Difficult to assess from afar. Two things: document with pictures. Too often, someone will say the window or door is doing this but seems perfectly fine with a tech comes to look at it. Secondly, what did Pella's tech say? Are they coming back to address your issues?

Who installed the Windows? Was there a general contractor? When in doubt put a level on the window for starters.

Not the windows. He acknowledged there was air draft but did not say anything. They will come back to fix the doors and I will ask again. But wanted to know if it is common to have draft with this window right away.

GC installed the windows. They are leveled and there is insulation around the frame. We specifically discussed that with him. Seems the air is getting in around the sash in almost all of them. Tech did change one of the strike plates to get the sash close tighter, but it only worked on the latch side, not on the hinge side.

I would say it's not common, but the last time i installed pellas wood windows was about 15 years ago. That house had a blower door test done at the end of construction and was considered to tight. We were asked to install a Panasonic exhaust fan in the bath that ran continuously with a boost for the bath. They were a combination of pro-line double hung and casements for egress.

Homeowner check in- I have energy efficient windows- not Pella, though they all have things in common. From one who just went through a whole-house, custom made/sized energy efficient windows:

--- I was seeing a lot of fogging on my double panes. I also saw what I considered "extreme" condensation on the sills, within extraordinary temp changes. As in, one day it's 78, drops to 19 overnight, and the next day- yikes. Big water drops inside.

My contractor arranged for a window rater to come to the house. Airflow more than optimal, all is tight. So- why?

Well, then. My biggest take-aways?

1. Our HVAC system can- and should- be adjusted, up or down, to take care of the humid conditions that exist in the conditions I described. REVELATION. We just had two days of freeze (warm house, cold outside) and NONE of the fogging, after adjusting. To insure the HVAC runs optimally, we'll adjust again once this freeze goes away. And it will happen again in the summer- very warm and humid outside, against cool temps inside.

As an aside- we have a zoned system, and our Nests were having trouble "staying with us", in extreme temp changes. Not any longer, and humidity levels in the house can satisfy even a woman of a "certain age"!

2. Eh-hem- housekeeping, and don't get offended- I didn't!

In a tight window/build, you still can get dirt that blows/settles into the corners of windows designed to open. This may sound dumb, but it never would have occurred to me to clean those areas, since the windows aren't even open. But once I did?

No more condensation, no more water on the inside. I have a 16' expanse of slider-glass. I've always cleaned them of debris at the bottom, but it's because this is a major threshold that is opened many times a day. Doggie goes out. We go out.

I learned to treat the other windows just like my slider, regardless of us. It's working!

Investigate. You have great windows- a window rater can give you a ton of info.

From whom do you get a " window rater"? Are they independent?

Sorry about the "short-cut" for whom we had in the house- terminology.

This is a home energy ratings system rater- HERS certified. They come in to test a home's energy rating/efficiency- in my case, (initially) whole systems, since it was a new build. Ours is a long term certified pro who keeps up on national standards- RSNET? RESNET? I forget. A national standard.

I now had questions about windows, but he and his company look at it all to find any issues. He was in touch- real time, during the inspection- with our HVAC installer (they hold warranties, too, as does the system manufacturer) when he suspected a simple fix. He was right, and the window issues were largely taken care of by an adjustment on the HVAC system. Did confirm that our build has an energy efficiency rating well above national minimum standards, which what I expected/paid for. But nice to know.

Yes. You can hire these people independently. I don't know what it costs, because at this point, my Builder's Warranty takes care of these "checks and balances". Just get one that's certified, well-recommended and with the widest, deepest experience you can find in your area.

Within a year? You need to be talking to the GC to see who the supplier is and get their regional rep down there from Pella ..not a service tech request a rep. They should replace the sash on all of them atleast or if the frames are racked they gotta tear them out and reinstall.. did they use expanding foam around the frame for the insulation? Find out

Yes, I checked. We used foam insulation around the windows. The insulator was a reputable large company. I hope they used the right materials.

I know the rep as we bought directly from the regional Pella rep, although it was a lead from GC. I did contact him when I saw the end result, and he told me to call local service techs.

The tech said he had no idea what was the reason and would consult with the manager, Called them every day for the last several days and was told someone will call "today". No response so far.

Interesting how almost all units are affected, some worse than others. I can see the day light through the gap between sash and frame on some units. I can put a piece of paper through, lock the window, and pull the paper in on all units.

OUCH! Would never use Pella if only I did some research before.

The frost would be located at the frame to woodwork/wall interface if that is where the issue was coming from. If the reveals on all four sides of the frame to sash are consistent, that would all preclude an installation issue as a likely cause. That leaves 1) a product defect, 2) a poor performing product operating as designed, and 3) environmental concerns as the remaining possibilities (too much humidity in the home at the given temps). In my own experience with that product and with windows in general, I typically see a combination of the latter two.

While I am not Pella's biggest fan, you cannot discount the typical causes of condensation here as the root of the issue. Frost and ice are condensation. If the RH in the home is too high for the exterior temp. There are various dew point calculators and charts that will show where those numbers need to be to avoid condensation. Keep in mind that window treatments and various room conditions have a profound effect as well, and is likely part of the reason that you see varying levels of this on windows in different locations. If the exterior temps are subzero and that glass surface is cold enough due to being blocked by draperies, heat register in the room closed off, etc, it is not inconceivable for frost and ice to develop even on very good windows.

All that said, the one thing that could potentially be a defect is the size of the gaps as you are describing. With the window closed and locked, you should not be able to see daylight through any seams. Beyond that, they will have to share the tolerance of what those gaps can and should be.

Looks like there is something wrong with the crank mechanism as well. The last crank to close the unit pushes the sash away from the frame on the hinge side. Almost like the crank is not properly positioned. But it cannot be adjusted.

The reveal is fine up top, but visibly widens on the bottom along the perimeter on all units.

I agree with the condensation. I expect that in cold weather. But icing means too much cold air enters between the sash and frame. Will see what Pella has to say. Not sure if the sales rep can help me here at all.

Did Pella resolve the window gap?

I just installed 18 Pella casement reserve windows and most of them have a 1cm gap between the sash and frame in the hinge side. The lock side was tightened with adjustment of the locking mechanism.