Comments on: The Cure For Rotting Pella Windows

By: ka

ka — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 16:07:30 +0000

i have been following issues with windows for 3 years since my house needs replacement windows. all of the major companies get the same complaints- wood rot leakage condensation etc etc. there is a time line to all of this- all of the defective windows seem to have been manufactured between early 1990 s and about 2007. all of these problems are related to the use of substandard materials and poor quality control. this is consistent with the majority of manufacturing in america during that same time period. poor quality control and terrible materials a theme in major american manufacturing that seems to be getting corrected now. what do you think is going to happen to low quality wood left out to the elements–it rots!!! i have been shopping around for windows everywhere major retail stores and smaller local companies. one day i stopped at the local pella store not a planned trip at all it was right next to a store i was going to. going in i was very skeptical of course. but when i examined their windows ( played with them, picked them up, examined the glass looked at the seals the cladding) i was pretty impressed and surprised. i did not even plan to even consider pella b/c of the above. but their windows seemed very well put together, very beefy, and solid. i was thinking this was a bait and switch bc the windows were high quality. invited the pella rep out to take a look. had a bunch of very old windows in. pre WW2. and some pella windows in installed around 1992. the old pella s were in ok shape some sashes did have rot but clearly the quality of the wood was terrible. the pella dealer used a sub contractor who i could tell was first rate. they measured and the windows had to be custom made (8 week) turnover with shipping and painting (kind of long?). when the windows came in i wanted to inspect them before they were installed (part of the deal) the windows were totally solid and seemed of very high quality i could barely lift one up myself (of the same quality as the ones in the pella store). and a set of 2 it took 2 guys to lift but very heavy. these windows seemed very different than the pella s i saw at a major chain store. very different, i actually went back to the retail store to see a similar pella window and it was very different i asked the store person about it and he had no comment and did not know what i was talking about. the guys who did the install were excellent. totally knew what they were doing and took their time. the install is the key you need first rate installers to have a successful window- half the problems out there are from a crappy install; its just as important as the window itself. first round of windows in and they are fantastic- huge difference in efficiency. they look great and match the home well which was built in 1928. the color selection for their cladding and inside painting and staining is unmatched. customer service has been great. 2 years in and no problems hope it stays that way. the screens are so so but do the job. the windows function very well tight fit, seals and cladding seem great no leaks; in the last 6 months we have had some fierce weather and the windows performed as expected. it is very sad to hear the above horror stories but there are some very satisfied customers too, it seems to me that not all windows are created equal that the custom made windows are of a differnet quality than the ones you buy at a retail stores or the ones builders install. anyone who reads this feel free to email me w qustions kandrejko@hotmail.com

By: Larry Thompson

Larry Thompson — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:41:54 +0000

HA,HA,HA,HA – LMAO!!! You idiots they all are wood windows. It doesn’t matter who the company is they all have this problem. Look it up… the proof is out there. Moisture and wood equals trouble over time! Sure they could come out with some super wood treatment that would prevent water damage and insect damage but then you would all be on here claiming they gave you cancer! LMAO!!!

By: dick

dick — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:04:55 +0000

I have 15 Pella aluminun-clad casement windows. 13 were installed about 10 years ago, the othe 2 were installed about 4 years ago. Have already had two panes replaced and others are showing signs of rot. I called Freed & Weiss this AM and got their answering machine. I also noted that OHIO was NOT in the list of States that are a part of the Class-action law suit. Guess I’m probably TOL. dick

By: Theresa Thompson

Theresa Thompson — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:29:44 +0000

I so understand this situation. A neighbor of mine had the same problem. They went back and forth with Pella. They even considered hiring an attorney. But in the end, it would have cost lots more than replacing the rotted windows. You’d think an expensive window like Pella would own up to the defective product and make it good. I like to think stuff like this never happens, but it does.

By: L Zaremba

L Zaremba — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:15:15 +0000

Our home was built in 1993 and we chose Pella thinking we were getting a superior product. Within 5 years we found wood rot and some windows are so bad we are afraid to open them, should the glass fall out. We went to the local dealer and he basically said sorry about your luck. We spent several months dealing with Pella directly, had the windows inspected and they acknowledged that, yes, they were in bad shape and a defective problem. On that note it was left that we could replace them at a slight discount – not good enough. Needless to say, Pella and their clainm to service and bakcing of their product is lip service only.

By: Sharron McKee

Sharron McKee — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:02:46 +0000

Please do your homework before you purchase windows from Pella. We would like to be the last family that Pella was able to push their faulty window on. Our family has been homeless because of the water/mold damage since our window purchase. You can see our 2 minute video of the water flowing into our home. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu0JdDY8rnI Pella can post all the inaccurate comments that they wish about the customer service. Even small children are taught that “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”. If Pella did have any type of customer service, it would be impossible to find the thousands of unhappy customer complaints that are so easy to locate.

By: edwin

edwin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:01:38 +0000

I have a house full of Pella Proline Casement Windows. About half of them are rotten.

I called and wrote Pella, and they basically said tough luck because they were beyond the warranty period.

We’ll I paid twice the price to get the Pella brand, only to learn that they were worthless. I expected these to be essentially lifetime windows, regardless of the warranty, but instead they were rotten in 10 years.

I’ve found that Pella management is negotiable, but hides behind a very hard shell. They denied my claim about 6 different times. Only after I told them that I knew of other similar cases where Pella either gave the homeowner free windows or windows at 70% off did we start making some progress.

They started at 30% off, then 50%, then 70%. I said ok to 70% and in the end they ended up GIVING THEM TO ME.

It took a year and perhaps 40 phone calls and emails but that was the result.

To win this game you have to ultimately get the name of a high level manager, and I mean a really high level manager. All of the low level folks are told to deny, deny, deny. You can have the low level person to give you the name of their manager and work up the line persistently this way.

In the end, it was access to a top level manager in PELLA IOWA (outside of customer service), and my pictures showing the bottom of the sashes rotted completely through that won this for me. If you are not unusually persistent you will fail. Ultimately I had the names and email addresses of possibly 4 top level managers.

Good luck to all who try. I did my own installation, and with some good help, you can replace one in about 20 minutes)

If Pella Windows were free I would decline them. They are junk through and through, in my opinion, and the Pella folks will try every trick in the world to make you go away.

By: Jerry Edwards

Jerry Edwards — Tue, 03 May 2011 09:32:41 +0000

We just had a tornado go over our home. We are safe and our home only sustained minor damages. However, the minor damages exposed that all of our Pella architect casement windows are rotted out. We didn’t even notice untill the cladding was blown off of ne window and we started looking at the rest of our windows. Best estimate so far to replace all windows is 48,000 dollars. Also we have 9 french doors made by Pella showing problems as well.

By: Lodzia

Lodzia — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:28:17 +0000

Stay away from Pella – they are a beautifuly product but from our experience with wood rot an inferior product. This many be an anomoly but their lack of interest and support, having admitted to defective goods leaves much to be desired. Your basically on your own to deal with the problem

By: Em

Em — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:05:47 +0000

We have a completely new unit in the bow window style. However, their is no cladding on the underside.
After reading the various posts, we wonder if their is moisture damage going on there — much as others have described in their postings.
I heard that Pella still makes this unit and wonder if they have remedied any kind of sealing/moisture protection on the underside of the window.