alside and climateguard and soft-lite, oh my

dear all:

before the winter hits full force, i've been getting estimates for replacing 10 double-hung windows and 1 picture window for my 100+ year house. so far, i've gotten quotes ranging from
$4300 (for climateguard),
$5300 (for alside excalibur),
$5700 (for soft-lite imperial ls), to
$6030, 6040, 6800 (for alside sheffield, alside ultimate2000).

i haven't been successful at comparing the windows' specs, since they are hard to find in a standardized way online or across the fancy brochures i've been given. i've also been asking for the phone numbers of 3-4 references, which have been difficult to come by. of course, each salesperson claims that their product, price, and customer reviews are best and that their installers are experienced.

i'm a novice at this process. i was wondering which product (and price) you think is best based on your personal and/or professional experiences.

thank you.

The only one out of the bunch I would ever install would be the Imperial LS. Very good window, especially compared to the others. Good solid price you got on it to.

I concur.

The Alside Excalibur is a poorly designed window with a flimsy frame. The Alside ultramaxx and Sheffield are very bulky with.poorly designed sills. They use pocket sills and snap I. Sloped sills which are inherently poor designs.
Soft lite imperial LS IS A TRUELY WELDED SLOPED SILL, a much better design. The LS is much better for a variety of other reason. That is a very low price for the LS so I it's an easy decision.

Can't add much over what has already been said.

Imperial LS all the way in this comparison.

Agreed.

I looked at all of those and the Imperial is the best out of the bunch by a long shot.