testtest

New windows

N

nmedge

Guest
I have been trying for 2 months to have someone to quote me a price on new windows for the house. I went to home depot and the representative from there called me from El Paso and told me really didn't have time to drive the 1.5 hours to look and give me a quote. So put in a request at Lowes and they set up an appointment with me for following week. This person was coming from Las Cruces NM which is about a hour away. The day that he was supposed to be here he called 20 minutes late asking if we were supposed to have an appointment. I told him to forget about it, already could see the writing on the wall. I then called Window World. It would be 3 weeks before I could get appointment. Well today was the day for 8 am this morning. He called last night and told me he couldn't make it at 8 and would be later in the afternoon before he could get here. I get radiation treatments in the afternoon, wife was going to go to work late because of this appointment. I was so pissed told him to forget about it too! I cannot understand that I am willing to spend thousands and still nobody shows any interest. Is business that good? There is no-one locally that does this kind of work so my quest for new windows has come to an end. The windows are in good shape and can probably stay for a few more years, i just wanted to upgrade. What is wrong with people today?
 
nmedge said:
I have been trying for 2 months to have someone to quote me a price on new windows for the house. I went to home depot and the representative from there called me from El Paso and told me really didn't have time to drive the 1.5 hours to look and give me a quote. So put in a request at Lowes and they set up an appointment with me for following week. This person was coming from Las Cruces NM which is about a hour away. The day that he was supposed to be here he called 20 minutes late asking if we were supposed to have an appointment. I told him to forget about it, already could see the writing on the wall. I then called Window World. It would be 3 weeks before I could get appointment. Well today was the day for 8 am this morning. He called last night and told me he couldn't make it at 8 and would be later in the afternoon before he could get here. I get radiation treatments in the afternoon, wife was going to go to work late because of this appointment. I was so pissed told him to forget about it too! I cannot understand that I am willing to spend thousands and still nobody shows any interest. Is business that good? There is no-one locally that does this kind of work so my quest for new windows has come to an end. The windows are in good shape and can probably stay for a few more years, i just wanted to upgrade. What is wrong with people today?
Click to expand...
in my area...YES...business is THAT good..

(up here in New England)

best you could do is set up at least 2 appointments with 2 contractors.

whoever shows up? gets the work

if they show up together, now you can say something like, "let the bidding begin".

what are they gonna do..???

otherwise, keep searching, for maybe a smaller contractor in your area. but beware too, shortages of materials, custom sizing, dictate the end result.

best of luck, i really DO feel your pain, as being a homeowner sometimes sucks moldy peanut butter.
 
Problem is when work in the area is good most contractors won't bid on small jobs, that's when all the self made u-tube contractors come out of the woodwork like after a weather disaster.
Just do your due diligence when someone shows up..
Work is good here, I'm constantly being asked to do side jobs..
 
nmedge said:
If its that bad I guess the next person that buys the house can replace them, i'm out.
Click to expand...
How unfortunate, I do know my ex still lives in the last house we bought together and recently had the windows replaced by a contractor setup/hired after having a salesman from
Home Depot visit to get information on what was needed, HD personal did all the leg work including a follow up on the completed work which was completed on time and perfectly.
Of course the Home Depot store in her case is located about 15 minutes from the house. It sounds to me like the sales people from the stores you contacted for estimates were just flat out lazy.
I would seriously contact the corporate office of those two big box stores and complain.
 
You are probably better off finding an established replacement window company to deal with, it will cost more but there is usually less aggravation. My experience with LOWE's for one custom made window wasn't the best... the first one was too large, and the second one arrived with damaged screens, they just can't figure out who to blame for the damage - so nothing gets done repair wise. I am attempting to have another window replaced by a local 'Window World' franchise... I hope that is a better experience.

Good luck.
 
Part of the problem is the shortage of labor right now. I work for a lawn maintenance company and part of my job is setting appointments for estimates. It's tough right now. We have more requests than we have manpower to fulfill, so we have to pick our jobs carefully. Granted, there is little excuse for not showing up on time, so we try to be honest with the potential customers about lead times and, frankly, if we can do the job at all. This is especially true because customers demand free estimates. The first contractor who declined to drive 1½ hours one-way for an estimate was the most honest with you. It would have taken him half of a day to do an estimate. That's a big chunk of change, especially when he could do four estimates there in El Paso in the same half day without having to pay $3.00 per gallon for gasoline in a vehicle that probably gets about 15 mpg. An additional problem is that such a long trip would possibly leave his crews unsupervised for half of a day, and that may be a bigger issue than the time. Some have commented that there is a lot of work to do, and that is true. However, costs have skyrocketed lately—especially labor—and making a profit is harder than ever.

I also understand the difficulty of getting work done in outlying areas. I grew up in rural West Texas where all the tradesmen and medical facilities were at least an hour away. It's tough, but that was part of living where we did.

I know I don't sound very sympathetic here, but there are lots of issues involved. My suggestion is to go back to the contractor from El Paso and see what you can negotiate. Let him know you are willing to pay his hourly rate for the round trip and maybe some mileage to cover the gas. You will probably find him to be more willing to make the trip.
 
nmedge said:
I have been trying for 2 months to have someone to quote me a price on new windows for the house. I went to home depot and the representative from there called me from El Paso and told me really didn't have time to drive the 1.5 hours to look and give me a quote. So put in a request at Lowes and they set up an appointment with me for following week. This person was coming from Las Cruces NM which is about a hour away. The day that he was supposed to be here he called 20 minutes late asking if we were supposed to have an appointment. I told him to forget about it, already could see the writing on the wall. I then called Window World. It would be 3 weeks before I could get appointment. Well today was the day for 8 am this morning. He called last night and told me he couldn't make it at 8 and would be later in the afternoon before he could get here. I get radiation treatments in the afternoon, wife was going to go to work late because of this appointment. I was so pissed told him to forget about it too! I cannot understand that I am willing to spend thousands and still nobody shows any interest. Is business that good? There is no-one locally that does this kind of work so my quest for new windows has come to an end. The windows are in good shape and can probably stay for a few more years, i just wanted to upgrade. What is wrong with people today?
Click to expand...
Don’t buy windows from HD or Lowes. They’re junk, I promise you. Call window companies, get bids from them all, pick someone in the middle with good references.
 
Bassbob said:
Don’t buy windows from HD or Lowes. They’re junk, I promise you. Call window companies, get bids from them all, pick someone in the middle with good references.
Click to expand...
I understand what your saying but my ex only had to do the upstairs windows that were still wood and in terrible shape, the downstairs windows had been replaced already but were still about 20 years old, aluminum frame.
She did call a window company for an estimate on the downstairs windows and he looked at the upstairs units that had already been installed by HD and told my ex they were very good windows. It’s all good not my problem anymore.
 
Bassbob said:
Don’t buy windows from HD or Lowes. They’re junk, I promise you. Call window companies, get bids from them all, pick someone in the middle with good references.
Click to expand...
Not all of the windows they sell are junk, you can get good value & quality if you know what you are looking for. Except for torn screens, the 3-lite slider I purchased from LOWE's and installed myself is great. Not my cats - lol.

IMG_9239 (2).JPG


Many years ago I was an in-home salesman for a large replacement window & door company in the mid-west. Reinforced vinyl replacement windows with welded corners on the frame & sash, and double panes with Low-E tint will usually exceed your needs. However, even the best window ever made is junk if the installation is garbage.
 
lkjohnson17 said:
Part of the problem is the shortage of labor right now. I work for a lawn maintenance company and part of my job is setting appointments for estimates. It's tough right now. We have more requests than we have manpower to fulfill, so we have to pick our jobs carefully. Granted, there is little excuse for not showing up on time, so we try to be honest with the potential customers about lead times and, frankly, if we can do the job at all. This is especially true because customers demand free estimates. The first contractor who declined to drive 1½ hours one-way for an estimate was the most honest with you. It would have taken him half of a day to do an estimate. That's a big chunk of change, especially when he could do four estimates there in El Paso in the same half day without having to pay $3.00 per gallon for gasoline in a vehicle that probably gets about 15 mpg. An additional problem is that such a long trip would possibly leave his crews unsupervised for half of a day, and that may be a bigger issue than the time. Some have commented that there is a lot of work to do, and that is true. However, costs have skyrocketed lately—especially labor—and making a profit is harder than ever.

I also understand the difficulty of getting work done in outlying areas. I grew up in rural West Texas where all the tradesmen and medical facilities were at least an hour away. It's tough, but that was part of living where we did.

I know I don't sound very sympathetic here, but there are lots of issues involved. My suggestion is to go back to the contractor from El Paso and see what you can negotiate. Let him know you are willing to pay his hourly rate for the round trip and maybe some mileage to cover the gas. You will probably find him to be more willing to make the trip.
Click to expand...
You’re making excuses for poor customer service, a salesman’s is to sell windows not run or supervise the installation.
And as far as paying for his travel time that is ludicrous, the company pays him to do a job which is what he needs to do, total laziness.
 
Blackfeather said:
Not all of the windows they sell are junk, you can get good value & quality if you know what you are looking for. Except for torn screens, the 3-lite slider I purchased from LOWE's and installed myself is great. Not my cats - lol.

View attachment 33290

Many years ago I was an in-home salesman for a large replacement window & door company in the mid-west. Reinforced vinyl replacement windows with welded corners on the frame & sash, and double panes with Low-E tint will usually exceed your needs. However, even the best window ever made is junk if the installation is garbage.
Click to expand...
I installed windows, doors and siding for over 20 years. I dealt with Great Lakes, Simonton, Pella, Anderson. Do what you want to do brother. I’m telling you box stores sell low end of the product line. You can usually order higher end Pella or Anderson stuff from them, at a huge markup, but it won’t be the stuff they stock in the stores. I do know what I’m looking at. Depth of the reveal, glass thickness, fusion weld, low E, Argon.

You’re definitely right about them being installed correctly.
 
Like I told my neighbor i'm turned off right now from all these people. My windows are really not in bad shape so they will just have to do for a few more years. At that point it may be someone else's problem.
 
nmedge said:
Like I told my neighbor i'm turned off right now from all these people. My windows are really not in bad shape so they will just have to do for a few more years. At that point it may be someone else's problem.
Click to expand...
that's where i am with my old house...

do i spend the money and maybe never get it back, or let it go..

the Mrs and i are not at odds over this either, it's just at our age, it might be "cheaper" for us to live here longer, with out more debt at our age.

here in my area, "investors" buy up multi-family homes like mine, gut them out, new everything, then rent out the apartments for like $2,000 (or more) a month, quickly getting a return on the investment.

so it's drafty windows and doors again this winter for us.
 
Bassbob said:
I installed windows, doors and siding for over 20 years. I dealt with Great Lakes, Simonton, Pella, Anderson. Do what you want to do brother. I’m telling you box stores sell low end of the product line. You can usually order higher end Pella or Anderson stuff from them, at a huge markup, but it won’t be the stuff they stock in the stores. I do know what I’m looking at. Depth of the reveal, glass thickness, fusion weld, low E, Argon.

You’re definitely right about them being installed correctly.
Click to expand...
Heard the exact same thing from my contractor I had a while back

I also was looking for someone to do some small jobs around the house. Called about 5 people, mostly handyman stuff. not a one called back. Very frustrating. Was trying to save myself some time so I could do other things. I am now doing it all myself.
 
Blackfeather said:
I am attempting to have another window replaced by a local 'Window World' franchise... I hope that is a better experience.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
They won't be. You get what you pay for. Doing it right on replacing windows is tricky. First you have to decide what window you actually want and need and that is not easy because many sale personnel don't really know what they are talking about and some will lie about anything to make a sale. Detailed research is difficult and time consuming especially if you want highly energy efficient windows.

(U values, E values, R values on the glass, the frame, etc.) Then it is time to determine what quality of frame you want and how long you want it to last. Of. course all of that affects price.

Then we have to deal with the knowledgeability of the installer and what if any corners he/she will cut to offer you a lower price. In the case of Window World the average installer gets an average of $25 per window as an independent contractor. How much knowledge or expertise would you expect at that price?
 
Bassbob said:
I installed windows, doors and siding for over 20 years. I dealt with Great Lakes, Simonton, Pella, Anderson. Do what you want to do brother. I’m telling you box stores sell low end of the product line. You can usually order higher end Pella or Anderson stuff from them, at a huge markup, but it won’t be the stuff they stock in the stores. I do know what I’m looking at. Depth of the reveal, glass thickness, fusion weld, low E, Argon.

You’re definitely right about them being installed correctly.
Click to expand...
I sold many jobs that replaced hundreds of worn out Pella and Anderson windows, they have institutionalized brand names but their quality has never been that great and I don't imagine they improved their quality since I was in the business. I still have my samples of the competitions frame & sash, and I automatically steer people away from any window that uses wood - even if it's clad. Buyer beware.
 
We we bought our house back in 1996, the previous owner installed Vinyl Max double pane windows in it, then in 2015 on a bitter cold night, our kitchen window over the sink exploded, just the inside pane, still had the outside pane, figured there was a leak in one of the seams and bam. Even though we didn’t have the original paperwork, Vinyl Max honored their lifetime warranty and replaced it, this is a great company in my opinion.
 
Last edited:
Window World windows are, uh, less than stellar quality. And Even though they say they will install any window for $99 or whatever it is these days, that's a lie. You want the window insulated and trimmed, that's extra. You want the old window and related debris hauled off, that's extra.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top