It sounds like they did an incompetant job and it also sounds like they knew they could do it.
Make a list of all the problems ASAP and give it to the boss. Let him know that they all need to be remedied before final payment is disbursed. And don't pay him until they are all fixed. Take pictures of all the issues before you give him the list.
Posting the photos here will help. I'd like to see the level of workmanship involved.
Ron

i am not sure i uploaded this right but i think it works.

thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: photos of my window install

I am not an installer, but I have put in windows and helped neighbors and friends.
Please don't dismiss what I am about to say, here go's:

Take all the pictures you can, contact the company and tell them you want the "entire" job redone by a professional installer with a finish approval from your county inspector even if you have to pay him to do it!!!!!

If he balks or hesitates in any way, GET A LAWYER and sue that SOB, you'll have no problem winning whatsoever , in fact I would "Skip" going to that company as I suggested and just go for the Lawyer (they will have to pay his fees also).
I have seen shoddy work done as I am sure others on this web site have, but never in my life have I seen that level of incompetence from even the rankest amateurs!!
I would be scared to death of what "couldn't" be seen from that bunch you hired.
If you haven't paid them, DON'T!! Get a lawyer.

Changeling

the sales woman just came out and looked. I asked her how they were supposed to be installed and she did not know.

are the screws supposed to be in the center of the jamb and recessed a bit? if so, isn't the fact that the screws are all over the place in terms of center versus way too close to the edge (many of which cracked and some are not hairline cracks) and some recessed and some not recessed prima facie evidence of a bad install?

marvin windows are good, right? so should i insist on new windows installed by a different crew?

thanks people!

Sir do you read the answers in your post?

yes, i read it, and it seems i need to ask for a re-install, but how are they supposed to be installed correctly the next time? i can't make sure they are doing it right when i don't even know what half of the slang means. also, should i insist on all new windows? one of the downstairs one is mostly fine. maybe just a hairline crack where they put a screw in the jamb.

the sales woman who was out today tried to brush it all off saying "well, it's not even painted yet, you'll see how it looks once it's painting." i said no way is anyone touching those windows with caulk or paint except your install people until i am completely satisfied with how they are installed. i don't want you coming back later trying to blame my painter for something! i have about half the money still, it was $1250 for the install up and downstairs so they are fairly motivated to make me happy i guess. I need a bunch more windows soon but i wanted to check these people out and see what kind of service i get etc, before making a large order. so i expected better service/install.

i am going out of town, soon, so if they can't make me happy soon they are going to have to wait until almost Christmas to get paid. Small claims court seems to have upped their limits to $15K recently, which makes going after them that way much more do-able. It used to be ridiculously low.

i am trying to read the marvin install pdfs to see how they should have done it, but my lack of knowledge in the area is really hindering my ability to tell what is going on.

twomartins

It's going to look worse after they're painted. They used a silicone caulking on the paintable surfaces. It will not take paint. You should call Marvin and have a representitive come out and look at the install. These windows were not installed according to the guideline instructions by Marvin. Drywall screws through the jamb is not the way it's done.
This company is incompetant at best, negligent at worst. While I enjoy the fervor of changeling I disagree about the "slam dunk" ease of his arguement.
I would write a letter to the installation company, send a copy to the local agency that oversees his license along with all the pictures. Here in NY the agency is Consumer Affairs, it may differ where you are. Try to get a Marvin representative to the house and ask him to write you a letter detailing the install problems. Send that along with all the rest of the information. Send the letters Certified mail so you have a receipt of them getting delivery. Keep a diary of every phone call, visit and contact with the install company. Include the date, the full name and position of the person you spoke with and a summary of the conversation. If you can tape the conversations, even better. If you get no response after the letter is sent, file a claim in Small Claims Court. We don't need a lawyer here to file a suit, so you avoid the expense of a lawyer at least for the time being. The down side of suing is even if you win, you still need to get them to pay the money. This is not an automatic thing.
Do I understand the total cost of the job was $1250.00? How many windows were installed?
Ron

no, the cost of in INSTALL was $1250 plus the windows. 4 windows- two downstairs in one room and two mullioned together upstairs in one room. the total with tax, etc was $4,756 which is one of the reasons I expected a really nice install job!!! I have only paid half at this point and i will not pay the rest until i am satisfied. i also paid the first half with visa, so i have a little leverage on that as well. i am a very good customer of theirs!

unfortunately i am going out of town for a while and the person that will be staying at my house can't take care of this for me so it will have to hold until i get back.

the people that installed it work for the only marvin distributor in my area to the best of my knowledge.

thanks for your input. i will probably have more questions when i get back but i can't fix this before i leave. they are keeping the wind and water out for now, so that's something! other people seem to have much worse problems with their windows than i do.

twomartins

Twomartins,

It's companies like the one your dealing with that give our industry the Black Eye! The lack of craftsmanship and professionalism has gotten so far out of control it sickens me. If any of my installers even did one of the complaints you have posted, they would know I'd be coming for them with hell right behind me.

This is your home and they are guests. The disrespect of leaving their mess and expecting you to clean it up is mind blowing. I tell all my installers that the area they're working in better be cleaner after they're done than it was before they started. That's totally unacceptable. You should have left the mess until the next day and made them clean it up before they started anything else. It's understandable if something might have been overlooked or dust settling on furniture, but that should be the extent of anything left behind. Some bigger replacement jobs may have dust settling for a couple days after the job's completed. This is an acceptable occurrence in the industry. All other debris from the job inside and outside should have been cleaned up and hauled away.

If we install any window that would have a fastener located in the face of the frame, it would be recessed for wood putty. After the window is set, all the holes are puttied over and sanded smooth. Whether they are being stained or painted we finish them the same way. We go to great lengths to hide all the fasteners inside the sash pocket or an area not visibly noticed. Leaving exposed screw heads and cracks is careless and unacceptable. The exterior caulking should be eye appealing whether it's ten stories in the air or at ground level. Any spillage should be immediately cleaned up, especially anything on brick.

I recommend you calling Marvin and have the area representative come out and look the job over. You need to make sure these windows are still under warranty and properly installed. Make sure you get his review of the job in writing if possible. Don't ever think your better off because others have it worse than you. You should be totally satisfied and happy with the entire job no matter what. Stand up to these fly by night hacks and make them accountable. Nothing else is acceptable!!!

This is the message i received from the sales person who talked to the customer service people.

"I did not receive any pictures so you may want to resend.
I have ordered the new balance tub to replace the one that was damaged as well as new wood jamb covers. We will install the windows through the interior portion of the jamb therefore you will not see any of the screws. I will also have Rob redo any caulking that needs to be finished or redone.

When you return from your trip we will have the material so if you could contact me and we will come out to make these adjustments. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and we will do what we can in order to address all your concerns."

They did not mention getting the messy caulk off the brick, the ripped drywall paper, the mess left outside, or what problems might be hidden but not fixed by "jamb liners."

i told her i would consider this and let her know later whether or not this would be an acceptable fix as i could not give enough attention to the problem as i was getting ready to go out of town and had enough to deal with. the windows were supposed to be installed in 1 day last week but they came on Saturday (an hour late) and then did not finish because they broke something on a window plus my windowsills. that may be normal? the windowsills i mean?

Does this sound like an acceptable fix to you? I am thinking not based on what you said earlier and i have no idea what a jamb liner is and what that means for my warranty. sigh. i SO appreciate all your feedback on this and i am SO glad that i only replaced a few windows for the first round as a test run. i need to replace a lot more, but i wanted to see how it went before committing many thousands more.

twomartins

Hi TwoMartins,

We have AL clad wood interior Marvin as well. We stained ours. In one of your photos, there is a large screw that resulted in cracks in the wood. It looks like that screw is in the lower part of the dbl-hung.

That crack in the wood frame of the window worries me a lot. It seems to have cracked in a manner that under use, may crack further and eventually split the wood. If it were my house, I would consider that an unacceptable damage to the window and force the contractor to pay damages and remedy the situation. I STRONGLY suggest you ask the Marvin rep to come out and take a look and have everything in writing, with pictures to show. Make the Rep sign the picture to prove he saw it. The contractor may end up having to reimburse you for a new dbl-hung or pay for complete repairs.

The ones that did ours left everything neat and clean inside and out. No cracks in our dry wall, no damage, no dust. They vacuumed and cleaned. MOST importantly, they left NO marks on the wood. None at all. Paint or not, a professional job should never leave a giant screw or nail head showing.

As guy_exterior stated, this bunch of contractors that did your windows have extremely poor skills and lousy professional attitude. Best deal with them right now while the cake is still hot, so to speak.

I wish you the very best and hope this all comes out well.

As a former window installer and now salesman I can tell you that the job you got was unacceptable!!!!!

Were your installers "certified Marvin installers"? I would call Marvin and have one of their own employees come out and look at the work. Let them help define your solution.