The house had old single pane aluminum windows from the 70s. These are about the worst possible windows for a house in a cold climate, as they suck heat out of your home. They don't even sell aluminum windows anymore, except in hot/dry climates like the southwest.
After shopping around several windows I settled on the Milgard Ultra, a fiberglass window. I liked the lifetime warranty and they had a good track record. Also the the glass is sealed at altitude (Denver), where I live. This is good since otherwise pressure differences will slightly bend the glass (pilling I think it's called).
As expected the windows don't look as good in person than they brochures. Overall I was disappointed with the build quality. The corner miter seams are off on most all of the windows. The Milgard service/repair team was fairly responsive in addressing some of the issues (seals coming off/screens too tight), but of couse they can't fix fundamental quality issues. Some of the windows had scratches and they replaced the glass. How they got scratched is surely an oddity.
The biggest disappointment however is the double hung windows don't support inside mount blinds. Or, more specifically, the window takes up the complete 4.5" depth of the jamb, leaving no space for a blind. Outside mount blinds would work but they don't look good IMO, and would hide the nice window trim. If I had known this I would never have chosen these windows. I never thought to ask about blinds and my window contractor didn't say anything -- I just assumed all windows support inside mount blinds -- wrong!
Doing it all over again, I would have bought Marvin windows instead, give the quality issues with the Milgard. All research I have done (after the fact) indicates Marvin is a higher quality window. BTW, I have no idea if the Marvin double hung supports inside mount blinds. Also, I may have sprung for more expensive wood windows for two reasons: finish and thermal properties. Even when painted white, wood windows look better. The fiberglass shows a bit of a pattern (think playground equipment).
I'll update this post later showing some of the quality issues of the Milgards.
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