Pella

I have just completed a major renovation of the entire 1st floor of my home. I have brand new porcelain wood-look tile floors and new, expensive, cherry kitchen cabinets. I did much of the renovation myself. My plan was to have the door and window installed before the cabinets but after the floor were finished, but it didn't work out that way. The Window over the kitchen sink and the kitchen door were replaced last, after everything was finished. I was nervous that the installers might mess something up in my brand new kitchen. I sat at the table at the end of the room and watched the installers all day to make sure nothing was damaged, and nothing was.

The installers were Hispanic, all 3 of them. Only one of them spoke or understood English, which is disappointing (but that's another conversation). The person who spoke English was the lead and was the most skilled craftsman of the three. All three were courteous and professional. They arrived in the earlier part of the timeframe that was provided and they were ready to get right to work. Though it would have been easier on them to bring things through the house, they chose to bring everything needed around to the back outside. Anytime any of them entered my home they wore booties over their boots to protect my floors. They also used at least a half dozen fabric and plastic drop clothes to protect my floors and cabinets. Everything I was concerned about was protected, and I didn't have to say anything.

They needed to remove an existing window and an existing sliding glass door. The window came out fairly easily, but the door was more challenging. They were very good about keeping their work area clean. After removing the door and window they carefully measured and modified the rough openings to properly accept the new window and door. They discovered a problem with the previous door installation which presented a challenge in installing the new door. (In my house nothing is easy, ever). They presented the issue to me and a proposed resolution. I agreed with their evaluation and resolution and instructed them to proceed. This says that even if I wasn't there, they would have identified the problem, properly evaluated it and employed an acceptable resolution. The methods and practices they used were spot on, just like Mike Holmes would do or like you would see on "This Old House".

They installed a moisture barrier on the bare wood, shimmed everything off during installation and used spray foam to fill in and insulate the gap. Then the installed trim and added a sill to the kitchen window. None of my existing windows have sills. It's a nice touch. The finish work looks very nice. They caulked and painted everything. It looks perfect. Outside they bent and installed custom aluminum door trim that integrated with my existing siding. They caulked and weatherproofed it, and it looks great. It actually started to rain (it's January in the Mid-Atlantic region) and they kept on working.

My only real complaint is that the rain kept them from being able to sweep up all of the sawdust that they created on my deck and patio, but that's not their fault. The installer took the time to show me how the door and window operate, gave me some maintenance tips and answered my questions. What more could I want? So there you have it. I would be the first to rip someone if they did a bad job. My guys did a really nice job. Just as good as, if not better than, I would do myself. I hope you have a similar experience.

We are also missing the screen for the door and the handle! With no way to lock the door, we are left with a wooden makeshift stick "locking" our door. The outside of the door is left looking hideous! Apparently, the wooden panel/siding that was provided was also the wrong size, and we are left with exposed wood and the outside of our door looking horrible. How is this a product that you provide to your customers? Now we have to wait until you get your act together and provide us with a new and correct door and get it reinstalled. How long is that wait again? This is unacceptable and beyond frustrating!

We were so excited when the windows arrived. That excitement quickly faded. This has been such a disappointing experience. For example, Pella delivered and installed a broken window, as well as obscured glass to replace transparent glass in two bedrooms, and a window that was four inches too short. Much of the frustration stems from the fact that Dave did not know how the sliding opening hardware works for two casement windows. Though we specified “no window opening control device; no limited opening hardware,” that is what they delivered. The slide-opening casement window requires you to remove the screen from the inside or to go outside to open the window more than ~6 inches. Pella believes we should accept an adaptation for the window which includes drilling holes in the frame to remove the unwanted hardware; we believe we paid for a new window that operates as described by our salesman.

The sales supervisor, Hunter **, came to our home last Friday and left agreeing to replace the windows with a prioritized manufacturing order. Today (Tuesday), however, Hunter called to renege on our oral agreement. He says that the contract allows them to repair before replacing a window. We contend that, since we received windows that we did not order in the first place, a repair is unacceptable. The only resolution is to replace with what we ordered. In the meantime, we have a wall of nine windows and stucco exposed to the elements. Does Pella care? Apparently not.

Then there’s the pricing issue. We have two sets of two windows that are identical in size. However, in one set, the price difference is $68.89. Add to that, we were charged $885 for stucco repairs when the Change Order states, “Customer will supply their own Stucco company to repair current damage to home and help seal windows.” Our own stucco costs are about $20,000. Are we being exploited or are these honest mistakes? Who knows, because when we’ve raised these issues with the salesman, the project manager, general manager of retail sales, and VP of retail sales, we’ve been answered with an invoice for 90% payment with no explanations of our pricing queries. The entire process, including ordering, delivery, installation, and customer service, has been – to quote the Pella GM for retail sales – “... a dumpster fire.” We recommend you look elsewhere for your windows and doors.