Alside Windows
Reviews and Complaints

Alside windows are garbage and defective - the company does not stand by their materials and have warranties that are ridiculous and only protect their interests - not the buyer. Buyer Beware! We are second home owner in a home that is 11 years old. The warranty for the casement was 20 years...except it is only good for the original home owner who sold the home after 6 years. A number of homes in our division have the same issue. Some are covered as they are the original owner, two of us are not. Seems like a shady way to get away with installing defective products.

Our Alside windows have had broken seals, the posts keeping them in their tracks have broken off, the tracks themselves have broken and the cheap plastic lock sliders regularly break. I am going to contact them today for new posts for the sashes and lock sliders and we'll see where that gets me.

Alside window are the worst window... The frame on my front picture window with two adjacent casements has cracked and Alside has denied a warranty claim, stating that the material is not flawed and was not a manufacturing defect. what the hell is a warranty good for if they don't stand by there product. If this is not a material flaw, why did it crack? Stay away from Alside windows...

FYI, We had our warranty claim resolved by APEX (our contractor) NOT Alside. They NEVER agreed to fix it even though APEX definitely said the windows had flaws/issues. It's Alside's warranty company that is the issue. Just go back to your installer and work it that way. APEX was AWESOME!

I agree with most of the comments out here regarding Alside windows and doors. Of course, you have to remember, Alside has a dealer network that only sells to independent contractors. They do have employees that install the windows and doors. You hire a contractor who purchases the windows and/or doors from Alside and is responsible for the installation. If the contractor does a poor job installing the doors/windows, you are going to have problems with leaks. With that said, I have some issues with their windows. First, my wife and I installed 10 new windows and a front door 4 years ago. Every window we received was missing the locks that hold the screens in. After several attempts to get new clips/locks for the screens, we gave up. The dealer just gave us the run-around. Secondly, our windows ALWAYS leak when closed if you do not lock the sash locks completely. The vinyl frames of the windows are very poor quality and allow the windows to flex a lot. My brother is a licensed contractor and the installer of these windows and now refuses to use Alside products for any of his jobs.

In 2010 we had 36 casement windows installed from singles to 4 pane with work finished in October of that year. In the spring we opened the windows for fresh air and left them open. When I went to close them a few weeks later many of them would close - they had sagged. I had to use a crowbar to push them up to get them back in the frame. Calling & writing Alside got their Expert Technician Joe out and he didn't see a problem. More phone calls, BBB complaints, etc. got Alside to replace 3 casements using their own contractor because they said it was an installation issue caused by our contractor. Only 3 months later the 3 casements they installed did the exact same thing all of our other casements did. Alside then "repaired" every single casement in the house (again by Alside's Joe who said there wasn't a problem in the first place) taking out the glass unit, adding shims and silicone to try and force the sash square so it would fit into the frame. Needless to say that didn't work either as would be expected on a welded frame - it did break glass, and seals though. Alside continues to say they just have a few repairs to make, one of which is to replace the cracked glass but meanwhile I have had to put plastic and tape on all the windows in the house because they leak air and in some cases water so bad that we couldn't live in the house if I didn't. We ended up filing suit against Alside which is going on 3 years now all without any resolution - Alside does get an A+ for stall tactics. I too sorely wish a class action lawsuit would be established because it is unbelievable how a company can operate against consumers in such a high-handed way without being held accountable.

As I read through these complaints, I can't help but wonder if many of the problems are indicative of installer incompetence. You can have the best windows in the world, but if you have a subcontractor who has no clue what he's doing, you will have disastrous results.

Also, Alside makes all grades of windows, from D to AAA. I would bet dollars to doughnuts that some folks bought lower grade windows to replace older ones in their homes. But the lower grade windows are supposed to be used for new construction, not for permanent replacement.

Think of it this way. Firestone makes all types of tires, such as the "Affinity Touring, " the "Precision Sport, " and the "Firehawk GT." So, if you have a lousy mechanic, or if you are driving on tires not suited for your vehicle, you can complain about the tires or the manufacturer. But your complaints are misdirected.

I'm not saying that this is the case across the board. Every company is going to have problems, make mistakes, etc. My point is that some of the negative comments inappropriately demonize the company when blame lies elsewhere.

We had double awning style windows installed in October, 2022. From day one, every window leaked water whenever it rained. After two visits from Alside to correct the issue our windows are still leaking. It has been 10 months and we are still waiting for a remedy.

Steer clear of this company!

Customer service and warranty ate a joke and a big run around. Never would I let someone buy these windows. So disappointing...

I have been installing alside windows for over 20 years . Was actually paid by Alside to reinstall windows improperly installed by another contractor. Up until this year they were quick to get me parts, seal failures, thought it was great when they began to replace the whole sash frame with the glass. Now we have to have our customer get, tax forms or a paid bill showing they own there own house. Take pictures of the damage. show a receipt that they purchased the windows. I still warrenty the windows my dad installed in the 1`980'' s . Its called good customer service. We very seldom charge anything for this service, and many times end up with more work as a result. In the old days it took 3 minutes to change a seal failure on the 0901 window now it takes 30 seconds. I have sold over 10000 windows . If I can not get the good service I had before Then I will be switching to a company that will provide for me what I need . Here is a warning to Alside we are not the consumer we are the contractors with great reputations do you want to lose us?. Check your books American Siding Company in NY has bought very very much.

The issue is not with the windows made by Alside but Quality Contractors installation. Since 1995 consumers have been mislead about the true cost of replacement windows with the 189.00 installed window. The issues you are having is due to poor installation by Quality Contractors not Alside. We have been selling Alside products for 2 years now and their windows are just as good if not better than the other window manufacturers. Consumers going with the lowest price have a much higher complaint rate than those paying the slightly higher price for the same product. Dealers all pay about the same price for the vinyl window products so to get ahead some dealers pay half as much for labor to remain competitive. The results are never any good. Like anything else you only get what you pay for.

J.C. Montgomery
Project Manager
Windows Pittsburgh

I am getting Alside windows installed by local contractor in my house this week. I do have issues with local contractor, but I will publish the results later. How can I find R value either on the windows or stickers? Also how do I know that I have Sheffield windows? It does not say anywhere on the sticker or packing slip I got.

I don't know about the quality, but I worked for them for 16 years and got fired for going a half point over on allowed attendance points. I can tell you it is very fast paced and there is little time to look for imperfections. The emphasis was always on getting our quota. Lots of overtime led to lots of mistakes from exhausted workers. Eventhough there is a QC at the end of the line, I am sure lots of things got by that shouldnt have. Also the temp service they use, Select had hired many illegal immigrants that ended up geting fired. I guess my job was filled by someone they had to pay a lot less.

I am a contractor that sold 5 twin alside casement windows in 2001. These windows have leaked water for years and I constantly caulked and they still continued to leak water. I squirt tested the windows and the water came in under the window and that usually is not a window problem but a caulk problem. So we caulked more. It only leaked of course when there was a strong hard rain. I decided to tear out the drywall around the window and the squirt test the windows. The water was coming in the center of the twin casements; this is called the mull. I ordered the windows factory mulled so obviously I would consider this to be a factory problem. The homeowner wanted to file the complaint so I had the Alside factory rep come out to see the problem, take pictures, and get the warranty complaint going. The rep agreed the problem was the center mull. Leter came back to homeowner claim denied. No phone number, no address and no signiture on the leter. So I called and talked to an engineer. He said it sounded like a mull problem so he sent me a new center mull strip and told me to take out the old strip, recaulk, and install the new strip they sent. Gave the part to the window installer and he said no way he was going to be responsible for removing a factory installed part. Homeowner called the warranty department and they said claim denied, claim denied, claim denied.

I agree with the very poor customer service of Alside Windows. I had windows installed in my house about 15 years ago, and they came with a 40-yr. warranty. The local Alside office has since gone out of business, but, obviously, the Alside company still exists, and warranties are handled through the parent company, Associated Materials. I recently submitted a claim, with documentation and pictures, for some of the windows that no longer remain open. Associated Materials claims that the windows are not from one of its companies, and it has denied my claim.