ComplaintsforBest Windows, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  10/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Best Windows installed a patio door and a window in each of my two bedrooms on 3/19/21, all having a lifetime warranty. The following winter (2021-22), I noticed the window valance in my master bedroom would blow on windy days and the room would be freezing. This did not happen with my previous 49 year old windows. Best Windows came out twice and said there was nothing they could do about it. After heavy rainfall this past summer, I noticed a strong smell of mildew in my bedroom. A shelf hanging under the window was completely ruined (photo attached). The drywall under the window was wet and soft as well, and I was having sinus problems during the night from the mildew. I called ***************************** owner of Best Windows on 8/24/23 and he sent *****, the ******* in charge of installation. ***** scheduled two installers to come the next day (8/26/23) to do the repair. ***** said I needed to contact my condo's management company because building damage caused the leak. The installers found the internal boards completely rotted and they had to replace the whole frame and all wood. The installers also advised me to contact the management company saying there was a crack in the brick. So, the management company had MI *************** check for building damage. The ******* from MI Construction said the brick was not cracked and the leak was not from building damage. They saw the window was now installed properly and went forward with drywall repair and sprayed mold that was found inside the wall. The MI ******* estimated leakage to be there for 1-2 years. The bill from MI Construction is $1,350.00 and Best Windows is denying responsibility for this. ********** insisted the building caused the leak and their windows do not leak. Now he is blaming my handyman who removed the caulk on 8/24/23 to let the water run out and dry so he could recaulk it. I did not even mention the leak from the window in my spare bedroom, leaking into the bedroom of my neighbor below me last year.

  

  Business response

  11/03/2023

  We installed the excellent window with expert precision.  Window did not leak none of my windows ever has leaked  ,caulking was inspected by a factory representative that i sent there and everything was done  absolutely correctly as my installers always have done in the past. they are the finest installers in Chicagoland . I have been using the same windows and same installers  for over ******************************************************************************* 2016.  Fyi A tornado went by that window very  close on 7/12/23 .  I suspect wind and rain hitting wall  causes any water damage.  Customer hired  some  incompetent I don't know what is his occupation this idiot removed the caulking and damaged the window installation so severely it had  to be completely removed and reinstalled at a $600 expense to me.  I did not have to do this but customer pleaded  with me to repair the damage and recaulk the window .  Th knucklehead  did not recaulk it he said air needed to get in to  dry the wood , that is ludicrous! Nobody in my 25 years of doing business has ever done this . I have installed  ****** windows  and whenever there has been a water issue it has been because of water entering from some other source and had zero to do with the windows or instlation. I would like the customer to reimburse me for the material and labor for the unnecessary reinstallation of the window. Thanks respectfully ***************************** president of bestwindows 

  Customer response

  11/07/2023

   
  Complaint: 20792112
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  The wall and shelf in my master bedroom were damaged before my handyman ever walked in the room. On Thursday, August 24, ****, my handyman, ****, came to install something for me. When he was done, I asked him to take a look at the wall and the window. He saw the wet wall and took the ruined shelf down. When he opened the window, this is what he found, in his words: The flashing was not level, it was angled downward toward the caulking; the caulk was cracked, it was not full bead and was blocking the weep hole. He showed me a puddle of water inside the window jam. After checking the weather forecast for rain, **** proceeded to remove the caulk, saying he would come back on Saturday to re-caulk it, after it dried. It made sense to me. However, after he left I called *********************** that same day to tell him of the leak and my damaged wall. He scheduled *****, who is in charge of installation, to come two days later on Saturday. Since updated forecast called for possibility of rain Friday night, I called ************************ the next day to see if ***** could come that day because of possible rain. ***** was able to come on Friday. I did not plead with ***********************, I was grateful. ***** came on Friday and scheduled installers to come the next day to re-caulk. However, the installers found the internal boards rotted and the whole window had to be replaced. There had been a tornado on July 12, 2023 and the roof and some of the balconies in our building were damaged. The management company, ********************, hired MI ******************** to repair the damage caused by the tornado. MI Construction checked the area around the window, found no damage (like cracked brick) and said if the leak had been from the tornado, the glass would have been broken. They determined the damage was not from the tornado. Mold was found inside my wall,which shows the leak was not new. The MI Construction ******* who repaired the drywall said it had been leaking for a year or two.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  

  Business response

  11/08/2023

  ************************; I would like $600 to reimburse me for  my installers time and materials my Window was installed correctly  the Window is excellent. My installer and the factory representative that I sent out there said everything was done  correctly. Because of whom ever  removed the caulking and didn't recaulkit crazy! They damaged the  excellent installation so  severely  this was inexcusable and ridiculous waste  of my installers time to we had  remove and reinstall the window. I need $600 to cover my expenses  for this ridiculous waste of time and resources. I have installed ****** windows  since 1998  never had  a window leak  because of the way it was installed  any water issues have always been  unrelated to my windows and installer  that is the case here. 

   

   

   

   

  Customer response

  11/14/2023

   
  Complaint: 20792112
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  First of all, to the Better Business Bureau, please correct a typo in my second response of this complaint, as follows: Please change the year in the first line to say August 24, 2023, rather than the incorrect year of ****. Thank you. Next, I would just like to say that I have never had a business response as Best Windows has responded to me. ************************ has repeatedly stated that his windows dont leak and his installers are excellent. Well,there obviously was a problem with the installation in my master bedroom, and there has been no reparation for the ruined drywall in my bedroom to get fixed,totaling $1350.00. Plus, there were problems in the past with wind blowing in from these new windows. It is amazing how he sits at the kitchen table promising you quality and the best possible outcome if you buy his windows, yet when he is called to take responsibility for circumstances that are not in his favor, ************************ does not make it happen. The construction company determined that the window leak was not the result of the tornado that happened the month prior. There was no benefit for them to say if it was or was not the result of a tornado, they saw the facts and only spoke the truth. My handyman, ****, saw the window first hand, how the flashing was angled toward the caulk, how the caulk blocked the weep hole, how the caulk was cracked and not full bead, and the puddle of water inside the window jam. Other companies would admit a mistake and correct what was wrong. Well, Best Windows replaced the window, but they did not pay for the wall that was damaged in the process. This is disheartening. I would also like to let it be known that in my spare bedroom, Best Windows installed a window that leaked down into my neighbor's bedroom below me. They fixed the leak in that window as well. But **************************** windows don't leak!

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

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