Vinyl vs Wood: windows where when and why

[William H.]

What say the pros? Is there a guideline of when each is used?

I've probably installed a hundred well-respected, custom made vinyl windows so far.  I have not installed any wood windows. I am an owner who does a lot of his own restoration/rehab work. 

On a project I'm working on now, my goal is for the building to look original and for the new windows to last for a very long time with reasonable maintenance. It is a 1920s brick.

Structurally vinyl windows aren't as stiff so the visible width of the sashes tends to be bigger than wood and sometimes that's a problem visually. Some people say the reasonable life on one is pretty short-15-20 years. One problem I notice is vinyls can be hard to open/close as the house shifts-seen in an old house and may or not be related to my question. 

Many proponents of vinyl say wood or aluminum-clad wood should not be used any more. Many historic guys say vinyl dies early, can't be painted, is ugly, morally wrong, etc.

Window materials discussions seem to be polarizing and there seems to be a lot of misinformation out there. I'm happy with a hornet's nest, let's see what we've got!

Not sure where this should be posted. Not being sure if there's a way to cross-post, I'm posting something similar in DIY.

I did search prior to posting, thanks in advance!

[Colleen F.]

In my opinion a lot depends on the property.  Certain properties should have wood windows.  The historic nature of the building just deserves wood windows. That being said there are places where we mix them up. A small bathroom wood window doesn't make sense  A house that is only going to be surviving for the next 10 years  gets vinyl. Vinyl is cheaper by far in most cases although I don't know if it lasts as long.  So historic or higher end wood,  bathroom windows excepted.