Marvin Ultimate, Marvin Infinity, Loewen, or Kolbe?

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Oberon
Posts: 280
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2004 10:25 am
Location: East of the Mississippi

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#16 Post by Oberon »

You are correct JScott in that as a consumer you generally don't have an option when it comes to things like spacer width.
I would suggest that when shopping for new windows that sort of information, as a quick reference, might help out a bit with a salsman who is interested in selling but may not really understand the product.
If your salesman, for example, starts telling you how his companies 1-1/8" spacer width is superior, a consumer might actually be able to ask why?
Also, I hope that you can find the parts that you need. It is an unfortunate part of many industries that when new products are introduced, older products might suddenly be left hanging in the breeze so far as parts are concerned...not a good thing if you are the person needing the parts.

mnlaker, I am curious about your comment concerning service calls on the the various manufacturers. You are correct that Loewen makes a very good window and that they pride themselves on their quality and very few service calls, but I am wondering where the numbers came from?
Was there an industry report comparing the various brands published? If so, I would sure like to get a copy for myself. Thanks.

windownovice
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2005 11:57 pm

#17 Post by windownovice »

Thanks to all who have posted replies to my questions on this posted topic. Its been very helpful!!

Jscott – I began to look into the Milgard window you recommended until I found out they had major problems with their Double-Hung units. One of the sales outfits I was working with informed me they had just dropped the Milgard product line and replaced it with Kolbe. Milgard had a great warranty, but I wonder if they had to offer it to entice people to buy their product.

Guy and Oberon – Thanks for the Sound Transmission and DP explanations.

Mnlaker – You live in a beautiful state with a great baseball team. I keep hoping they will knock the stuffing out of the Yankees in the playoffs. From looking at Loewen’s website and technical guide, its space between glass is 4/8â€Â￾ (with 2 panes of 1/8â€Â￾ double-strength glass) instead of Marvin’s 5/8â€Â￾ and Kolbe’s 5/8â€Â￾ (with 2 panes of 1/8â€Â￾ double-strength glass) .

Unfortunately, my Loewen quote for 12 DH’s, 6 Casements, & 1 Octagan is $1,600 more than the Marvin quote. And that’s after the Loewen quote was reduced $2,000.

Just curious on your stats. on service calls for manufacturers per year. Is there someplace you’d recommend I could check to see these numbers? Are these based on your experience in the Minnesota region?

Also, what is an approximate price per window increase to go with the triple pane argon filling vs. double pane argon (HP1) for both casements and Double-hungs?

I believe I am looking at 3 quality windows. Now I need to choose a great installer.

Can anyone share what the importance of a vendor's window installation warranty is? I have them quoted ranging from 1 year at low end to Lifetime at upper end.

gthomson
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2011 10:10 pm

Re: Marvin Ultimate, Marvin Infinity, Loewen, or Kolbe?

#18 Post by gthomson »

This discussion was quite a while ago, but I'm researching windows and a patio slider door, and am wondering what the end result you went with was on the windows? And was it a good one?
No doubt product offerings have changed over time by now.

I like the internal/external material options of Kolbe and Marvin, but saw many complaints here about Marvin windows - http://marvin-windows-doors.pissedconsumer.com/
Do those complaints seem legit?
The nearest Loewen dealer doesn't look it serves my area in Southern California - 35 miles away. But if that was the best option, I may check into that one further, also.

I'm mainly looking for a sliding patio door and 5 slider windows, and do have a fairly local (20 miles away) Kolbe installer, and a really local (a mile away) Marvin installer (Ganahl Lumber).

Greg

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