jasonmi7: on a casement window, the screens are actually on the inside of the house. With the retractable option, you don't have to look at screens all the time when your windows are shut (which is the majority of the time). Maybe it's just a personal preference, but I've never had casement windows, so having screens on the inside is a bit odd to me - so I'm very excited about the retractable option!

Until recently window manufacturers wanted nothing to do with installation details or recommendations. Now they each have their own instructions, some good and some bad, and they differ between various models with no apparent logic. A window manufacturer's warranty is usually not based on performance but is limited to "manufacturing defects": 20 years for the glass seal and 5 or 10 years for the non-glass portions of the window. Poor installation can void the warranty but only for those issues directly caused by poor installation. In reality what poor installation does to a warranty claim for a less than obvious manufacturing defect is muddy the water and weaken your claim but it cannot absolve a manufacturer from responsibility for provable manufacturing defects. Usually a contractor is not obligated to install a window according to the manufacturer's instructions unless those instructions are referenced or included in the construction contract so looking up the current recommendations is usually pointless. There are many installation recommendations that I would consider completely inappropriate and many contradict the recommendations of the air/weather barrier manufacturer. They also change without notice so it is hard to prove what was in effect when the contract was signed. This dispute is between you and the builder since he owes you a house that doesn't leak but how to achieve that is a negotiation between the two of you. A window rep might be helpful but many have no idea how to fix a problem without removing the window unit. The best way to resolve it is to get an independent waterproofing or design professional to offer a solution for your specific situation. That professional should work directly for you.

Casement windows like in your case not intended to have stools unless you want to add one... your windows have the grove specifically made for window extensions all around and you wrap casing around it for a nice clean and finished look. If vinyl casements are used you can do anything you like they don't have that option unless you order windows with vinyl extensions already attached by a manufacturer... If not you can do stool and sheetrock return or sheetrock return all around. Some do sheetrock return and still add casing surrounding on top of the drywall, usually, it's done after the fact if the house is purchased and windows have sheetrock returns and a homeowner wants to add some trim detail to it.

Dennisgli, the installer is the one that told me all the bad things about vinyl. Everything that was wrong about operation, the seals, and the aesthetics, the installer blamed on vinyl in general and this product line specifically. After he said this, I found internet articles that seemed to bear it out — but I guess you can find any opinion on the internet. Since he said so many bad things about vinyl, I thought I for sure need not replace these with more vinyl! This is why I was asking about aluminum and Fibrex — that’s pretty much all I could find that isn’t vinyl. From these comments, I’m beginning to suspect that they just did a bad job installing and blamed it on the product instead of admitting it. I am perplexed. I think I may need to call the store and ask them to see if a different installer could fix the issues, maybe even reinstall the ones that are worst. And if a manufacturer’s rep could come out, maybe they could adjust the stubborn locks. Those of you who know about how the locks are supposed to operate: Is this a manufacturing defect or is it something that can be fixed? To recap: At first, I intended to call them only about the locks being too tight, and then I discovered that several windows would not close. When the installer came out, he said that this is just what vinyl is like — there will always be trouble with the seals and resulting drafts, and elderly people such as myself will never be able to operate them easily. When we had to call them back the next day to re-close more windows, that’s when the store supervisor agreed to replace them. It’s not that I am trying to be difficult. Replacing that many windows after hassling with them for a year is not a process I want to repeat. I appreciate the advice here. If the installers steered me wrong about vinyl and misled about the nature of the problems, I am open to suggestions other than replacement. I hate to think this of the installers, though. Except for the one who came out recently (who owns their company), I really, really liked the installers. Then again, they are the ones who didn’t miter (?) some of these correctly and then said that’s how they are supposed to look. 😕