Windows and Lintels - Ventrolla

Clairebare1

EssexExile wrote: »

I'd like to thank Clairebare for this thread. Everytime I'm having more trouble with my new windows & doors that should've been finished in May I come on hear & read this & it reminds me of the old saying "There's always someone worse off than you". I'm sorry it has to be you though!

Lol - you are welcome EssexExile. That's fine, it had to be someone, and at least (like someone said previously) we have caught them with their trousers down and they didn't have time to walk away and then deny all knowledge.

Wishing you the best of luck with your windows and doors and hoping they are sorted for you soon.

Out of interest, who are doing your windows?

xx

EssexExile

We chose a local company, RB Windows, been trading for 30 years, we were recommended them by several satisfied customers! They were all very pleasant (except the bloke from Pyramid who make the windows) but so many silly mistakes.

Clairebare1

VENTROLLA – there I have said it!

On the 26th August 2015 two fitters from Ventrolla started chopping out the wooden lintels in our house to make the new windows fit, in the end removing 16 of them and causing our house to be made ‘structurally unsound’ – it had to be supported by acros to stop it falling down! Ventrolla have been in business for 30 years and with a fitter that has been working for them and fitting windows for them for just as long! Who else could this have happened to in this 30 year period?

My husband and I have decided to no longer hide Ventrolla’s ‘dirty little secret’, and are ready to shout from the rooftops who they are. We have not heard from them, since seeing them on the 30th September and us e-mailing them on the 2nd October with the snagging list, and believe that they have no intention of doing so. As such we will be instructing another company to do the box bay (we are assuming the 3rd attempt was rejected).

I would not recommend Ventrolla to anybody, steer well clear of them if you value your house in one piece and if you know anyone who has had any dealings with Ventrolla (at any point in the past), please get them to look at this thread and seek advice as to whether they may unknowingly have been put in the same position as we were.

SuzieSue

Clairebare1 wrote: »

VENTROLLA – there I have said it!

On the 26th August 2015 two fitters from Ventrolla started chopping out the wooden lintels in our house to make the new windows fit, in the end removing 16 of them and causing our house to be made ‘structurally unsound’ – it had to be supported by acros to stop it falling down! Ventrolla have been in business for 30 years and with a fitter that has been working for them and fitting windows for them for just as long! Who else could this have happened to in this 30 year period?

My husband and I have decided to no longer hide Ventrolla’s ‘dirty little secret’, and are ready to shout from the rooftops who they are. We have not heard from them, since seeing them on the 30th September and us e-mailing them on the 2nd October with the snagging list, and believe that they have no intention of doing so. As such we will be instructing another company to do the box bay (we are assuming the 3rd attempt was rejected).

I would not recommend Ventrolla to anybody, steer well clear of them if you value your house in one piece and if you know anyone who has had any dealings with Ventrolla (at any point in the past), please get them to look at this thread and seek advice as to whether they may unknowingly have been put in the same position as we were.

I don't blame you. You have given them more time that any one would give them to remedy a mistake that they shouldn't have made in the first place.

The deserve all the bad publicity they get.

I'm glad you said who it was, as they are the second company which comes up when I Google what you said and they are quite a bit further down the page than the first.

EssexExile

Oh they're local! Never heard of them though, which was lucky for us.

phil24_7

How much do you owe them for works?

Write to them telling them they have 7 days to rectify the problems or you will instruct another company to carry out the works. Tell them you will use any outstanding money to pay for this and if it doesn't cover it you will seek payment from them.

Tell them if this isn't forthcoming then you will take them to the small claims court for it as well as damages/compensation.

Send it recorded delivery.

Clairebare1

EssexExile wrote: »

Oh they're local! Never heard of them though, which was lucky for us.

Very lucky indeed

leveller2911

My post 190# where I mentioned a venetian boxframe being overhauled by a fairly large company where the work was very poor was Ventrolla too so its not a shock to me Claire.. All they seem capable of is re-cording a sash,fit draught excluders and paint a window with water based quick drying paint ,which we all know is !!!! and doesn't last.. Oh and they just love hacking out rotten wood and filling with 2 part filler and they claim to be experts.............. Cheers for letting us know Claire.

PS: I've only ever known them to repair windows and not make new ones so maybe its a recent thing they have started doing..

Clairebare1

leveller2911 wrote: »

There are cowboys and sharks in all industries but the Construction Industry seems to have more than most.. I've just got a job to make some Venetian Boxframe sash windows to replace some existing ones. The existing ones were "overhauled and draught stripped " by a fairly large company who claim to be experts. They certainly know how to charge premium prices and the quality of work they did was pretty poor.

I read your post wondering if you were talking about Ventrolla when you mentioned 'overhauled and draught stripped'.

leveller2911 wrote: »

My post 190# where I mentioned a venetian boxframe being overhauled by a fairly large company where the work was very poor was Ventrolla too so its not a shock to me Claire.. All they seem capable of is re-cording a sash,fit draught excluders and paint a window with water based quick drying paint ,which we all know is !!!! and doesn't last.. Oh and they just love hacking out rotten wood and filling with 2 part filler and they claim to be experts.............. Cheers for letting us know Claire.

Also, don't forget they like filling voids with foam, apparently foam also makes a good lintel:eek:

leveller2911 wrote: »

PS: I've only ever known them to repair windows and not make new ones so maybe its a recent thing they have started doing..

PS. Perhaps they should have stuck to what they know best :think:, mmmm maybe not, not sure on that one.;)

leveller2911

Clairebare1 wrote: »

I read your post wondering if you were talking about Ventrolla when you mentioned 'overhauled and draught stripped'.



Also, don't forget they like filling voids with foam, apparently foam also makes a good lintel:eek:



PS. Perhaps they should have stuck to what they know best :think:, mmmm maybe not, not sure on that one.;)

I've seen a few jobs that have been carried by them and they seem to charge a lot of money for doing a poor job. They seem to rely on 2 pack resin type fillers that can be shapes and supposedly will last for years. This may be true but the joint where their resin joins the original timber always rots because timber expands/contracts at a different rate to the resin, then cracks and rots.

When I've asked the clients who carried out the draught proofing and repairs and they say Ventrolla I can usually tell its them. Its like its their signature. They charge between £300-500 for just changing sash cords and draught stripping which in 95% of cases is a mornings work for 1 man . In general I could do 3 a day easily so thats a good earner for them.

You will probably find they just did sash cords etc on existing windows and then moved into the new window market by buying out a small workshop and changing its name to Ventrolla and hey presto they are established as a Joinery.

I have to say they do have a very professional looking website ,very glossy but maybe they have taken their eye off the ball with regards to quality and employing cowboys who don't have a clue about fitting windows properly or are devoid of common sense..


You pay peanuts and you get monekys .........

In 30yrs of being in business I've never experienced a job like yours Claire..

It does make you wonder how many other clients have now got structurally unsafe houses due to Ventrolla's poor workmanship.Thats the really worrying thing especially if you were originally told by Ventrolla that its quite normal to take out these pieces of timber above the windows..