Author: WINDOWMAN PA (---.pittpa.adelphia.net)
Date:
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 5:47 pm Post subject: A home owner who bought the "GREAT" AW story!
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FYI
WARNING !
Buyer Beware!
Please Read This Before Purchasing
Andersen Replacement Windows
...The windows may look great, much better than the competitions, but read on...
In September of 2002 we, in good faith, had 14 Double-Hung Replacement Windows installed on our house by "Renewal by Andersen" of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (West Allis). We had these windows installed with the main purpose of saving money on our energy bills. In accordance with the Renewal by Andersen sales literature and the recommendation of the Renewal by Andersen salesperson we thought the Andersen replacement Windows would be our best choice. The Andersen sales staff stressed quality, energy efficiency, reliability and the fact that the Andersen Corporation has been established nearly 100 years ago. Compared to their competition, we also paid a premium price for these windows, thinking they were the best.
However we could not have made a worse choice. These "Fibrex" windows leak more than our 20 year old original windows. They leak tremendously between the sash and frames. The sashes move loosely in their frames for a sloppy fit. We do not believe the window weather stripping has much effect. We have had our Andersen dealer out here on two separate occasions to check out the windows. They installed a different style weather strip at the bottom of the window and added some caulk where it was missed. The fix did not correct the problem.
We were told by John Vondra, General Manager of the Milwaukee office, corporate would claim that the windows will probably meet industry and published standards if a test is performed by Andersen Corporate. The dealer said someone from the corporate office would come out but as of this date we have not heard from corporate.
We also have contacted the Andersen Corporate Office several times via their website by e-mail. They will not respond, let alone even acknowledge that they received our correspondence.
Also if you plan on having your windows done in Andersen's "Canvas" color and want a Patio Door of the same color, Good Luck! We were promised by Linda Luksan and Craig Blomker of Andersen Corporate that the patio door, in "Canvas" would be available by January of 2003. Here we are well into 2004 and it still is not available. So much for having your whole house or project match.
Originally we were very happy with the professionalism of the Milwaukee Renewal by Andersen salesperson and the crew that installed the windows. We even sent the Milwaukee office a testimonial letter dated 09/11/02 praising the installation and sales process.
If Andersen cares to dispute our claims and opinions, we welcome any independent testing agency to come over and do any heat loss testing at Andersen's expense. We are confident a infrared test will show a tremendous loss. We also invite any prospective "Renewal by Andersen" customers to our house, to judge, form their own opinion, about the quality of the Andersen product. We also would like to know if any other Andersen customers have experienced these problem and would like to compile a list of dissatisfied customers for possible future class action litigation.
Jim Galaszewski - dabeemer@execpc.com
Update: 03/08/2004
On March 3, 2004, a mild March day, John Vondra brought over Jeff Solsvig, a representative from the Andersen Corporate office. Jeff Solsvig stated that the windows would meet their published specifications. That's exactly what John Vondra claimed he would say on John's previous visit. Two days later while Jeff was still in town I invited him back over on a very windy day. This way he could feel and hear the wind blowing through the sashes. He declined. I am convinced if he came on that day he would have had no recourse except to agree with our claims. Jeff Solsvig also stated that no matter what they would do to try and fix the problem we would not be happy. They never gave us that opportunity.
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