fiberglass windows

[joeschmoe]

we are replacing all windows and adding several in an addition.

Almost everyone uses vinyl, but we'd like something with better visual appearance inside and out.
The next step up seems to be fiberglass. The brands available here are Marvin Integrity, Milgard Ultra and Anderson 100 (fibrex) series.

Several places will quote a few windows, but nobody wants to take the time to quote all the different windows. Each window store seems to push a different brand, so I'm not confident we are getting good information.

Any thoughts as to which of these fiberglass is the best?

besides appearance, does fiberglass provide any other advantages over vinyl?

[masterext]

Fibrex is nothing more than vinyl and saw dust..I think 70% vinyl and 30% saw dust if I'm not mistaken. I guess saw dust sounds better than corn flakes.
Fiberglass does expand and contract less than low grade vinyl and a bit less than high grade vinyl. What does that mean ? Absolutely nothing. A glass unit is sealed before it's ever placed into a sash. How would expansion and contraction cause a seal failure ? It cannot. The glass is placed into a sash and held in place with either silicone ( wet glaze ) or an industrial adhesive ( dry glaze). There is no way expansion can pull a sash apart..
Fiberglass does have better tensile strength.. When's the last time you pulled your vinyl extrusion from one end to the other?
High grade vinyl will not warp or deform ..in fact alot of higher end vinyl is reinforced with fiberglass or a strong composite material. Also, higher end vinyl actually has better structural ratings than fiberglass windows and much better thermal performance numbers than fiberglass. That said, I do like Marvin fiberglass windows as well as in line..Pella fiberglass is cheaply made and I would never recommend them.
Higher end vinyl that most pro's recommend are gorell, Okna, sunrise, and Soft lite.
As an added benefit, higher end vinyl windows actually look nice and fit in well with upper end homes as well as older traditional colonials.

[Windows on Washington]

See replies in bold.

Almost everyone uses vinyl, but we'd like something with better visual appearance inside and out.
The next step up seems to be fiberglass. The brands available here are Marvin Integrity, Milgard Ultra and Anderson 100 (fibrex) series.

Fibrex is not fiberglass as masterext mentioned. It is a composite vinyl and wood flour material much like Azek. If you are doing replacements, you need to throw in Marvin Infinity and Inline into that comparative.

Several places will quote a few windows, but nobody wants to take the time to quote all the different windows. Each window store seems to push a different brand, so I'm not confident we are getting good information.

Pushing one brand over another does not mean that you are necessarily getting bad information. A contractor may have had extensive experience with a brand that has performed well for them. Recommending and quoting that brand would not be a disservice to the customer but it is ultimately up to you to make sure you are doing a good job of evaluating product.

Any thoughts as to which of these fiberglass is the best?

Best in terms of what? Best performance wise is the Inline. Best looking can be subjective.

besides appearance, does fiberglass provide any other advantages over vinyl?

Fiberglass lineals are usually run at narrower widths so you can get a bit more glass back. Beyond that, premium vinyl compares very well, many times better, than fiberglass.

[HomeSealed]

+1 to both comments...

[joeschmoe]

great answers. thanks.

I have yet to find okna, gorell, or soft lites here in LA. Everybody seems to have Milgard, Jeld Wen, Andeson and Marvin. Haven't seen much else. But the other problem is the window display centers are only open Mon to Friday and often don't even have the windows of interest to see how they look and work. I'm baffled how anybody buys windows without seeing or touching them first.

[TheWindowNerd]

You can try the mfg web sites to see if they have a dealer locator.
I would check InLine for fiberglass and additionally Sunrise in the premium vinyl lines.

[EcoStar Remodeling]

Take a look at Amerimax, Anlin, Simonton and Milgard. They should all be available to you.

[jeff1995]

here in the L.A. area, good choice for fiberglass clad product would be the Marvin Integrity. As to a window store being open Mon - Fri, this market is very competitive and you should be able to find many stores open on the weekends. Simonton will not be a good choice for new construction in our area. Milgard, Superior, Amerimax are good options. There is / was a Sunrise dealer in the Santa Barbara area, I have been told. Good luck in your project.

[TheWindowNerd]

I am not sure but I think LA is not L.A. as in CA.

[HomeSealed]

I am not sure but I think LA is not L.A. as in CA.

I was wondering the same... Is it Los Angeles or Louisiana???

[joeschmoe]

I did mean L.A. Glendale, actually.
We've been to every window dealer mentioned by all the contractors who bid the project. As I mentioned, have never seen Simonton and have never heard of Inline before.

We really like the extra window you get with fiberglass, and I prefer the looks over vinyl. But I'd really like to get hands on to see the hardware and how it functions. Some of the hardware is really ugly. The dealers rarely have more than a single style of window for each brand. The best I've seen so far is Marvin Integrity.

I looked up Superior - they looked good, and they have a facility in Tustin. But the people there refused to talk to me and the only person who would talk to me in Canada was a tech guy. He was great, but I'm not going to buy from a company that doesn't want to talk to me.

I just looked up the Amerimax website and about half the pages are blank or under construction. Sorry, they don't get my money either.

Thanks for the advice. I'll look up Inline and hope the contractor hasn't ordered windows yet.

I like the Marvin, but lots of people say it is money wasted. I haven't even seen any Milgard fiberglass, the dealers only have vinyl.

How would you rate the windows for
Energy performance
Looks (more glass, smooth joints, attractive hardware)
function (ease of open, ease of cleaning, other options)

[TheWindowNerd]

InLine is great for all those.
You may not find InLine as they are based and mfg in Toronto.
They do have a dealer locator.

[jeff1995]

you will not find In-Line in Ca. at all. Great window as I understand. Marvin Integrity is your best option in this area. Just my opinion. Can not believe you can not find a company that has a sample.

[joeschmoe]

I too am surprised. I have called or visited 9 different local window shops and none have had more than 1 sample with all fiberglass.
What I find shocking, is that apparently lots of other people will shell out $5 to $30k on windows without apparently seeing or touching them firsthand.

Milgard has a factory nearby, so they might be the only chance.
Inline's nearest install is San Diego, they have no reps in California. Superior has a facility nearby. I may try them again, but am not typically in the habit of giving my money to people who don't want it.

Given that 5% of the country's population lives in the county I'm really surprised that more of the brands recommended on this site are not available here.

[TheWindowNerd]

It could be that the average age of the housing stock in the east/NE is older and also more sensitive to energy cost due to heating. That seems to be the case in TX as well, newer to window replacemnet industry.