Purchased 13windows and 3 steeldoors from Defender Doors and Windows Co. In the showroom I was pleased with the doors that I picked out and when a salesman came to the house to show us the windows we selected what we thought were nice high quality windows. The problem occurs with the in-house/contracted installer that this company used to install the windows. He refused to use any insulation around the windows, his reason was that the windows were a perfect fit and it wasn't any room to install any. Secondly, the caulk job around the windows was terrible. Many spots he omitted the caulk which that allows hot or cold air to enter the house. During the winter, the windows have moisture all inside the house and water on the windowcell. The problem with the doors are they are allowing heat out and cold air in.
This was brought to the customer service department and they sent a rep to look at the problems. He noticed that the doors were not correctly installed and that the windows were very poorly caulked. He stated that sometimes windows don't need to be insulated if they are a good fit. The installer threw away all of the insulation that came with the windows. From that visit, he said they would call us back to make an appointmentfor someone to come out and recaulk the windows and add the missing insulation on the doors. Later that door, the installer that originally installed the windows stopped by and stated that he was outside for about 30 minutes before ringing the bell, recaulking all of the windows. I said let me come out and see. Went to one window where the caulk was totally ommited and ... nothing has been done. He said, "Oh, I didn't see that". I asked him to leave. I called the window company up and told them what just happened and they stated that the rep left his ladder on the side of the house and they just asked him to pick it up. That was all. They said they will call with an appointment in a few days. That was 2 1/2 weeks ago and I haven't heard from them yet. It is below zero here in Chicago and we have plastic up to the windows and cold air coming in through the door frames. We spent over $6000.00 and we wish they would fix the installation problems here. Our old single pane windows were better them these double panes.