Windows Installed Correctly

I'm wondering if my windows were installed incorrectly or if the window company did not properly measure the opening.

I have a concrete block home in Tempe, AZ. I replaced the old metal windows with vinyl. Many of the windows have a large gap at the bottom of the opening.

The installer says this is normal. I don't think it is. Can anyone give me some insight by looking at the picture I have posted? Why would there be such a large gap at the bottom of the window???

Thanks for your time.

That shimming and gap looks excessive to me.

at first glance, the first picture seemed to indicate a very out of square opening . however, the second picture looks as if the window should be about a 1/2 inch larger in height.
although, its certainly not horrible. he obviously needs to foam/ insulate the gap and trim out the gap. i would imagine he is doing that with quarter rounds or something similar.

I would need your contract and to listen to the discussion between you and the salesperson to figure this out.
In the first picture there is some crown to the MO, at least that is how it looks from the photo.
In the second photo it does look like an excessive RO/MO.
Still would need to know all the specifics, were there any UI limitations, are stools being added, what is the interior and exterior finish supposed to be? What did the before pictures look like?

The second pic is a slightly larger gap than normal, but as anthony said, we don't know the details as to how/why it was measured that way. The larger window looks proper, as clearly that opening is out of square. Hopefully your installer will be adding foam around the windows.
If your question is whether or not this is unacceptable, I would say no, it is not anything totally unreasonable-- at least without knowing more details.

As others have said, the first picture looks like the installers did a good job of leveling a large window in an out of square opening.

The second picture looks to me like a mismeasure/misorder that is too short. Since you can see daylight all the way through, it's not a matter of exterior cladding being inside the interior return.

I agree with the other on the first picture. How big of a gap is at the top of the window in the second picture?

There are several windows with a gap at the bottom ranging from 1/2" to 1". There are others with smaller gaps at the bottom. The only discussion we had was that I might need to repair some plaster around the edges. There was no other talk of insulation, quarter rounds, etc.

There are two other windows with much larger gaps but the openings had damage. Here are the two windows that had damage below the opening but even then I didn't imagine such a large gap. One is a kitchen window and one is a window in a bathroom where a tile shower surround is about to go up.

Also, what is the best way to fill the gap with vinyl windows in a concrete block house? Is there any other option besides wood??

What recourse do I have if the installer won't fix the problem? What is the best way to fix it myself if needed? I have made a 50% deposit. The installer finished Friday and left before I could get back home and now I have to wait until Monday to contact him. I will tell him I am not satisfied and obviously I will not be paying the other 50% until the issue is resolved.

Your recourse depends entirely on what was agreed to, and what is specified in the contract. I have to say that these new pics have changed my view here. IMO, the appropriate thing to do there would be to build a wood buck frame for those windows, or order the correct size if a block to block installation was agreed to. That is too much space to be left as is -based on your pics.... Have you asked the installer? I'd be very interested to know his reasoning. Generally to ideal gap on all 4 sides is going to be 1/8 to 1/4 inch . Obviously that will vary when an opening is out of square, but if the gap exceeds 1/2", it should be filled with wood IMO.

Can you post some pictures of the outside?

Since this is in the desert southwest, is the window guy going to fill in the openings around the windows with masonary followed by stucco by chance? It would be backwards from the way we do it in the midwest, but it would be possible.

I am no expert, but I have a question. Is it possible that these windows are somewhat next to each other, but the window openings were not the same, and the company ordered the windows the same size for so that they were not mis matched from the outside?

Ken,

This is possible, however, you would not likely see that much variance in opening size.

Most new construction windows are stock sizes and the openings, even with degradation and shift, will be much closer than that.

That is a good question though and is a possibility.

The poster needs to give some more information and some exterior pictures.

If history holds true, most of the posts that we see like this are a result of poor/negligent installation.

I am not sure that it is poor installation. Though the openings were left that way for the week end, at minimum as a temporary thing fiberglass batt could have filled the voids.
Again not knowing all the details. It looks like a less than perfect measuring job.