Are your windows casements? If they are then they are vinyl clad where as if they are double hung windows the frame is but the sashes are not. Andersen says they only have a 10 year warranty on the frame and parts and 20 on the glass but if you push it they will put it through as in your case. Now another thing is if your windows are the dark terratone color you will most likely have problems again later. At least you have one good thing going for you, Andersen will back up their warranty where as others won't. Good luck

Thanks bosquel! Yes, these are double hung windows. We are not happy as it was represented to us by our builder that these were vinyl clad. I'm contacting the Andersen rep again as I was told Andersen would stand behind these windows despite being out of warranty but just to wait till spring. Good thing we did as more windows are looking bad. These are white outside and then stained oak on the inside. I find it weird that we are seeing wood rot as some have no visible problem on the outside (flaking or cracking paint/vinyl). I'm not sure where the moisture is getting in.

This sounds like you either have to much humidity in your house. If you run a humidifier too much this will cause this damage to the wood. The dark spots sound like mold. The only time I've seen any rotting with double hung sashes was on coastal areas, but your not in this region. Another theory would be that when your windows were first installed they were not stained right away. If there was any moisture exposed to the raw wood for a period of time this may have also contributed to the problem. I've seen this alot will french wood doors that are left unfinished and the wood has faded and warped. Hope this helps.

The humidity in our house is definitely not too high...if anything too low! :) Wish I could post pictures on here so I could show you what the windows are doing. I am even more frustrated now as I have an email from the person Andersen referred me to for inspection last fall saying Andersen would cover the windows with the dark spots but should wait till spring for the work to be done. That person does not work with Andersen now, and Andersen is telling me I have to get a different inspection as they have no record from the first guy. They say from their standpoint they will not cover the windows 1 year out of warranty!! By the way, these are the Andersen 400 series. Are they not vinyl clad on the outside?

Andersen contracts out their service work so this is unfortunate that they don't have any record of your job. What you need to do is talk with Andersens SAR(Service Accountant Rep)in your area. This person is the one who has hired these subcontractors out to contact you. They would know about your job that was originally sent in. Unless you didn't first contact Andersen directly through their website or service number. Its very important when you have a problem to contact Andersen directly. Not through a dealer, contractor or whom ever. These people seem to sit on the paper work until they have time to actually do the job then they send it in to Andersen. When a job is then issued it is put on an aging report where it needs to be done in a timely manner. This is why this person wanted to wait until spring. He never turned in your job. So now what do you do? Call Andersen at 1-888-888-7020 and tell them that you want to be contacted by the SAR in your area and tell him or her whats going on. They are the one to authorize your job to be done. Also if you do get them to do so they may replace the sashes but not pay the labor. In regarding the vinyl, the frames are vinyl clad with rigid vinyl side liners. The sashes however are not, they have a polyuerathane finish. Well good luck and I hope you work this out.

Thanks, again, bosquel! I will try to see if I can get the SAR. I did contact Andersen from the start and was given the subcontractor's name. That is who I sent pics to at his request as he was meeting with someone, maybe the SAR?, the next day. Now though it doesn't look like this subcontrator is working with Andersen so I'm being referred to a different one. I'm surprised though if the subcontrator actually met with the SAR that there is no record of it besides the email that I kept saying the work had been OK'd...that is they would replace the sashes with us picking up labor. We'll see what happens now. In the meantime, the windows appear to be getting worse!!