The 5 Worst Mistakes Builders Make When Choosing Windows for Their Custom Homes
After so many years of seeing homeowners go through the same problems over and over and watching them have to spend thousands upon thousands in extras and fixes, I decided to write this article for anyone who is building a home in hopes that I can help at least a few people save some money, delays, headaches and frustrations, at least when it comes to the trade of windows and doors.
Don’t get me wrong, there are hundreds of mistakes people have made that I’ve witnessed, but the 5 most costly mistakes that people make time after time are listed here. These are the mistakes that people make that cost them the most in extras, delays and frustration. They are in no particular order for they are all equally devastating if the time isn’t spent getting better information during the decision making process.
So without further ado, let me get to the 5 Worst Mistakes People Make When Choosing a Window company to work with when building a custom home.
Mistake #1 – Working with a company that does not carry a contractors license.
You see, the Nevada State Contractors Board is there to protect the customer. It’s there to make sure that the homeowner/builder isn’t damaged by someone “claiming” to know about their trade. The NSCB does its best to regulate the contractors in the state with the protection of the consumer in mind. It makes contractors carry a bond, to protect the consumer in case they skip town, they make sure we carry workers compensation insurance in case a worker gets hurt on your jobsite, it has many protections for the consumer and when you work with a company that does not carry a license you give all that up.
For many contractor’s it’s a hassle to maintain a contractor’s license. Many companies out there figure they can bypass the hassle and just get by without it. If you can get the same product for the same price, why would you give up all that protection?
I’ve seen many people buy windows from a company that shows up in town for a few months or even a few years and then when that company decides they want to leave, they take deposits, product and parts and materials with them and the homeowner is left with a bunch of headaches and problems and no one to help them. No bond posted to help you with expenses.
The worst part is when the window company is still in town but refuses to work with you. They tell you they did their part and the rest is up to you! Who can you call for help? The better business bureau? They can put a bad mark about them in their files and that’s about it. The contractors board can fine licensed contractors, bring about legal proceedings and shut a contractor down if need be.
Mistake #2 – Working with a company that does not install their own product.
This is a tell tale sign of a contractor that isn’t confident in his trade. If someone refuses to install their own product, you’ve got to ask yourself Why? It’s understandable if you can find someone reputable to do it for less, but someone that just flat out refuses to install his own product is telling you, “Sure, buy my product, but I’m not going to take any responsibility for it.”
You see, if someone else installs it, and later you have a problem with the window, they will come out and say, “Nope, sorry, it was installed incorrectly; you’re going to have to call the installers and have them come out and fix it.” Even if it’s a problem they can fix, they won’t because they will incur an undue cost. Then, when the installer comes out he’s going to say, “Nope, it’s installed correctly, the window is bad, you have to call the manufacturer.” Now you’re stuck with a window that won’t work and no one to help you fix it. Unfortunately, this is where I’ve come in time after time and the homeowner that bought a product with a lifetime warranty can’t even get the window to open or close and has to pay someone else to fix it.
Using the company that supplies the windows to install the windows solves that problem. Even if the window was installed incorrectly, they are going to put some effort into fixing it because they know they are responsible for the window for the life of the home.
Extra Secret – Beware of companies that offer every window under the sun. A great question to ask is “How many different window product lines to you offer?” If they offer several different windows beware. I know of several companies that get into financial trouble and take on another window line because they are having trouble paying the first supplier so they start fresh with a new one so as not to delay any customer’s shipments. However, I know one homeowner who fell into this trap. He ordered his windows from a company who in turn ordered them from the manufacturer. But then later, when he went to order his doors, the contractor told him no, no, this other door product is much better, why don’t you go with these other doors.
Well, the window contractor never paid for the doors or the windows and ended up filing for bankruptcy. Well the window and door manufacturer’s placed a lien on the customer’s house because they had never been paid. The homeowner had to pay for his windows and doors, twice! To the tune of over 80,000 dollars! To avoid this problem, make sure you get supplier releases faxed directly to you from the supplier before you make any final payments. If in doubt make a joint check to the window contractor and the supplier, so you know the windows get paid for.
Mistake #3 – Working with a company that does not provide lock and slide service.
Here’s another tell tale sign of an unconfident contractor. Lock and slide service means that a week or so before you move in the contractor will come back out to your house, install the screens, make sure everything slides nice and locks correctly. They will replace missing or damaged parts and give the windows a little tune up.
I hear customers tell me all the time. “The window company said, they worked fine when we dropped them off, if they don’t work now, it means you did something to them.” The fact of the matter is that windows are the first finish product to go into the home. If the windows can’t stand up to 6 to 12 months of construction wear and tear, then they don’t belong in a custom home.
Manufacturers know windows don’t get installed three days before the customer moves in. They get beaten, banged up, painted, stucco’d, people lean ladders on them, pull extension cords through them, I’ve even seen someone put a piece of scaffolding through a window and use it to reach a light fixture. Any window manufacturer knows this and should build their windows to stand up to this kind of treatment.
If a contractor won’t come out and do lock and slide service it means they have no confidence in their window. They either don’t know how to do a lock and slide or just don’t care enough about the consumer to bother. Most times when a window doesn’t work properly after the fact it’s a simple fix, but when its not, you want to make sure you have someone that will come out and take care of your window problems, because sure enough, every window will work great except that one window that you like to use a lot.
Extra Secret – When dealing with a company that does offer lock and slide service, make sure that right after the windows are installed and complete, you walk each window and door opening to make sure they work PERFECT. If you have any doubts about a window or door and its operation, make sure they come out and fix it right then. If they say, “No, that’s normal, we come out and fix those problems at the end before you move in,” don’t take that for an answer.
Demand that they come out right away because any problems that exist now are only going to be multiplied by months and months of construction. Now is the easiest time to make window adjustments, they can pull the whole window out and reset it easily if need be. That is definitely not the case if you wait until the end and then you just have that much more of a chance that the problem will be worse further down the line.
Mistake #4 – Not comparing quality when comparing price.
I know you’re probably thinking, “Here we go, another person telling us how to never go with the lowest bidder, you get what you pay for, blah. blah.” Well, I’m here to tell you something different, because the fact is most people pay too much for their windows and doors. I do tell people to be careful when shopping solely based on price, because there is something the contractor is giving up to be able to offer a lower price. As long as what they are giving up isn’t important to you, then there is no reason to pay more.
So, here is the most important part of this section and it may come as a surprise. Just because something costs more, doesn’t necessarily mean it is any better. Many people think that if one window costs more, it has more features and benefits and will last longer and a whole slew of other misconceptions. The fact is that when a window costs more, it’s usually because that company has a huge marketing budget to pay for and it reflects itself in the price of the window.
You need to compare the windows you are contemplating based on features and benefits. Many window companies sell an inferior product at a higher price simply because the customer has heard of those windows before. The problem with that is how many window companies can the average consumer name off hand? One or two? There are literally hundreds of great window companies that have been around a long time and offer great products.
You need to pick the benefits that are important to YOU, and then compare windows based on those benefits, not based on marketing. For example, is energy efficiency important to you? If so, which window is the most energy efficient? You’ll find that windows made of similar materials are very close when it comes to energy efficiency, yet the prices vary wildly. The same goes for warranty. The warranties available for windows are remarkably similar, so is one window worth 20% more, when the warranty is relatively the same.
Mistake #5 – Not making the window company responsible for their trade.
Here is what you may run into when you get a quote for windows. They will give you a window list and ask you to check it very carefully because any deviation from that list will incur additional costs. This is basically a window contractor asking you to be the expert instead of them. They should take responsibility and make sure what gets ordered is what you need. They should be responsible for egress, code compliance, operation and ease of use.
Many consumers try to save some money by making their own window list and asking window companies to bid off of that list. I’ve seen more people lose more money from this mistake than any other. For the price of a set of plans, they end up spending hundreds of dollars, sometimes thousands in extra’s because they didn’t want to print another set of plans.
To save on printing costs, burn CD’s and make the bidders print their own set if they need a hard copy, but they need to acknowledge that they have received a set of plans and are bidding from that set. If need be, make a list of things that changed as you go along and e-mail/fax/mail that list with the plans to each bidder.
Then you should walk through the plans with the contractor you chose, before you order. Go through each room, one by one to make sure you are getting what you want. Of course, things like window color, and hardware colors, you will have to be responsible for. If you signed for white windows and forgot your wife said green, you can’t expect the contractor to be responsible for that if you signed for white windows. However, things like jamb extensions, nail-fin location, door and window handing should be discussed together with an experienced contractor who can lend his/her expertise in these areas. Beware of someone who sends you a list and then asks you to sign the list and give a deposit then he can order. In fact, I recommend a jobsite walk as well before anything is ordered. Also make sure you get a rough opening list from the window guy, before your framer begins to lay out. If he cuts his headers and you find out later that the windows you are ordering oversize, you might have to pay for a whole new set of headers.
Well there you have it. If you can avoid these 5 worst mistakes, you should be in good shape when it comes to building your home, at least when it comes to the trade of windows and doors.
