Trim on new replacement windows is unsatisfactory. What should we do?

carol_h9916

last year

We just had 17 replacement windows installed by a nationally known window manufacturer and don't like the appearance of the new trim. The exterior mitered corners are very sloppy. The exterior trim is aluminum and we have vinyl siding. Some of the siding was disrupted during the job and not fixed. There are hammer marks on some of the interior wood trim. Does anyone have suggestions as to how we should handle this? Final payment for this project is due in a few days, when I will be asked to sign off that everything is OK, which it most certainly is not. We live in New England.

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PRO

Windows on Washington Ltd

last year

The exterior trim looks a bit amateurish in some parts. The interior trim marks that I see are from the brad nailer. That's a normal way to attach new trim. They holes were filled and final painting would be on the homeowner in our model as well. We don't paint.

The exterior trim needs a re-do in those examples you submitted.

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Comments (16)

PRO
PPF.
last year
What should we do?

Talk with the seller/installer. In person, at your house.

Be clear about your expectations. Stand firm.

For the interior trim, you should need to hunt to find where nails were used. They should use filler and not caulk to cover the nail, and the trim would then get painted.
carol_h9916 thanked PPF.
carol_h9916
Original Author
last year
Thanks so much for your thoughts. We have an appointment at our house with the sales rep in two days and will show him everything. I would love to hear from others too.
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cat_ky
last year
The interior trim, if its painted, should be an easy fix, however that outside trim, sure doesnt look great to me. I would want that all replaced, by someone that actually knows how to do it.
carol_h9916 thanked cat_ky
carol_h9916
Original Author
last year
I appreciate your advice. I am going to stand my ground and hope the company doesn't balk at re-doing the trim without additional charge. Anyone else have advice or insights?
cat_ky
last year
I remember a post about windows you posted quite a long while ago, that the contractor had messed up. Did you ever get those windows redone?
carol_h9916 thanked cat_ky
GN Builders
last year
The easiest solution to prevent that aluminum trim job from looking like a hack job is to remove and redo it.

If you want to put a band-aid on and make it look like a hack job, cut where you can, bend it, and caulk the heck out of it, and don't show it to anyone.
ci_lantro
last year
Show us the 'hammer marks' because I'm not seeing them. What I do see on the interior trim is where the fasteners were installed using a nailer. This is a decent install on the interior and the results are to be expected. Final paint/ touch-ups are the homeowner's responsibility. How could you think that the installers would have the exact color, type, sheen, brand of paint to match the rest of your trim (like baseboards & around interior doors) sitting out in their truck?

That said, some of the exterior work is sloppy and needs a do-over.
carol_h9916 thanked ci_lantro
carol_h9916
Original Author
last year
Yes, I had it redone and just posted an update to that 2021 post. Thanks for your interest and your comments about this newest issue.
carol_h9916
Original Author
last year
Ci_Lantro, the hammer marks are in the 4th and 5th picture. None of the interior trim on other windows has those marks. I was told by the sales rep that no touch up painting would be necessary and that the paint would match the original. That is true for 16 out of 17 windows that were replaced.
PRO
GN Builders L.L.C
last year
In the 4th and 5th pictures, there are no hammer marks; what you see are marks from a nail-set, and they did a poor job using nail hole filler. This can be easily fixed; call them back, or whoever is responsible for painting should take care of this.

Good luck
carol_h9916 thanked GN Builders L.L.C
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
last year
Nail marks are from the brad nailer and a poorly adjusted or missing soft tip one.

Fixable before paint.

Ask to have the trim repaired on the outside. Was this the "new" person that trimmed out the windows on the exterior and removed and reset the trim?
carol_h9916 thanked Windows on Washington Ltd
carol_h9916
Original Author
last year
These windows were installed by carpenters I had never used before; they were provided by the owner of the local branch of the Iowa-based company that manufactured them. I won't mention the brand name just yet, but the local dealer/owner here in western Massachusetts has pledged to make everything right and is stopping by our house in a few days as follow-up to the sales rep's visit yesterday. I have a traditional house but have grown to prefer the butt joint b/c it looks cleaner and tighter than the mitered corner. Stay tuned...
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
last year
Guessing you are referring to the exterior trim when you reference butt joined vs. mitre'ed. Because there isn't a butt joined option for colonial interior casing.

Was this cladding (exterior trim) work done by the new person that re-did the siding?
carol_h9916
Original Author
last year
If you mean the person who redid the siding issue I posted about in 2021, no. I didn't go with that contractor this time, though he is excellent. We felt it best to rely on the local owner to provide a well-qualified installer who installs this brand of windows all the time, and were told they'd be sending their "best man". Odd thing, their best man did a perfect job mitering the interior corners, but an awful job of the exterior miters. Can't figure out why. Really hope they can butt joint all the exterior corners. I'll know very soon...
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
last year
You won't be able to butt joint exterior cladding, but you can create the look of butt joinery. It will just be an overlap is all.