Zac, Window World Of The Green Mountains review: Window installation

We have reached out to customer relations and spoke with Rebecca twice. She assured us both times that someone would get back to us in 24 hours, no one has reached out. Below is a summary of what we have been through with the franchise owner, (Zac, Window World of the Green Mountains).

We had 6 windows installed in 2020 and an additional 6 windows in the summer of 2021

We requested an adjustment on one of the windows and Zac (franchise owner) came and I pointed out the mess his workers made with the caulking, and he did not offer to fix it, instead gave me attitude. At that time I let it go.

In December/January we started experiencing frost on the locks and on the outside of the windows. We called the local Window World office and sent pictures of the frost on January 27 showing locks with frost on them and told them that the windows were frozen shut. Zac sent 2 of their installers over and they told us that the windows were not installed correctly, that the caulking was a mess, that the ridge from the previous windows should have been sanded down and there is probably no insulation around the windows which is why we are experiencing frost on the locks and we are unable to open the windows.

We followed up with a call to Zac. Zac came to our house to do a site visit, was very angry that his installers stated that the windows were not installed correctly, said he was going to fire these employees and then proceeded to give us a litany of excuses of why the windows were freezing.

Excuses:

• House is too humid. (we had an energy specialist give us a commercial humidity reader – house is not humid);

• Sun doesn’t hit the windows;

• We use curtains and shades, (we stopped closing the shades and curtains and nothing changed).

We pointed out that the windows we have in our addition (not Window World windows) that face the same direction do not freeze up – Zac said it’s because we have vaulted ceilings.

We stated to Zac that his employees thought the windows were not insulated and he assured us that all the windows are always insulated.

At this time we expressed our concern and fear that if there was ever a fire we would not be able to get out. Zac suggested we throw a chair through the window. Not only are we senior citizens, but the Window World commercials also show him standing on the windows as part of their slogan – I think it would have to be a pretty big chair. The fact that these windows freeze shut and cannot be open unless we use a heat gun or blow dryer is a safety hazard. We have consulted our local Fire Marshal and he agrees and informed us if we do not receive a satisfactory resolution and fix, that he would step in. It's pretty clear that if something should happen and we are unable to escape through a window, that your company would be responsible, not just the franchise owner. This is why I'm continue to reach out to the corporate office.

In the meantime we did a little research on our own and consulted a Marvin installer and he stated that the windows are most likely not insulated. My husband pulled the molding off our bathroom window and there is absolutely no insulation, and the window is sitting directly on the wood with no flashing which has caused the wood to be all wet, and now the wood is black. Now that the molding is off it has dried but you can still see the water line on the wood since the molding is off. We called Zac to come over and look and he acknowledged that it was not insulated but argued that it didn’t need flashing. We consulted an energy specialist and he stated that the window should not be installed directly on the wood as it causes condensation and will cause the wood around the window to rot. The wood is warmer than the vinyl casing and that causes condensation, it needs an air gap between the wood and the window.

Zac then said he spoke with corporate about our issue and they suggested he replace all the sashes because there was probably no lo-E gas in the windows when they were constructed at the factory. At this time he offered a refund of $500 for our inconvenience. He called and said the sashes would be in on Monday, March 7 and he would be here on Friday, March 11 to change them out. He never showed or called, we called him, and he stated that he came down with COVID and couldn’t make it until the following week, again no call, we called him and at that point was told that his kids got COVID and still needed to quarantine (not true, you only need to quarantine for 5 days) and couldn’t make it again. Zac said he would come on Thursday or Friday March 17/18 to install all the new sashes and then stated he would insulate from the inside by removing the caulking and sticking in a tool that will inject insulation. He also stated if we removed all the caulking ourselves, this would save him time, again he never showed and never called.

We called yesterday morning, he never called back. We called the office in the afternoon and was told he didn’t have cell service and one of their employees had an accident the previous week and he couldn’t make it on Thursday or Friday (apparently could not call and let us know).

After consulting with a specialist again, I called the office and told the receptionist that we are not comfortable with him injecting insulation and would like him to pull all the windows and reinstall correctly and we stated if he was not willing to do this to let us know. We have not heard anything.

We are at a point where we feel we have to give corporate and opportunity to step in and rectify this problem. Also, I need to point out that our bathroom is still torn apart, and we will have to eat the cost to reframe the window.

If we do not receive a satisfactory resolution to our issues, we will be forced to file a complaint with the BBB and the Vermont Attorney General. I do know that the Vermont Attorney General’s office takes complaints and fraud to elderly very seriously. I know of another individual who has had issues with the local Window World installation and again, no insulation. They did come and attempted to fix the issues, but there is still problems, and he has given up. We have to wonder how many other people in the area this has happened to. My niece is scheduled to have her windows replaced by Window World and I’m going to strongly suggest she get her deposit back.

We appreciate any assistance you can give us and look forward to hearing from corporate soon.

Paul and Laurie Lemieux

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