, and put up new casings. Here my house has a stucco exterior and no casings, so they used a sawzall to cut off the fin on the original new-construction windows, put in block-frame replacements with fiberglass insulation stuffed all around, and finished them off on the outside with aluminum trim. On the inside, the new windows fit behind the existing drywall returns, just like the old ones, and all they had to do was caulk.

Here's a photo showing the new outside trim:
http://www.frogsonice.com/photos/newhou ... utside.jpg

So far so good, except that in the pair of big side-by-side single-hungs (to the right of the patio door in the photo), they screwed up and sent me windows with frosted glass in the upper sashes! :shock: I couldn't believe that nobody caught that mistake until I pointed it out when they were unloading the windows from the truck. After some consultation with the installers and my sales guy, they put those in anyway and will be back to replace the glass as soon as it comes in. I'm also a little worried about the strength of that combination.... that opening is about 70"w x 89'h, and when the installers took out the two side-by-side picture windows that were formerly there, they found that the mull was reinforced with a big chunk of steel plate. By contrast, I noticed when they were putting in the new windows that they seemed to have an awful lot of flex down that center mull..... we'll have to see how that holds up. :? The manufacturer claims it's strong enough, it's covered by their warranty, etc.

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