December 07, 2008





To Whom It May Concern:

On June 30, 2007, I purchased 11 double-hung windows from Champion Windows, Siding and Patio Rooms in Elmhurst, IL. The work was performed in August 2007 by Mr. Dave Milsap and his crew.

When winter 2007/2008 came, I noticed the windows in the family room were drafty and there was a layer of ice on the inside of my new windows. I called on January 31, 2008 and spoke with Bruce Carter at Champion about the situation. Champion sent out a gentleman named Peter, who re-measured all the sashes after he determined they were originally measured/installed incorrectly. March 11, 2008, the new sashes were installed and I thought the problem was fixed. Throughout the spring and summer, I didn’t have any issues.

Winter 2008/2009 has arrived and I’ve once again noticed a draft coming from these windows, and there is severe condensation on the family room windows in the mornings. While I’m specifically disappointed with my family room windows, as they seem to be the worst in this situation, it seems that the windows facing West are the ones having problems.

I called Champion again in November 2008 and spoke with Scott who said Champion would send someone out again. On November 25th, Dave Milsap, who originally measured and installed the windows, arrived and notified me of a humidity problem in my residence. I informed Mr. Milsap that my humidifier has been disconnected since Spring of 2007 and that, to ensure this was not a humidity issue, I’d already borrowed a de-humidifier from a neighbor for two weeks and hadn’t pulled out any water from the room. The reserviour of the de-humidifier was completely dry for two weeks.

I took it upon myself to contact some of my neighbors, some of whom used Champion but most of whom didn’t, to see if they had any type of condensation on their windows in the mornings. All, including the neighbor who had used Champion, said no. In learning this, I acquired a temperature/humidity sensor and began tracking the inside temperatures, outside temperatures and humidity levels on a daily basis. The sensor was reading approximately 40% humidity on daily basis.

While Mr. Milsap was investigating the situation on November 25th, his humidity sensor was reading approximately 10% higher than mine, and again he insisted it was a humidity problem. I’d informed Mr. Milsap that I had taken my temperature/humidity sensor to my neighbors house the night before and it read approximately 40%, as it was in my house. He then said that I should turn my heat up to correct the situation.

On December 2, 2008, Mr. Milsap came out with a crew, removed the outside casing of my family room window, and installed additional insulation. Mr. Milsap then informed me that I was “the only one complaining” and that the moisture is probably due to the fact that there is a retention pond behind my house and no other buildings blocking the water. If this was the case, there would be approximately 10 houses with condensation on their window, as that is how many houses are on the block whose back windows face the retention pond. The windows are still drafty, and as of this morning, there was condensation about half way up the windows in the family room. With all the tracking of temperatures I’ve been doing, the trend seems to be when it’s under 40 degrees outside, the windows start condensing, and the colder it gets outside, the more water/condensation is on my windows in the morning. I keep my thermostat set at 70/72 degrees and think that if I turned my heat up, as Mr. Milsap suggested, there would be more of a temperature difference between inside and outside and I would end up with even more condensation.

These windows are supposed to be more energy efficient, and it doesn’t seem this way with the windows installed in my house. They are still drafty, and according to Mr. Milsap there is supposed to be “some play” in the windows. While I can see that, as the windows are capable of folding in for cleaning purposes, I don’t think I should be able to wiggle the window when it is closed. The draft is coming from the area where the latches are. I believe the seals on these windows are faulty.

I’m having no success on my own resolving this situation, as Champion seems to be treating me like “the boy who cried wolf”. I’m asking for your assistance in the matter because I don’t want to feel that I spent $6400.00 on sub-standard windows. I’ve enclosed copies of work orders, although I didn’t receive a work order the last two times Champion was at my house, as well as copies of my temperature/humidity tracking.

Thank you, in advance, for your assistance with this matter.


Sincerely,



Denise M. Ihde



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