Baltic Windows and Doors, Inc.-No Longer in Business

Prior to choosing Baltic Windows, I thought I did a very good job in researching a variety of companies, asked many questions and did a lot of ground work by visiting 10 to 15 showrooms. I finally came upon Baltic Windows and immediately liked their window products. I liked the fact that they are a family run business ( at least I thought at the beginning ) and I got to tour their back factory to see for myself where the windows are made. The rep that came to my house was cordial, and pleasant to deal with. He ensured that all window designs and colour of windows were exactly what I wanted and reviewed contract and government incentives with me quite thoroughly. I was told my project would take ONE DAY TO COMPLETE since I did not have many windows to replace. CONTRACT WAS SIGNED AND THEN HEADACHES BEGAN. I did not know that for this job I had to also be the inspector, the manager and the negotiator.

The installing crew came on the prearranged date, and immediately there were problems, the patio door hadn't arrived yet and four outside bars which were part of one window were not included. Within 5 minutes of the first day of work, I had to call in the main office to report this. THIS WAS NOT GOING TO BE A ONE DAY PROJECT AS PROMISED. Luckily for me, I had a friend of mine come and inspect the work done prior to their second visit and I was told that all my frames needed recaulking. Regular caulking ( white caulking ) rather than wood filler was used and once the caulking dried, every frame was cracked open. ( Perhaps they did not use sufficient caulking or as my friend suggested they tried to cut corners ) Every corner of every window needed this work redone. Some window frame tops were slanted and needed fixing too.
AND one window frame my friend confirmed was of poor quality workmanship. I am not an installer or in the window business and trusted that they were the professionals and knew what they were doing. I thought I had done my job well when choosing Baltic since I had done extensive research prior to picking this company. But after my friend's review, I wrote my list of things to be fixed inside so that I could go over it with them when they came back. For the outside work, capping was done and some parts were not sealed with caulking, some sections of capping areas were not properly adjusted with existing doors and gaps could be seen.
When I went to their office I was reassured that it would all be fixed when they came back.
The crew came back the date we arranged but was not able to complete the work because they were overbooked with another job on the same date. So they managed to fix some of the problems listed and the outside patio door was installed but a temporary cauking was placed because the coloured caulking had not arrived. I also had them caulk the top frames of most window since they were left open.
Another meeting had to be scheduled again to complete caulking of patio door and reframing of one of a main large windows. Within the first week of installation, to my horror, I noticed that one of the panels of a larger window showed a bubble on the outside frame which was quite noticeable particularly when the sun shined on it. I immediately went to the factory and spoke with Stan and he agreed that it had to be replaced. This would take about two to three weeks to fix.
In the meantime, the crew came back for DAY THREE OF THE PROJECT and completed some of the outstanding work that was initially listed. The lead crew member was very helpful and worked with me to fix all the problems.
As for the new window panel to be replaced, it was replaced three weeks later, we are now looking at end of November, the dent looking bubble was gone however, the colour of this panel did not match with the other window panels, and the four bars for a second window did not match the frame either. I was told that I was to receive the new panel and bars before Christmas. Christmas came and went, the New year arrived and by mid January I called the office to find out what was happening with my order. I was told that the panel and the bars were ready but they would have to wait for warmer weather to come since the four exterior bars could break the window if removed in cold temperatures.
This project started at the end of October and by mid January I was still dealing with window fix ups.
A new customer representative who started working with Baltic in January was quite helpful especially when I told him that I had been dealing with window problems since October and that I had to make all the calls to find out what was happening. He quickly took over my case and within a few days called me back to inform me that panel and bars would be ready to install upon warmer weather. Two months later, ( we are now in March ) no one called to let me know when this new installation would happen and we have been having warm weather for a while now. So I called again myself....and within one day of my phone call an installation date was set and I informed the representative that another bubble looking dent was noticed on a second window . By this time, ( 5 months after initial installation ) I am very frustrated with this whole process which should have ended a long time ago and would like this experience to be over. I specifically asked for Stan or Rafal.....to come over to look at the window, so that we could comprimise on the remaining balance. I called back the next day to confirm and was told that neither Stan or Rafal were coming just the installing team. The installing crew came, but once again the colour was off from other window panels. The first panel replaced was one tone darker than the other window panels, this time it's one tone lighter. AT THE END OF THIS WINDOW INSTALLATION PROCESS FROM OCTOBER TO MARCH, NO ONE FROM THE COMPANY HAS COME TO SEE IF WORK COMPLETED WAS DONE TO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OR ACCORDING TO COMPANY'S COMMITTMENT TO EXCELLENCE. THERE WAS NO FOLLOW UP.
NOT EVEN THE INITIAL SALES REP WITH WHOM I HAVE SIGNED THE CONTRACT BOTHERED TO CALL ME BACK TO FIND OUT HOW THINGS WERE GOING OR IF WORK WAS COMPLETED AS PROMISED HE WOULD.

Judging from some of the reviews, some people know exactly what I am experiencing since they too have had a frustrating experience, while others seem to have had no problems. I am not sure why there is a difference in experience......when a company is good, it should be good all around. I can only relate what my experience has been like working with this company. The quality of their windows is wonderful, but the workmanship and the customer service behind it is not of the same calibre unless you are willing to spend months on end trying to get what you paid for. As one of the commentors wrote that the quality of a company should be assessed by how they handle problems, I can honestly say that in this area Baltic Windows has fallen short for me and many other customers.

For a company that prides itself on excellence and has a great product, they would make a better name for themselves if they improve on making all their customers happy and not just some. I think one of this company's main problem is that they do not do all the work themselves. I have learned that Baltic Windows only makes the window itself, the installing crew are mostly subcontractors and if you choose coloured windows like I have, then another company does the painting. So a company that is partly a family run business runs into many problems when it depends on so many other people/ or subcompanies to promote and represent their product. AND WITH NO FOLLOW UP VISITS, THEY FAIL TO SEE THE BIG PICTURE. ALL CUSTOMERS SHOULD BE HAPPY CUSTOMERS ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE PAYING BIG BUGS FOR THESE RENOVATION PROJECTS.

LOVE MY WINDOWS, NOT THE EXPERIENCE OR THE HEADACHES THAT WENT ALONG WITH THIS PROCESS!

My old windows were over 50 years old and needed to all be replaced. I wanted to get new windows in my home that were energy efficient and kept with the original style of the home. Baltic Windows not only made the windows look the same, but further enhanced it the best energy efficiency ratings and open/close components that are just really smart and easy to operate. I'm really happy with the results - the difference in temperature in the house is very noticeable, and I have received many complements from my neighbours. If you want quality Baltic is the company!

Windows appear to be well constructed and of a high quality.Unfortunately the job is spoiled by a lousy installation crew.Everything from poor measurement of the size of the replacement windows to inaccurately cut aluminum capping and sloppy caulking.Left job site initially without finishing siding on dinette bay window.Installer said that wasn't part of the deal.Promised to come back 2 times to finish the job but didn't show.I waited unsuccessfully for two days.Finally the 3rd time was lucky.Cut corners wherever they could.Stomped my bushes into the ground.Initially 4 windows wouldn't even open due to caulking applied in the wrong area.I had to fix them myself.Only 1 left for me to fix.I wouldn't have them back on my property.Do yourself a favour and call Sears.Pay more money,get a better job.

-Had 14 windows and one patio slider installed in 1 day. Jobsite was left IMMACULATE !!! Couteous, Proffessional installers left no trace(other than the windows) of them ever being at my house. They even had the courtesy to leave me a cleaner to help with the finer cleaning details(mfg stickers). Final product looks and operates over and above my expectations! Would DEFINITELY recommend !!!!!!

Gathered estimates to replace all the windows at my property. Visited 5 companies and only Baltic Windows impressed me not only with their product but their customer service. They not only explained their product but educated me about windows in general. They replaced all my windows and completed the project as promised by my deadline date. NOTE: YOU NEED TO DO YOUR RESEARCH. If you've done this, you will conclude Baltic has from the start a good product, installation expertise plus the customer service you want as a consumer. They listen to the customer.

We had an installation scheduled for September 28, 29 and 30 and it was not done until November for a partial installation and December for the final installation. I kept calling and no one would call me back, the one person who would return my calls ended up leaving the company. It was one excuse after another, and Carlos would not return our calls. First they ordered the wrong windows and then one was broken. The installer told us that Carlos didn't even order 4 windows for the initial installation. The installer came out 5 times because they were confused about which windows still had not been installed because the office was so confused. We had asked for a special window for the master bedroom and we did not get one, instead, they put a casement window in one of the small bedrooms (which we did not ask for) and wanted to charge us extra for that window, which was broke when installed. We are getting calls daily about payment even though the job is not finished. They are supposed to replace the broken window on the 19th, but since we are paying to have this nightmare over and my husband does not want to deal with them, we will see if it happens.

The only reason that this company is getting any points from me is because the windows are okay, but the hassle of dealing with this company takes away the joy of nice windows.

Do yourselves a favor and do not use this company!!!

We needed a new front window and we looked around for a while. The salesman we talked to said all the right things and talked about how great their warranty is. The warranty isn't worth a darn if you can't get any one to return your call. The window looks great but the quality is lousy.
-The spray foam expanded throught the caulking, then to fix it they just put a big gob of caulking over the bubble.
-The frames for the screens were warped, it took three weks to finally talk to someone and a month and a half to get new screens.
-First hard rain fall with wind and we had water running down the inside of the window. Another two weeks to get a hold of someone and a month for them to show up with a tube of caulking to try and re-caulk.

I still have anothe 5 windows and a front door to do so now I am looking for another window company.