I had initially measured the windows myself just so that I can get quotes to get a good idea of how much I should set my budget. After visiting several showrooms, we settled on West Coast Windows for their build quality. I called West Coast to send over someone to do the final measurements before placing the order. I watched as he just measured the inside of the window frame. We couldn't wait until November to have them install it as they were backlogged and it was into the rainy season. Instead I got my siding contractor to do that for us. Our siding project started at the end of September and the weather was perfect. When we received our shipment 2 weeks later, my siding guy tried installing the first window and found a gap of 1.5" all around the frame! The flanges had nothing to nail to as 9 out of 10 windows were smaller than the rough opening! The 10th window was 1/4” too long. The West Coast Window estimator that measured the windows did not warn us that this was going to happen! We thought that since he did the final measurements that he would add a bit extra to the dimensions to compensate for the frame. We called West Coast Windows and they immediately scheduled the same estimator to come take a look. His explanation was that he thought that we were going to reuse the old window frames. He said that he did a "conservative" measurement and that there should be some expectation of necessary adjustments. I wished he had asked me more questions about our expectations during the measurement process. We had no options after being left high and dry so we made the executive decision to go ahead with what we were given. No offer of compensation after it costed me extra labour to pay my siding contractor to fill in all of the gaps so that the windows fit. My wife and I are very upset from the whole experience.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $8,400.00
- Company Response
I'm sorry to hear of this issue and the extra costs you had to incur. It looks as though our estimator was advised that your interior wood liners were to remain in-place which is the common practice for replacement windows so that you don't need to re-build the interior. This is the reason that the new windows are smaller as they were designed and measured to fit inside your finished opening and note the rough opening with these finishes removed. I know that our estimator came over to look at the issue the same day you called in and from what I understand, the two of you discussed this and were okay with the logic behind the sizing. We have not heard anything from you since this day and assumed that the issue was rectified. I wish you would have contacted us sooner if you were still unhappy as we could have tried to work with you and your siding contractor on a solution. I hope that once finished, you love your new windows for many years to come.