Replaced two 104" x 53" double pane, slide-open wood windows with Ply-Gem triple pane, slide-open vinyl windows.
In Jan. 2013, Matt from Denali Windows came to our home, measured and provided a quote for our windows. He stated that although casement are superior to sliders, our location (not a windy area) and the location of the windows (downstairs under the deck and behind a fence in the front) did not warrant the extra cost of casement (crank-out) windows. Three weeks later, we ordered the windows, and Matt measured again. He could not guarantee their fluted trim and rosettes would match our other windows, and after seeing previous trim work done in a friends home by Denali Windows, we opted to hang the trim ourselves although no discount was given. Matt also stated that if we wanted the window casing painted beforehand, we would need to purchase the 1x4s and paint them prior to installation, and so we did. In April, Paul with Denali Enterprises (a subcontractor) came to install the windows. To be helpful, we removed the existing trim and cornice boxes ourselves and set out drop cloths and floor runners to protect our 4-day old carpet. Upon arrival, Paul stated that the quote we had be given was for 2x4 construction and we had 2x6 construction, so it was going to cost more. Although, we argued with him that our 2x6 construction was not a new "finding" such as mold or rotted wood and that it was the company's mistake, and they should stand behind their quote...especially since we had already purchased and painted the 1x4s. However, Paul made it very clear that our small job of two windows was not worth his time anyway, and he couldn't lose any money. The workers were very careful with our new carpet and cleaned up fairly well outside, but left all the debris on our drop cloths inside. After they left, we could not open one of the windows and had to call them back. Paul quickly returned, but was not happy about it. He tried a few things and eventually removed a piece of metal left over from the manufacturing which was preventing the window from sliding open. Over the summer, we continually had leaking from the windows when we watered the lawn or hosed off the deck. We called the company over a dozen times with no response. After emailing Matt about the issue in September, we received a call from Paul who had apparently been working out of town most of the summer. Paul came by and looked at the windows and checked the weep holes, he said someone would call us the next day to have the caulking redone. He also said he would contact the manufacture, but he was pretty sure the windows are not guaranteed to withstand water from the over-spray of the sprinklers. (Seriously? Our 20 year-old windows never leaked with the sprinkler, hosing off the deck, or even power washing!) We did not hear from him again for four months. In November, we started calling Denali Enterprises again and talked with Wendy, she scheduled a crew to come out and re-caulk the "compromised" seals. In January of 2014, two guys came out at 5:00pm (in the dark) to re-seal one of the windows. The next weekend, the leaking was considerably worse. We started calling again. Paul is now claiming the water must be coming in somewhere else and has refused to look at the windows again. We have a dropped ceiling downstairs, and after removing ceiling tiles and inspecting the area above the windows, there is no moisture or any evidence of the water coming in somewhere else and running down the wall. The water is coming in from the top of the windows during light rainfall and overflowing the inside tracks when the wind blows rain on the windows or when the overspray from the sprinklers hit the windows. Our paint is bubbled and peeling, our trim is warped, and our oak bookshelf underneath the window is damaged. We are very dissatisfied with the quality of the windows, the quality of the work performed, and the lack of customer service from Denali Windows. Sorry for such a long, drawn-out post...but this has been a long, drawn-out, frustrating ordeal. Our upgrade to triple pane windows has indeed been a TRIPLE PAIN!!!
