Window Installers ruined my original woodwork! Help!!

18 years ago

I also posted this in the "Disasters" Forum....because this *is* a disaster!!

Last year we moved into a 1946 Chicago Bungalow with pristine, untouched original woodwork. You just can't buy this stuff anymore -- it was a major selling point. How easy can you find 60 year old woodwork that isn't painted over or all scratched up? I digress...

Last year we had half of the windows replaced in our house by a fairly well-known window company througout Chicago (it is not like I went through Bob's Discount Window Shack). As stipulated in the contract all windows were installed from the outside as to not require any touching of the interior woodwork. The windows were installed that way and my wood remained untouched. Completely satisifed customer.

So we of course went back to this company this year when it came time to finish the rest of the windows. Again, sales man said windows must be installed from the outside to preserve the existing woodwork, and it was stipulated in the contract. So Monday morning, here come the window guys. In a thick accent he says to me "Don't worry. I am carpenter. If I need to replace wood, I do beautiful job".

I said "No No No No"! The existing woodwork is not to be touched. Last time the windows were installed from the outside and that is how they need to be installed this time. It is in the contract. I do not want my wood touched at all! He said "Okay Okay....I don't like to do it that way but I can. I will install from outside just like they did last year".

So they are working away all day....and I was peeping at them but I really couldn't go up to them since stuff was flying everywhere. At 2:30 they finished with one room so I went up to inspect. Something didn't look right. They ripped all of my door stops off with a crowbar and used a nailgun to tack it back up every 1". In addition since these are older windows, all of the charming and large brass screws were gone. I called my husband and he ran home from work. He made them find every brass screw in the front lawn and replace them. Most of the brass screws were damaged, split in half, stripped...you name it. But what about all those nail gun holes? They filled them with blonde, stainable wood putty on my golden-deep, rich existing wood work!!!! Not to mention that as they pryed off my doorstops with a chisel and hammer, they would miss and made huge, deep gashes in my window sills and frame around the windows.

Needless to say I am furious. We called the window company and they were totally apologetic. They came today to take pictures of the damage (they took pictures with a cellphone ---- yuck!) and suggested a fix might be replacing the doorstops with new wood....but not staining them. Wouldn't say anything about the gashes in the window sills or frame around the window sills. He said he would get back to us with their fix proposal in a couple of days...

Sorry for the lengthy narrative...but, I just had to explain it all. Question ---- What should I demand? There is nothing they can do to get them back to their original state other than inventing a time machine and stoping those two idiots from installing from the inside.

I want the woodwoork undamaged, but I want it to match with everything else. What if they can't get it to match? Do I demand money???

Please --- I'd really appreciate your thoughts or if you have ever experienced a similar problem. Thanks!!!!

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Comments (7)

mary_lu_gw
18 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wow....now sure what to say. You have my sympathy.

Are you saying that even after you told them they had to be installed from the outside that they went ahead and did it from the inside? Oh, I would be soooo angry.

I think I would demand that you will pick the person to repair the damage and they will pay the bill. Then ask around/find your own carpenter to do the repairs to your satisfaction.
Marylu
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kec01
18 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I would absolutely post on the Chicago Bungalow website for referrals for window/wood restoration experts and get estimates from them for repairing to what you had. Do not do not do not agree to anything with the company who destroyed your woodwork so far. I would show the estimates to this window company and then demand that they pay they bill. They probably won't agree to pay it so you could easily have to consider small claims court. If it was me, I would not let that company touch anything at all from this point on and I would take pictures, too. As a side note to find old wood, you could also shop at the house demo sales in greater Chicago and buy used trim from houses scheduled for the wrecking ball. Murco.net and demolitionsales.com are 2 demo companies. Then let a GOOD carpenter rebuild what you have.
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I just got done reading your dilema and wish to offer what I can. As a carpenter taught and trained by my father, I share your disappointment in what has occurred--there are very few crafstmen left and hundreds of parties who call themselves a carpenter because they claim to know which end of a hammer to hold. I suggest the following: 1) Take your own detailed phots of the damage as future evidence in case you end up in court over the matter later. Photograph the poor workmanship presently completed, the good work you were satisfied in the past, and any work that remains untouched from original installations. Remember, your photos will be reviewed by a judge who has not seen your home, so be sure to review them honestly regarding the detail they provide. 2) I would refuse any further attempts at this contractor to correct the problem. Their carelessness has already brought you to this juncture--no point in exacerbating the matter "hoping" that it will somehow get better. 3) Seek out the assistance of a good restoration carpenter/contractor. This can likely be resolved by going to the yellow pages or similar directory for assistance. Going to the carpenters union may also be a good solution, but if they tell you just about anyone can do the work, get out fast. I think you got really lucky with the first carpenter and, if you think the contractor you used can get you back to him, you might try that also. When you think you've found someone you can trust, demand references and/or a portfolio of completed projects to assure youself your confidence is properly placed--this type of work is tedious and demanding--anyone worth their snuff is going to be documenting their work for future customers to build confidence they can handle the project. 4) Once you have found the contractor you like and feel you can trust, let them give an estimate on repairs and bring that to the contractor you first used. You will likely get the cold shoulder, which will make point #1 all that more important. 5) Let the new contractor make the repairs, but insist on watching them for the first window if you wish to be sure they will meet your standards. A respectable contractor will not be offended by this and is even proud to demonstrate the cautious behavior required in dealing with such work. They will also have access to suppliers for replacement mouldings if the need develops. I caution you that it will only be through your own dillegence that the matter is corrected to your satisfaction--it may take 3-6 months of hard searching to locate the person to go to for the repairs--but I assure you it will be worth it. Good Luck. Bruce L
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vanyali
18 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I think that these idiots are just plain not capable of fixing anything to your satisfation. Though they should fix it, and they should be responsible for it, I have my doubts. No matter how much you squeeze, you can't get blood from a stone, and you can't get good work out of people who don't know how to do it.

You might be able to get money out of them, and if so, the easiest way to fix it is to have a good lumberyard or finish carpentry contractor/shop rout you new molding to perfectly match the profile of the old. The wood would be new (unless you had old wood to give them, or they could locate some, which is possible), but you could experiment (on scraps of the same wood) with stains and finishes to get it to look close to the original.

If you're fixing it yourself, then you should look carefully to see if you can find pieces in lumberyards to put together to match your old woodwork. I've lived in places from the late 19'th C. to the mid-20th C., and in each place, the moldings were either built from pieces that are still around, or simpler 1-piece moldings are literally still for sale in the more upscale local lumberyards. A good lumberyard should be able to get you the pieces in pine, maple, red oak, or occasionally cherry. This is something that most homeowners don't know about, but can save you tons of money when restoring your old woodwork.

To fix your old wood without replacing it, you can fill the problem areas with putty and dab stain & finish (probably shellac?) on top with a paint brush and sand it flush with very fine-grained (220 or higher number) sandpaper (draw in the grain lines with a pencil).

I've also seen colored hard wax burn-in sticks that you melt with a soldering iron, mix to the right shade, then fill holes and dents with. I think you can buy it from Van Dykes Restorer's catalog. I saw a guy do it once and I couldn't see the repairs, honest.

Or you could cut some patches out of wood (especially if you have some old wood around that might match well), cut out really bad sections of your damaged molding, and glue the new wood in place. The patch would show, but you can sand it down flush with the old molding, and it could look OK anyway.

Good luck!
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brickeyee
18 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
You can get any molding that has ever been made for a price.
Take both overall and detailed pictures and prepare to lawyer up.
They are not going to like the bill to replace the woodwork and finish to match.
You can arm yourself by determining what the actual finish is (it may be shellac) and what wood was used.
Do not allow them to undertake any repairs until you get estimates. The more damage they do the harder it is to prove original condition.
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miac23
18 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
A cellphone??!! GAWD!!!! ::rolling eyes::

OK, I am upset along with you! LOL, I love those old bungalows!

Well, first I would see if you could hire a woodworker/ craftsman rather than a contractor. You can get referrals from architects and fine furniture stores (I mean the stores that sell $10,000 sofas) and from that chicago bungalow website mentioned by Kec01. It will be an expensive fix, but it WILL be done right by someone who cares about your home just as much as you do (and what proper techniques are used and most importantly what type of hardwood to use and how to stain it etc.).

Then after that is done, you send the bill to the window shop. Have them sign something before you begin saying they will pay for all the repair.

I have a feeling these guys are imcompetant but HOLD them to that comtract you signed. I agree with everything brickeye said above!

I hope everything works out for you.

Mia
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randymeyer
18 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Bottom line is that anything can be fixed for a price. There are true craftsmen still around, but they come at a hefty price. Fine quality work takes much longer than simply slapping something together. Find the right carpenter and a great painter and you will never know it happened. Now getting the window company to buck up will be a fight.
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jcin_los_angeles
18 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Ditto to getting that ridiculous company to pay for the work after someone else does it. But I'm wondering why you wanted to replace the windows in the first place? Windows can always be fixed, even when they're 100 years old or more.
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Window Installers ruined my original woodwork! Help!!

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