I am hoping to break ground on my new house in the next few months. I have my eyes set on Marvin, but would like to hear about alternatives. Most of the windows will be east facing(back side of the walkout). I would like to keep a balance between cost, form and function. I would appreciate recommendations from the experienced posters. BTW the house will be in Minnesota. Thanks

IMO Marvin Integrity's are excellent windows for the price. I avoid all their wood windows since they've been passing the buck on their widespread rot issues starting 20 yrs ago. They're also making the Integrity casements in triple glazed with suspended film.

Thanks Bob.

Yes I am looking at both the ultimate and Integrity. After I have my plans from the designer, I will have a better idea about the cost. Then I will be able to make my decision.

Any recommendations in regards to the orientation of the windows? Since most of the windows are east facing, would certain glazing/type of glass be better than the others?

I'm not familiar with your climate, but I use triple glazed everywhere. I look for the highest solar gain possible, but most American windows including Marvin are made for the south so that the solar gain is usually quite low. (.23/- when .5 or higher would be better for northern climes) The only easy way to get a better solar gain is to go with a European window or with a company like Alpen. Most of the larger window companies do not offer much choice for glazing.

I went with Simonton double glazed casement windows - so far so good.

What kind of home build will this be? Energy efficient, standard?

Are you going for Passive Solar?

What are the R-Values of the slab, wall, ceiling?

I've got 19 Marvin Integrity All-Ultrex windows sitting in my garage ready to be installed. I ordered them with the Cardinal LoE-180 high solar heat gain glass. I haven't taken them out of the wrappers yet, so I can't comment much on them otherwise. Just letting everyone know that you can order them with high solar heat gain glass.

http://www.marvin.com/benefits-features-energy-efficiency-solutions/

Most of my windows are on the south side of the home including the walk-out basement. I have zero windows on the west and east sides. I have 4 windows on the north side of the house and 2 windows on the north side of the garage facing the road.

Posted By Lbear on 08 Nov 2013 09:05 PM
What kind of home build will this be? Energy efficient, standard?

Are you going for Passive Solar?

What are the R-Values of the slab, wall, ceiling?

It will be energy efficient build. I am still in the process of finalizing the details but it will have an ICF basement with walkout side stick framed. On main level I plan on doing 2x6 walls with 2 inch polyiso on the outside and roxul/cellulose inside. With roxul, it should come out to r-36. I haven't planned the ceiling details yet, but it will be over R-49. I haven't looked into passive solar as I assumed it required south facing windows. Unless my assumption was wrong?

Posted By arkie6 on 08 Nov 2013 09:38 PM
I've got 19 Marvin Integrity All-Ultrex windows sitting in my garage ready to be installed. I ordered them with the Cardinal LoE-180 high solar heat gain glass. I haven't taken them out of the wrappers yet, so I can't comment much on them otherwise. Just letting everyone know that you can order them with high solar heat gain glass.

http://www.marvin.com/benefits-features-energy-efficiency-solutions/

Most of my windows are on the south side of the home including the walk-out basement. I have zero windows on the west and east sides. I have 4 windows on the north side of the house and 2 windows on the north side of the garage facing the road.

Which climate are you in? LoE 272 sounds better to me for the summer months. Also, can I ask you how much you paid for the windows?

I'm in west central Arkansas - climate zone 3, but climate zone 4 is the county just north of me. I paid ~$7000 for all of my windows.

All of my windows are shaded from the summer sun.

I have an ICF walk-out basement and ICF main floor.

Posted By timberwolf78 on 08 Nov 2013 10:39 PM

It will be energy efficient build. I am still in the process of finalizing the details but it will have an ICF basement with walkout side stick framed. On main level I plan on doing 2x6 walls with 2 inch polyiso on the outside and roxul/cellulose inside. With roxul, it should come out to r-36....

Given that stackup, you will be closer to R27 to R28 whole wall R value after you take into account the lower R value wood framing.  Will your studs be on 16" or 24" centers?

Thanks for correcting me on the R value. The studs will be 16" OC. It will be a stucco house and I am having a hard time finding contractors who would be comfortable with that much spacing between the furring strips. So 24" is out of question.

Any experiences with Andersen Eagle series?

Here's pics of the specs for the windows I'm installing in my ICF building Northern Ontario. I'm very happy with them. For pics of the windows go to ----->http://kasshabog.blogspot.ca/?view=sidebar

I have marvin casement windows that are rotting shortly after their 10 year warranty expired. They want roughly $450 per sash to replace. Then I assume they will last 11 years and I'll do it over. I am considering new units but what to use. I don't think I could recommend Marvin products.

I doubt that will happen with Marvins. I looked at them extensively and there is no doubt they are quality units. Maybe something happened with the installation process in your case. That is often where windows can go wrong.

There is a problem with the design of the marvin window casing in that the exterior does not drain. Also the wood preservative is still having problems. I have had structural engineers look at the installation of 2 sets of windows at 3 year intervals and can find nothing wrong as per marvin instructions. I still wouldn't recommend them.

A number of manufacturers had problems with rot when Penta went away back in the '90s, but I haven't heard of any new rot problems up until the time I looked at Marvin back in 2011. It's a brand very popular with architects.

Posted By ICFHybrid on 25 Dec 2013 05:29 PM
I doubt that will happen with Marvins. I looked at them extensively and there is no doubt they are quality units. Maybe something happened with the installation process in your case. That is often where windows can go wrong.

There was a few issues online about the rotting of the Marvin windows. Apparently it had to do with something about the quality of the wood, assembly, and coatings they used.

Contractor Talk - Marvin Windows

Marvin Windows

When windows are "mass produced" in standard sizes and sold at big box stores, they compete to see who can build the window with the least amount of funds. When cost cutting measures are implemented, something always suffers, it's usually the quality.

Lifetime or even 10-year warranties are usually useless because the lawyers add in so many "out clauses" in the fine print that the manufacturer can and will deny warranty claims.