The purpose of this posting is to inform potential buyers of problems inherent in the black Andersen 400 Series windows that we did not discover until after delivery. A description of the problem and the ongoing resolution process follows.
BOTTOM LINE: Our black clad windows have prominent gray exterior miters and gray “blobs” in every interior corner, and many of the exterior corners are not fused together smoothly, yet Andersen reps say that they are within Andersen’s internal specifications. The windows look terrible. If the attached “before” pictures do not appear attractive to you, do not order black Andersen 400 Series windows.
---Problem---
We are having a custom house built and selected Andersen 400 Series casement windows (with a few awnings and fixed) with black exteriors and white interiors. These are vinyl clad, wood windows. The price of the windows was roughly $33,000 and consists of 58 window units (note that three window units were from Andersen’s Architectural Series due to their unavailability in the 400 Series). We selected Andersen because the feedback we received from builders and dealers was that Andersen has fewer callbacks than other brands and that Andersen maintains spare parts for its windows for decades (this is our retirement home, so longevity and low-maintenance are key goals).
When the windows arrived, we were surprised and disappointed to see gray vinyl miters on the exterior corners (distinctly visible from ~80 feet away from the house!) and gray vinyl “blobs” in the interior corners of all of the window sashes of the 400 Series windows. There were also numerous minor abrasions (appeared to be from packaging rubbing on the windows during transit) and a handful of significant dings. Some of the dings appeared in the exact same place on more than one window, leading us to believe that they were manufacturing-related. See the attached “before” pictures.
We feel that the problems are defects, and that the defects are serious enough that they should not have made it past quality control at the factory.
- My husband had a telephone call with the Field Service Manager for VA, NC, and TN who stated that the problems we were experiencing were known issues, although they did not occur very often.
- I called Andersen Customer Service, and the representative with whom I spoke told me that the material used in the miters and corners of the 400 Series are color matched. Our builder’s dealer did not mention that there would be color mismatches at the corners, and none of the Andersen documentation we have reviewed (including the 296-page Product Guide) illustrates or describes the lack of color matching or excess interior corner vinyl material.
- We received an email from the Atlantic Coast Territory Sales Rep stating that the windows were “within our specifications.” We responded by requesting a copy of all relevant, consumer-facing specifications. The sales rep responded stating that, “We are unable to provide you with any additional documentation regarding specifications since they are proprietary.”
- In a follow-up telephone call with this rep and his supervisor (Regional Sales Manager, Atlantic Coast Region), they restated that the windows were within specifications and said that they could not release the specifications to us. If we ordered new black windows, they would show up with the same mismatched color issues. They were unable to explain why the Field Service Manager and Customer Service provided information indicating that the windows were defective.
- They also told us that only the white vinyl cladding is the same color throughout. All other colors use gray vinyl as a substrate to avoid thermal problems with the vinyl on hot, sunny days. Note that the lack of a solid color throughout seems to explain the apparent fragility of the black finish to abrasions and dings. We looked at some white 400 Series windows on our builder’s house, and minor dings and scratches are much, much less visible due to the solid color throughout.
- We requested that Andersen replace all of the windows with identical windows with white exteriors. They have, so far, declined.
---Process---
- The problem was discovered on or about November 28.
- On December 1, Andersen received a letter, including pictures, that we sent to our builder stating our concerns.
- Andersen was slow to respond and has focused on onsite repair of the miters/corners using touchup paint, a Dremel tool, and a small chisel (December 18). The repair tech did not attempt to address other scratches and dings. The initial results were not acceptable to us (I was unable to attach “after” pictures due to Houzz posting limitations).
- We emailed all parties with our evaluation of the results, and told them that we did not have time to experiment with repair methods for windows that were flawed upon delivery. At that time, we requested a full replacement with white exterior windows (December 20).
- After waiting for two weeks, on January 3, my husband and I finally had a telephone call with the Andersen sales managers where they made it clear that the windows met their internal, proprietary (i.e., secret) specifications, and that new black windows would be the same. They felt that since the windows met their internal specifications, the likelihood of replacement was slim. They continued to encourage that we let them try different repair methods and indicated that to that point, no one with the decision authority to authorize replacement windows had been engaged. We asked that they engage a decision-maker, and they promised a decision within two days. We also made them aware that we would be posting our experience on this forum. Two days have passed, and we have not received any additional communication from the Andersen reps.
External work on our house has mostly ceased, and internal work will slow or cease soon. We are stuck on certain finish decisions (e.g., roofing colors) because we don’t know for sure what the final exterior window color will be. We’ve spent over a month waiting. We need Andersen to back its J.D. Power Initial Quality Awards with action.
We will post follow-ups as warranted and hope that Andersen will live up to its reputation and quality awards and resolve our issue properly.
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