New porch door and windows FAIL

Kaipa88

They responded and have agreed to come back out this week to sort. I’ll keep you all updated!

WIAWSNB

Kaipa88 said:

Email sent to company yesterday: 

Good evening,

The porch door and windows were fitted yesterday at ** *********. I’m regrettably sending this email as I’m really disappointed with the finished result having had time to inspect it properly.

I have used your services in the past for the outbuilding window and received a much cleaner, higher-quality job which is why I chose to use ****** ****** again.

The issues are as follows:
• Black/brown silicone has been applied internally around the window/door frames and windowsills. I’m unsure why this was used as it was neither discussed nor approved prior to fitting and it looks very unsightly.

A paintable white acrylic sealant should have been used internally to allow the porch to be painted as intended. Also clear silicone has been used above the windows so again making it impossible to paint the walls now without removing it all. You can’t paint over silicone..

• The quality of the silicone application is poor. It is uneven, bulky in places and not neatly finished giving an unprofessional appearance.

• On the outside, the sealing is excessive, applied without attention to neatness and affects both aesthetics and the overall finish. There’s also huge clumps of silicone underneath the windowsills that just don’t look like it was applied properly.

• I requested satin handles to match the front and back doors (text sent Weds 17th Sept) but chrome handles were fitted instead

Please see photos attached of work (apologies if this email mixes the order up):

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I need this work to be properly rectified. Please let me know how you plan to address these issues and provide a timeline for this all to fixed.

Regards

Kudos. That is a measured, reasonable, unemotive, clear, and polite message. 

Exemplar, imo. 

Kaipa88

*UPDATE 09/11*

So the company came back out - took all the silicone out inside and replaced with white acrylic. They put plastic strips above the windows which make it look much neater. Still needs touching up throughout but I can sort that before I paint. On the outside he neatened up the dark brown silicone. When I pointed out the abundance of silicone underneath the windowsills he said that should have been mortared. Upon viewing it now in daylight it appears he’s cut the silicone back and mortared ONTOP of the silicone (feels bouncy if you press it and easily crackable as it’s not bonded). When I know you can’t put mortar onto of silicone?! What exactly should be underneath the outside of the windowsills? 

Also I previously requested they change the porch door and windows handles from chrome to brushed steel (as originally requested when I put the order in). It now appears they’ve fitted 2 different style (and colour?) handles on the porch door and silver satin handles on the windows… The door handles are 3rd party retrofitted handles and not the factory fitted ones that originally came with the door as they obviously forgot to request for brushed steel handles. Is it fair for me to ask for the factor spec handles at this point? 

Kaipa88

More photos..

WIAWSNB

Blimey.

Ok, the insides have been transformed by that simple addition - change the sealant colour, and add that top trim. I think that now looks good. (Which, of course, begs the Q - don't they have enough self-respect to have done this in the first place? That trim cost £1.)

The brown sealant around the outside doors and windows is much better, but in my opinion, the addition of a narrow white quadrant would still give it all a boost, but it's not at all necessary, and I wouldn't trust them to do this. 

Their application of mortar looks adequate, but it will not - as you, a layperson, know - adhere to silicone. My gawd. Expect chunks to fall off over time. Does it matter? Sigh, I guess not. (Other folks may differ on this, and fair do's).

The handles! Such a simple task, and with zero excuse. You want the handles you ordered and paid for. End. Of.

Personally, I think I'd be 'happy' with the inside (tho' - shucks - I would have done a better sealant job as I have a £5 Fugi tool...), and would probably be 'accepting' of the tidied-up brown sealant outside, and - lawd forgive me - would bury my reservations about the mortar applied loosely over the silicone, which is bound to fall off in time. 

So, for the sake of getting rid of these incompetents, I'd just insist on the correct handles. Bearing in mind that the doors and windows might not have the exact same style available to them. 

Don't these folk have any pride? 

Once all this is done, they do deserve an honest review. Potential new customers should be informed. They need to up their game if they want to compete for work. 

 

Kaipa88

I absolutely will get them to come back to sort the handles. I am tempted to point out the mortar over silicone but I’m not 100% on what they should have put there. I’ve read various conflicting articles. They are quite large gaps to fill 

WIAWSNB

Kaipa88 said:

I absolutely will get them to come back to sort the handles. I am tempted to point out the mortar over silicone but I’m not 100% on what they should have put there. I’ve read various conflicting articles. They are quite large gaps to fill 

Remove the sili, and replace with mortar for a permanent fix. 

Mortar would also provide full support to the undersides of the plastic cills, but chances are it'll be fine. 

Kaipa88

WIAWSNB said:

Blimey.

Ok, the insides have been transformed by that simple addition - change the sealant colour, and add that top trim. I think that now looks good. (Which, of course, begs the Q - don't they have enough self-respect to have done this in the first place? That trim cost £1.)

The brown sealant around the outside doors and windows is much better, but in my opinion, the addition of a narrow white quadrant would still give it all a boost, but it's not at all necessary, and I wouldn't trust them to do this. 

Their application of mortar looks adequate, but it will not - as you, a layperson, know - adhere to silicone. My gawd. Expect chunks to fall off over time. Does it matter? Sigh, I guess not. (Other folks may differ on this, and fair do's).

The handles! Such a simple task, and with zero excuse. You want the handles you ordered and paid for. End. Of.

Personally, I think I'd be 'happy' with the inside (tho' - shucks - I would have done a better sealant job as I have a £5 Fugi tool...), and would probably be 'accepting' of the tidied-up brown sealant outside, and - lawd forgive me - would bury my reservations about the mortar applied loosely over the silicone, which is bound to fall off in time. 

So, for the sake of getting rid of these incompetents, I'd just insist on the correct handles. Bearing in mind that the doors and windows might not have the exact same style available to them. 

Don't these folk have any pride? 

Once all this is done, they do deserve an honest review. Potential new customers should be informed. They need to up their game if they want to compete for work. 

 

Would you recommend putting the narrow white quadrant around the top and sides of the door/windows externally or just tops? He has put them at the tops of the windows but not on the door for some reason..

WIAWSNB

Kaipa88 said

Would you recommend putting the narrow white quadrant around the top and sides of the door/windows externally or just tops? He has put them at the tops of the windows but not on the door for some reason..

Ah, so he added trim on the outside as well? I see that now, and it looks good. So, why the hell didn't they do that before? Just LOOK at the difference! 

I don't know what to suggest. It is only my personal view that quadrant - or even flat - trim down the side would add extra, and at next-to-zero additional cost. But whether to 'expect' this is a different matter.

I'm used to good service... When I had some windows replaced a few years ago, I had three local companies out. They all had good reputes. They were all decent (ie, not like your guy...). I asked them all about the style to suit my hoosie, and two weren't bovvered - "Whatever you want, guv'". But one took the time to talk this through, and offer his thoughtful suggestions - which turned out to be great. "Anything else?". "Well, I'd like black handles to match my interior doors, pleeez." "Nah problemo." (He didn't really speak like that.)

What the hell did he end up doing?! Fit lovely windows, to his proposed design, with black handles, perfectly finished with trim inside, and neatly sealed out. Oh, and he cleared out debris he found in my cavity (ooh-er, missus) whilst he was at it. Ie, 'perfect' service. Or, to put it another way, 'just what you should expect'. 

So, of course, I left him a glowing review on t'Google. 

I suspect, other than providing the handles you asked for, this chancer will consider 'trims' an 'extra'. And, frankly, at this stage everything is clearly being delivered with zero intrinsic consideration; it's all seemingly under protest. 

That's just rubbish.

Has the boss been contrite at all? Falling over themselves to ensure you are 100%  happy?

I'd want them gone - after producing the handles they promised. And the review should be honest and frank. 

Kaipa88

WIAWSNB said:

Kaipa88 said

Would you recommend putting the narrow white quadrant around the top and sides of the door/windows externally or just tops? He has put them at the tops of the windows but not on the door for some reason..

Ah, so he added trim on the outside as well? I see that now, and it looks good. So, why the hell didn't they do that before? Just LOOK at the difference! 

I don't know what to suggest. It is only my personal view that quadrant - or even flat - trim down the side would add extra, and at next-to-zero additional cost. But whether to 'expect' this is a different matter.

I'm used to good service... When I had some windows replaced a few years ago, I had three local companies out. They all had good reputes. They were all decent (ie, not like your guy...). I asked them all about the style to suit my hoosie, and two weren't bovvered - "Whatever you want, guv'". But one took the time to talk this through, and offer his thoughtful suggestions - which turned out to be great. "Anything else?". "Well, I'd like black handles to match my interior doors, pleeez." "Nah problemo." (He didn't really speak like that.)

What the hell did he end up doing?! Fit lovely windows, to his proposed design, with black handles, perfectly finished with trim inside, and neatly sealed out. Oh, and he cleared out debris he found in my cavity (ooh-er, missus) whilst he was at it. Ie, 'perfect' service. Or, to put it another way, 'just what you should expect'. 

So, of course, I left him a glowing review on t'Google. 

I suspect, other than providing the handles you asked for, this chancer will consider 'trims' an 'extra'. And, frankly, at this stage everything is clearly being delivered with zero intrinsic consideration; it's all seemingly under protest. 

That's just rubbish.

Has the boss been contrite at all? Falling over themselves to ensure you are 100%  happy?

I'd want them gone - after producing the handles they promised. And the review should be honest and frank. 

The boss is the guy who did the inside silicone work, his co-worker did the outside allegedly. The boss was the guy that came back out and “corrected” the issues. The customer service is his daughter.. I will contact them about the handles and just sort the rest out myself. I will probably take out all of the silicone/mortar and re-mortar correctly and neatly. I’ll also do the same underneath the external door where he’s whacked a chunk of mortar over the silicone on the left side. Something that can wait until Spring now!  Not sure if it’s even worth mentioning about the mortar over silicone at this stage as I highly doubt he’d come back a 3rd time to correct it..