Serious problems with kolbe windows leaking need help

[gbarnard]

Please see my post in building science about my windows. I'm having the same problems that user name Fight real name Gordon. He started leakywindows.com and his story reads like mine. Trying to get in touch with him. Your help is greatly appreciated

Did anyone else have these problems? Its the windows not install but there trying to say its installation

[David Meiland]

This is not a forum for your problem.

[gbarnard]

This is not a forum for your problem.

OK so where should I ask for this info or peoples input??? Instead of posting your response why don't you make suggestions. You see I'm new to this site so I posted this request in 2 forums

[Shawn Prentice]

David is talking about the forum, as in this whole site. If it is not an install issue as you say, then it is a manufacturing defect and only the manufacturer can help you with that. Whether they are willing to help you or not is another thing. It's not all that difficult to show and document a manufacturing defect vs. an install issue.

[David Meiland]

OK so where should I ask for this info or peoples input??? Instead of posting your response why don't you make suggestions. You see I'm new to this site so I posted this request in 2 forums

My suggestion is that you study the content of this website before posting. It is for professional builders, not consumers, and it is not a place to try to put public pressure on a manufacturer. If you have a load of defective windows you need a lawyer and you need to look into whether or not there are class action suits on the product you have.

[Dick Seibert]

David:

This guy isn't a consumer, he is a builder who builds in the $4 million plus neighborhood, if you had looked at his first post:

I know there was a thread started by FIGHT ( Gordon ) years ago and he started leakywindows.com. I read his story and I thought he was speaking about my house. I have built 20-25 houses in Avalon & Stone Harbor NJ but always used Anderson windows. I was convinced to use Kolbe and now I want to kill myself. My house his destroyed from water damage!!! I was about 3 weeks away from being finished before the first NE storm hit. Now the water pours through my windows. I had my engineer isolate the windows and they failed in numerous areas. They are trying to point the fingers at my subs for installation. Its hard to say its an install problem when the only thing getting hit is the window itself. I would love to get Gordon's contact info. I know this same exact issue took him years to finally win and settle. This has become an absolute nightmare for me and help would be greatly appreciated

All he is asking for is contact information for Gordon (Fighter) who had similar problems with Kolbe & Kolbe windows, unfortunately with the substantial settlement that Gordon made with Kolbe & Kolbe he had to assign ownership rights to his leakywindows.com website and his e-mail address was through that website, and of course K &K took it down when they made the confidential settlement.

I've contacted the OP and talked to him by telephone since I helped Gordon, this poor guy has a new home with a potential $4.5 million sale that he can't close and is servicing a large monthly construction loan.

One might comment about filling out profiles, it isn't that easy to do and maybe Brad should look into that, especially for a guy who is desperately trying to get help resolving problems due to defective products, we should all want to know about those defective problems and try to help fellow builders, unfortunately the legal system takes years to work it's way through.

[David Meiland]

My bad, I apologize. I do not research every new poster we get, none of them fill out their profiles (one recent exception, johnwis from Wisconsin), and we get a lot of posts that look just like the OP in this case. Wish he had introduced himself. I'll go have another cup of stupid now.

[Dick Seibert]

David:

That's why I pointed out that filling out a profile isn't that obvious and Brad should look into it.

[David Meiland]

Seems to me the OP is in pretty deep, far too deep for us to help. He needs to sue Kolbe and have his experts bring their evidence. If he's describing the situation accurately he is being stonewalled by Kolbe and is suffering serious damages as a result.

I guess it's worth mentioning that we should PLAN on window leaks. Would he be having a problem if he had sloped sills and a good drainage plane? I'd like to think that the windows I install could leak and I wouldn't even know it.

[Shawn Prentice]

Seems to me the OP is in pretty deep, far too deep for us to help. He needs to sue Kolbe and have his experts bring their evidence. If he's describing the situation accurately he is being stonewalled by Kolbe and is suffering serious damages as a result.

That was my thinking. The only thing we may be able to help with is if it was an installation error, but we don't have all the details.

I guess it's worth mentioning that we should PLAN on window leaks. Would he be having a problem if he had sloped sills and a good drainage plane? I'd like to think that the windows I install could leak and I wouldn't even know it.

I wondered about that as well since he mentioned it was not the installation.

[Dick Seibert]

He didn't install sill pans saying that the sill pans trap water on finned windows, I told him that with sill pans you need to cut the bottom fin off to allow the water to escape from leaking windows. He said he followed instructions to the letter and K&K is saying installer error but not what error. He didn't say what model window he bought, but I checked K&K's Heritage series and they just show them caulked in without sill pans, I've e-mailed him to see what model he actually bought to see if maybe they require sill pans. If he did install sill pans in that coastal location with leakage as bad as he says, the water would be pouring off the sill pans even with the bottom fins cut off. I'd say he's caulked the windows in as per K&K instructions and sealed the water leaking through the bottom miters inside the walls. In Fighter's prior case it was the bottom miters leaking, K&K tried injecting silicone into the miters to no avail.

He doesn't have time to play games with K&K with a buyer in hand, I told him to have his attorney notify K&K that he is proceeding to mitigate damages, remove the windows and replace them. He's built 35 or so similar homes on the shore like this with no problems with Andersen, I told him to either use Andersen then and consider Loewen, he has requested a quote from both Andersen and Loewen. He has stripped much of the sheetrock, insulation and flooring out of the home.

Here is a picture of the home, I see that he's got $200,000 to $300,000 worth of windows in the home, nice weekend beach house, but looks like the fix is going to push a million dollars, then spend years in court going after K&K for reimbursement..

[MarkMc]

I told him to either use Andersen then and consider Loewen, he has requested a quote from both Andersen and Loewen.

Hmm... a clever PR/Marketing rep from either of those two should be able to make some hay of the situation, and if he has done all those others using A's product seems even better for them in that respect.

I do wonder if he get the energy rebate applied for fixing leaky windows...

[David Meiland]

I don't see how stripping sheetrock and flooring is going to help, unless it's already damaged by water. Exterior trim and siding are what's next. Looks like it might be stucco, in which case he's totally hosed.

What did the neighbors think when he built that??

[Dick Seibert]

David:

He sent me a huge picture and I downsized it for publication, the sidewalls are white cedar shingles, the roof is red cedar shakes. The water was pouring in through the windows, he had to get the Sheetrock and insulation out or he'd have had mold all over the place in 24 hours, that would be a tear down and the law requires that he mitigate damages, you can't just stand by and watch this happen.

[MarkMc]

You couldn't 'touch-up' the portalet? That blue is all wrong.