Atrium Windows

Our local wholesaler sells these, and the base model (8300) sells for the same price as the much-reviled Silverline 9500. (This is with all of the optional features I'm looking for -- lowE, argon, grilles, full screen)I plan on calling on Monday to ask about the 8500 and the 8700, but thought I'd ask what the general consensus was, esp as compared to the Silverline / American Craftsman 9500 and/or Harvey Slimline.

FTR, I haven't found that Shuco or Simonton or Alside or basically, any other brands ever mentioned, sell here at all, and the window that gets used by the pros are Harvey (obviously, I could call Sears or Renewal, but that's definitely nt what I want.)

Thoughts? (Silverline or Atrium would be for DIY install, FWIW.)

If those are my two choices...I would opt for the Atrium.

Atrium is the better choice. Silverline is a low grade window IMO

Thanks for the feedback! We went ahead and ordered 2 of the Atrium 8700s, and will hopefully be installing in the next month or so. I'll be sure to report back once we've had them for a while. FWIW, the 8700 is aluminum reinforced, and has multiple chambers, which the 8300 did not. It seemed to fit our budget and needs the best, and hopefully it will fit our house equally as well.

As promised, I'm back with an update.

We ordered the Atrium 8700 and installed them with the help of a very experienced contractor. The cost for each window was about $215, and the contractor was free, as he's a friend.

I created a flickr set of our window process, and I'll likely update it as we update the rest of the windows.

They were installed yesterday afternoon, and today we are in the early stages of a nor'easter, so they are already being put to the test!

I've always liked Atrium's shark fin tilt latches and their cam action locks. Much better choice than the Silverline products!