Any feedback on Alliance Hawthorne and Xact 1650 windows

bought a 100 yr old house that needs tons of work and will be replacing 15-20 windows.

excluding installation I was quoted a price of 220 per window for alliance and 175 for hawthorne -- Is there a big difference between them

Are either of them a decent middle grade window?

making decision soon - greatly appreciate any feedback

both are builders grade. you can get better windows for not that much more.

Anything in particular you would recommend? (Most of the contractors at the shore have the alliance hawthorn windows in their house so i thought that was a good sign but wouldn't really know)

Do you know a brand called Bella?

another contractor recommended the anderson silverline entry level window (which does not meet the guidelines for energy efficiency) that didn't sound better to me but don't really know.

thanks

I don't really like the Xact 1650, but i would choose it over Silverline. Silverline gives the entire vinyl industry a bad name. Two brands that can be purchased by local contractors and homeowners alike in my area that are very decent windows would be Paradigm and Simonton.

Hi again

contractor said he was recommending the silverline 9500 (not the entry window)- claimed it got goor reviews in consumer reports but I haven't checked yet-- but it sounds like you dislike the entire brand

is the alliance a better option than the Xact?

I am in the atlantic city area..
thanks again for your advice

The 9500 is better than their lower stuff. Pick of the litterbox, I guess. One of my contractor friends does a good amount of Alliance products out of a supply house in Bridgeton, NJ. Since he does a real good job on the installation end, he seems to be fine with them. He always asks me about getting some higher-end products off of me, in which I would be glad to have the increased orders. But, he is set to the be "the low-bidder". Thus, cheapest windows and doors are his nitch.

Most to the low-end products out there have just about all of the similar features and options. Finding a stable manufacturer and a good installer is most of the battle if you are shopping price. Most general contractors have never even seen a high quality vinyl window since those manufacturers don't really deal with the supply houses.

I need help....my installer (who is excellent) recommended the Sheffield by Alside. When I voiced concern about the loss of glass (I read about this onlinne), he then recommended Alliance.
He WAS going to recommend Soft-lite, but I need beige on the inside and brown on the outside. And he said that if you want brown on the outside, then you have to get brown on the inside with Soft-lite. So that is not an option.

Do any of you know if Alliance is a good window???

Also, I read that Sunrise, Okna, Gkorelle, Simonton, Great Lakes....these are supposed to be good windows. What about Pella or Champion???

IMPORTANT: Do you know if any of these good windows can be ordered with brown on the outside and beige on the inside?

Thank you so so much for any info.

Simonton has a variety of color combinations. For more info, visit their site at:

http://www.simonton.com

xact and Alliance are low end windows.