Frustrated and Furious about Schuco (in Northern VA)...

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ANOTHER WINDOW GUY
Posts: 243
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2006 3:28 pm
Location: WISCONSIN

#16 Post by ANOTHER WINDOW GUY »

Can't for the life of me figure out why you gave these hustlers a check. I've read a number of complaints regarding Schuco and some of their dealers. Schuco makes one of the finest replacement windows sold on this planet, but I believe they sell to some real scum!
A good mfrg gets there product to their dealers in 2-4 weeks and a dealer usually gets the product installed shortly thereafter. Any deviation from this is not acceptable. Yes there are exceptions but that doesn't happen very often with better companies. And when something does go wrong it's taken care of promptly. Whatever is agreed upon in the original contract should be gospel including installation start and finish dates.
Most states have laws regarding home improvement practices and I believe your contractor is in violation of a number of statues. You might remind them of that fact.

O

nmmmm
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:38 pm

Lessons learned :)

#17 Post by nmmmm »

WindowCustomer wrote:Hey nmmmm,

Sounds like your installers/measurers at NuView were not up to par. Do you remember their names, so I can make sure I don't get those guys?

Thanks
To be honest, I don't recall the installers names - they were both nice and polite, but of course that's not the point when the finished product looks sloppy. Part of it was that a lot of the work was being done after dark - they were here a couple of nights as late as 9pm or thereabouts.

The guy who came to measure didn't announce what company he was from - I presumed he didn't speak much english. He didn't seem that interested in measuring the windows, and I had a "gut feeling" at the time that things were a little off, but put my reservations aside, because I figured that he was just "double checking" the more accurate measurements that had been made when we signed the contract. Certainly he wasn't measuring carefully.

I've actually just noticed that the window that has the gaps in the bent vinyl cap outside isn't caulked on the outside at all - I can see right through to the back of the caulk on the inside of our bedroom... Oh joy :)

Again, although we aren't happy at waiting months longer than we had planned, we are really very pleased with the windows themselves (obviously we'll have more occasion to test the tilt features, etc. in warmer weather or when we have our screens delivered :)) I'm presuming that the doors will work as "promised." But if they continue to rock when I try to open them then we will have to switch them out for a different brand. They are so heavy (triple pane) that I have to use both arms/hands to open them, while they aren't set on their tracks properly. And as I've mentioned, one of the doors is so far off vertical that there is a crack to the outside - I have to hold the door straight before I can lock it. I'm informed that this is simply a matter of adjustment - I hope so.

I'm not noticing a huge difference in sound - but we aren't in a noisy part of town. But certainly a slight difference.

I guess, as a lay person, one tends to trust that the people who do this for a living will take pride in their work, and know what needs to be done. We recently had a deck installed, and we are SO pleased with the work - tremendous attention to detail - things we wouldn't have even known to ask about...

So we've had good and bad experiences trusting people :)

I'll let you know when this is fixed, what it looks like, and how we like the windows. Right now the follow up (or rather lack of) has been aggravating, so we aren't fully enjoying our new windows.

I will add that there have been no problems in terms of leaking or anything like that. All our issues are cosmetic/finish related - and the problem opening the doors of course.

My advice for sure is to not make a final payment until you are satisfied!

I did at least insist that the contract include a written update that a final walk through had not been done at the time of final payment, that screens hadn't been delivered, that the doors needed fixing, etc. So that is in writing.

In terms of the follow up, I still (trusting person that I am :)) and despite their dropping the ball with their follow up, believe that this firm will follow through fixing the problems -- eventually. It is just too bad that in the rush to get this done (or whatever the issues were that led to the sloppy finish) that it looks the way that it does.

We were asked to refer our friends/neighbours to this product. I can tell them that I like the windows, but in good conscience, I cannot call it a quality job at this point.

I'll update you when it is fixed, and let you know if we are satisfied.

PS. The one thing that is disappointing though - that we hadn't even realized would be an issue was that on one wall we had three windows - and the middle one was converted to a patio door. I presumed because these were to be custom measured that the door opening would be as high as the top of the two windows on either side. In fact the door is about 3 inches lower than the height of the windows, so it does look a bit odd. The installer told me that the doors cannot be made higher than the standard height. Still it looks a bit odd as they are all in a row. With 3" wood around the door it matches the window height, but we cannot add wood around the windows without having to make the wood around the door even larger - 4-5" to match up... If that makes sense?

cin-cin
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue May 10, 2005 2:50 pm

#18 Post by cin-cin »

I'd be interested in hearing where things stand now. I had a similar problem, which began with our windows arriving months late. At that point we had 23 windows installed by New England Sash (Massachusetts) without any major problems. After that, we ordered two smaller windows and a glass slider to our deck. The slider leaked, and they had four different guys work on it. The leak was so bad, our ceiling downstairs was damaged (five months ago). I have had to hound NES to plaster and paint it to its original shape -- hopefully this weekend they'll finish it. My point to everyone is, watch out for your installer. Check your local BBB (and be aware that they only go back 3 years). My installer had over 30 complaints, which was 10/year. I should have checked. After spending over 20K, I can't believe we weren't getting calls back or being treated with basic courtesy. I would NEVER recommend anyone buying these windows if they live in Massachusetts.

usmarine0352
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2006 10:24 pm

#19 Post by usmarine0352 »

HipKat wrote:WOW!! That made MY head spin. BTW, 11-14-05 was three weeks ago....

I just saw a brouchure for a canadian company that offers tilt and turn windows and sliding glass doors. I'm guesing they were the same. They tilt in AND they swing in AND they slide!! (the doors). Real neat!! I was just curious as to the wear and tear on the hinges
For the Canadian company, I do not know about their wear and tear rate.

Here are some of the hinges on the Schuco Tilt & Turn we installed.
As you can see, the hinges on the Schuco's are massive and have a low probability of wearing out.

Image

Image

Image

usmarine0352
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2006 10:24 pm

#20 Post by usmarine0352 »

WindDoze wrote:
Mass. window guy wrote: Do any of the Schuco dealers know the difference in air infiltration rates between the normal slider and their tilt slider?
I'd also like to hear from some Schuco guys who've been installing the in line sliders for more than a year. How have these windows performed for your customers in the winter? I've heard both good things and bad. We've installed several this year and are kind of keeping our fingers crossed that we're not going to have a ton of callbacks. (We've had none so far btw.) I know all about the opening needing to be 100% plumb level and square. Are there any additional installation tricks or techniques that we should be aware of?
Windoze,

I am not an installer, but after seeing the Schuco 2-Lite Sliders and 3-Lite Sliders being installed and talking to the installers, I know that they have to be put in very precisely, otherwise you will have problems with their operation and may have infiltration problems. It takes awhile go to get used to putting these windows in. But our guys have very few problems and call backs for service after their installations.

We have been installing Schuco's for about 10 years, and definitely know there's a learning curve to installing these windows and servicing them. It took quite awhile to get the install down pat, and then more time to know all the service's that might come up. All thru practice and experience.

You said you have just started installing Schuco windows; but it's a great window and a great choice you made. Good luck.
Last edited by usmarine0352 on Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

FenEx
Posts: 353
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 3:43 pm
Location: Illinois

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#21 Post by FenEx »

I probably have worked with Schuco longer than anyone on this site, and can absolutely confirm Windoze' concerns. Any product needs to be installed properly.. but the more technically advanced the product is, the more knowledge is needed for install. The Schuco slider is a great example... which is why it will never be sold to the do-it-yourselfer. my crews have great success with them... but it's after many grey hairs and years of practice.

cin-cin
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue May 10, 2005 2:50 pm

#22 Post by cin-cin »

Just curious, nmmm -- have you been told NOT to discuss Schuco or your installer on this site? After responding to four posts about Schuco, I was e-mailed by the administrator and told not to post about the company again.

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VRWAdmin
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#23 Post by VRWAdmin »

Cin-Cin

We did not request that you stop posting about Schuco, we have however, repeatedly asked you to stop posting about your dissatisfaction with your installer. It is well known you are having a bad, and ongoing, experience with them, and we have allowed you to post numerous times about that in detail; more so than anyone else. If someone has a bad experience with a company, or installer, we welcome public feed back on that.

However, this board is not a tool for someone to use to try and force a resolution. On March 24th, you posted in four different threads about the situation. This thread here, had not had any activity since February 9th, so “responded toâ€

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