JUST SASHES INC

We could not have had a better experience. We needed three window air conditioner units removed and new casement windows and storms installed, along with replacing three missing storm windows in a 100 yr old house in Oak Park. On his first visit, he came out for the initial measurement and then went back to his shop and made the window frames. He returned in a couple weeks with the frames sans glass, removed the AC units, and fitted the windows to exactly match the openings, which he then boarded up. A week or so later he returned with the finished product, all of which were a perfect fit. He was creative as he cannibalized old hardware, trimmed either window frame or the opening and ensured that that everything was as we wanted it. He matched the new to the old, identified things that he thought would improve cosmetics and/or function, and was responsive, professional, and punctual. I would like to point out that the three damning reviews all involve complaints about not showing for an appointment or working on someone else's timeline. While those are certainly annoying, I recommend they be discounted if not ignored, since he does such a superb job. The price was also reasonable, especially considering the quality of the work.

Great job. High quality, professional workmanship. I highly recommend John if you are interested in maintaining, fixing, upgrading your beautiful, big, old original wood windows/storms. He primer painted the new storms too. We love results.

I have never worked with a contractor who did such a poor job of working on a schedule and coordinating with other contractors in a complex construction project. Or who showed such a lack of accountability. John was difficult to reach and was unable or unwilling to estimate how much time it would take him to complete the work. I reminded him repeatedly that timely communication and delivery was of the utmost importance, but he never showed any evidence of taking this information into account or took any responsibility for meeting a schedule. I started talking to John about this job in the spring and booked the work a month in advance of it starting in mid-July. He was very charming and seemed to be quite knowledgeable about windows and sashes. Although we had agreed on a starting date he was unreachable for the week in advance of that date and in fact showed up a day late, with very little notice, to pick up the sashes. At that point I made it clear that excellent communication and planning was essential in order to collaborate with the painter, who needed at least a week after the sashes were returned in order to paint and refinish them before they could be reinstalled. He basically nodded and smiled. I told him numerous times what the end date was?when my tenants were to move in. Over the following weeks John would be unreachable for days at a time and would never commit to a date for returning the sashes. I was constantly trying to reach out to him and always unsuccessful in getting answers or commitments from him. He finally returned the sashes less than a week before move-in, giving me less than a day's notice. At this point I learned from my painter that the putty would have to be sealed (painted) before the sashes could be re-hung. When I asked him about it, John seemed to think that the sealing was optional, but I've spoken to several others who said that the quality of the glazing would be severely compromised if left exposed to the elements. So if I hadn't gotten this advice from other people, the quality of the product would have suffered. As it was, this lack of information severely jeopardized the schedule. I had planned on painting or refinishing the windows interior but had not understood that the putty would have to be sealed AND that it would take several days to dry. So that was a problem right there. When John returned the sashes I tried to find a day when he would be able to reinstall them, after the painter had finished painting and/or refinishing the sash interiors and exteriors. At this point we had very few days left and he was unavailable to work on any of those remaining days. He was unmoved by the fact that my tenants were about to move in, telling me only that he was in the midst of three big jobs and I wasn't one of them. At this point I asked him, "John, you knew that my tenants were moving in on (day X). When did you think you were going to reinstall these sashes?" To which he replied "I guess I didn't really think about it." Of course I had been trying to get him to think about this for six weeks. I ended up having to hire someone else to reinstall the sashes. This person and his team had to work around the clock over the weekend, finally finishing the job at 1:00 a.m. the night before move-in day. In the end the paint was not as dry as it should have been, but of course I had to get them hung before the new tenants moved in. The windows are still slightly sticky and I really hope that as they dry out the stickiness will go away, since of course the whole reason I did this job was to have the windows working better than before. The sashes themselves looked good, but doing this work on a schedule was a critical component of the job. If he had too many other jobs going on to deliver in time, he should not have accepted the job in the first place. I believe that John is a skilled craftsman but as a businessman and project manager he demonstrated an utter lack of professionalism and accountability. I will not hire him again and would caution anyone else against doing so.

Scheduled two separate appointments with John for him to come out for an estimate at 7:30 am. on two consecutive fridays Both times, John failed to show up and did not bother calling me to explain or inform me that he would not arrive. After reading all the positive reviews, I am disappointed by his lack of professionalism.

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Highly recommend working with John of Just Sashes. The quality in the workmanship and the product is exceeded my expectations!! I love my new storms! They are beautiful and work well. Skip all the gimmicks and national brands and shop local!!!

I called up, gave them the exact dimensions of the old windows, explained which had a divider, etc. The price was $200 for one large (~6ft tall) storm and $120 for a smaller basement storm window. This seemed very reasonable to me so I had them go ahead with the job. The windows were ready for me within 1 week, and since I lived in the area they dropped them off at my home for no charge. Overall it was a very painless process.

We had an old window that needed to be replaced. Just Sashes was able to do this. His work showed craftsmanship.

They are very thorough. The price seemed reasonable to me.

I am very pleased with John's on our windows. He is all about restoring original windows and was knowledgeable about the construction of the windows, etc. He replaced the ropes with metal chains, as his experience is that old ropes that have been painted multiple times are prone to failure. After the initial estimate, it took about a week for John to remove the broken windows, and then it took another week or so before he re-installed the windows. The price seemed reasonable, both to me and to the architect that referred me to him. We will need to do some re-painting, which he had noted would be the case in his original estimate. It took a while to get the work scheduled and completed; however, the delays were not any longer than what I have experienced with any other contractor.

He took the whole sash with him and the glass and made a perfect new sash with the old glass in it...it looks great.

We had used the contractor before and knew the quality of work was high. Our job was relatively small for their company, so it took about six weeks of cajoling to get them to come and do the work. Once they arrived, they were prepared and moved fast and efficiently. Chit chat was low - two sashes were replaced in three hours. The next week they arrived with the new storms.

John set up an appointment to survey my windows at my home. I took off work. He did not show up. He did not return my phone call. Very unprofessional.

The windows were very nice but the window frame could have been better. I had to do extra work on it to clean it up a bit. They gave me a good price and I believe that if I had paid a little more, they would have done a better job. They did a good job on the windows though.

John and his son came out and repaired all of these windows, for about $900 less than it would have cost to replace just five of them with vinyl replacements from a "respected" company. They restored the windows to working order and GOOD working order at that. I thought for sure the silicone-sealed windows were a lost cause, but Just Sashes was able to get those things back up and running again. Plus, John knows his stuff about windows and bungalows and whatnot. I'd recommend him to anyone in the Chicagoland area looking to restore old windows. They did a great, great job and were extremely friendly and good guys.

John and I had a bit of trouble connecting initially, but then he came out to my house, provided a timely quote and came out to do the work. He and his co-worker Frank, were very professional, did a great job and cleaned up after themselves. I had been considering purchasing new windows for my 1930's home, as these windows were painted shut and the sash cording was cut. I didn't know that type of work could be done. My original windows, have been fixed and I am very happy!