United Better Homes

My only critique is that they don't do painting, which means I will need to do the final cosmetic touch up (which is actually pretty minimal), but otherwise the work was executed professionally.

I The whole process went smoothly. The salesman was very helpful in helping us determine what we needed as well as what we did not need. Next, a measuring person came by, the order for materials was placed, and in a few weeks, the carpenter arrived. Both jobs were completed in a day and done professionally. The green house window was a replacement and required more than just removing one window and installing another. Trim on both the outside and inside had to be installed to conform to existing conditions. The existing storm door was re-installed, and all old material was removed. The entire experience was satisfying beginning with the knowledgeable salesman and ending with the skilled carpenter.

My husband and I are very pleased with this company. They were all very pleasant, windows came in when expected and windows were installed 5 days later. They were right on time this morning, did exactly what we expected. They cleaned up after themselves and went out of there way to do a couple extra things. I would highly recommend them, we are very pleased. We will have them come and do siding on out house in a couple of yrs. thanks guys

The workers were prompt, polite and mindful of my worries about lead contamination. They left the place spotless and the windows look great. I should mention that an error was made in measurement of my windows. As a result, a second order had to be placed, delaying the installation by a month. To make up for the error, rather than returning the misordered windows, UBH installed them upstairs for free. Basically they gave me 4 free windows to account for the error! I had thought that that kind of customer service had died out ages ago. I was very impressed with their sales staff, customer service and the installers. I give them my highest possible recommendation.

They showed up on time, did everything they said they would do and they left the house spotless. They were a little bit higher in cost than the other company, but they provided us with an actual replacement window unlike the other company who wanted to put a new construction fiberglass window in as a replacement. We truly enjoy our Infinity from Marvin windows and highly recommend them.

Next job was to install vinyl siding, gutters and 2 French Doors. For such a huge job, everything went smoothly. The crew arrived on time ad left late in the evening. Again, they cleaned up after themselves....As you can imagine, this was not a job that was done in two days....very professional. More important, the crew knew what they were doing. Every time I asked a question, they were took the time to answer my questions. I would recommend United Better Homes to everyone. You won't be disappointed. Last but not least, I could not end this review without mentioning Keith Fitzsimmons in the Cranston, RI showroom. Must say he was very accommodating and more important....very PATIENT with me. Thanks Keith....

It was a pleasure to work with Brian, Eddy and their crew. They arrived on time with smiles on their faces and senses of humor. They replaced 11 windows and had to repair/replace a few rotted sills. When they were taking out a large window on the back of the house they found extensive rot and ended up rebuilding the entire wall! They were able to do it the next day. We are thrilled with the results, especially my new front door!! This was, by far, the best experience we have had with a contractor!!

After many days and hours of research on different windows, I decided to go w/ the Simonton windows offered by UBH. I waited for the winter to pass to state that I am happy with my windows and the comfort and energy savings they provide. But I am far from happy with the issues that came up during the project. 1) Great windows. BUT horrible Simonton supplier/rep. UBH's Simonton orders are handled by ABC Supply (John Bertolomi, not sure of spelling). Original install date of Sept. 6 was cancelled because he "miscalculated" order arrival due to Labor day holiday. I expressed my frustration and the fact that my husband has accessibility issues and it was NOT fun having moved furniture away from the windows. John "offered" to come "help" move furniture back but that was so not the point! He just needed to keep proper track of his shipment schedules! I called UBH/Keith and it was rescheduled for the morning of Sept. 10. After moving the furniture again on the 10th ... nobody showed up. No phone call, no nothing. I called UBH at 930am, spoke to Nicole who said she'd call Simonton rep. I called her again at 10:15 and was told to wait for Keith. Two days of being left hanging was not fun. I decided to be proactive and called John from ABC Supply (I used the ph # he called from on Sept. 6) and asked "where are my windows?" He AGAIN gives me the run-around ... might be traffic, an accident on the highway, weather ... but that it should arrive sometime in the afternoon. We argued again over his ineptitude and indifference. Then I called UBH (again) at 11 am. Nicole said that when they do physically have my windows, she will call me and they will come over and at least install some of them. Note: I was not able to speak with Keith, or Eddie, this whole morning that we were left hanging again. 2) I spend next few hours waiting... for a call, anything. By mid-afternoon, some UBH vans started coming. Some workers started removing old windows while waiting for another van to arrive w/ my new Simonton windows. THIS is the part where I will commend UBH... because they made up for lost/wasted time by finishing the installation of all 13 windows in about 2 hours. 3) Most of project issues were not a direct fault of UBH, but was the fault of a lousy supplier (I called their national hotline to complain, spoke to a Janice who agreed that the experience I had was "unacceptable" and that someone from ABC would get back to me by next day. Guess what? Nobody ever did). I am unhappy with the lack of responsiveness of UBH. I had to track down my windows myself! Long story short, love my Simonton windows... but buyer beware because you will deal with their Simonton rep. so be prepared for possible delays. UBH should do a better job of communicating with their reps AND their customers, so as not to leave customers like me hanging. I made the mistake of recommending UBH to my sister (provided she was not using Simonton windows), and that project didn't go well. She had a difficult time getting in touch with Keith et al, regarding water damage from a botched job. But that will be for another review by her .

The overall experience was excellent and I would definitely recommend United Better Homes to anyone. I will definitely use them in the future. Ethan was exceptional in particular, since we went through the house with us to go over all our ideas and work that was involved. He also helped me with ideas with other projects in the house that had nothing to do with his contract. The workers who did the installation did an excellent job as well. They helped me with parts of the projects I was working on that day including the installations in their contract. The work was done right the first time and the whole process was smooth. They delivered the type of professionalism and quality of work that you would expect from a contracting company.

United Better Homes Ethan Gregory It has been about six months since we found United Better Homes and decided to get some new windows. And we could not be happier for our decision and the quality of the workmanship. The sales process: We worked directly with Ethan Gregory. He was a very low key, non-salesy kind of guy. He came to our house when he said he would, talked to us about what we were hoping to do, and then showed us all the options they could provide. He went through the pros and the cons of each style of replacement window, and then asked us what questions we had. He didn’t make this about how much we could afford or what would be the best “deal”. Instead, he let the products speak for themselves. During the sales visit, he walked around the house and took careful measurements of all the windows we were thinking about replacing. And when he was done, he left us with a bunch of materials and a lot to think about. After about a week, we decided what we wanted to do – replace everything with the Marvin infinity replacement windows plus a sliding door for the patio. A few days later, Ethan came back with a complete sales order, as well as another associate to confirm all of his measurements. He had made all the right measurements. The installation: About four weeks later we got a call that the windows would be ready for installation. We had thought this would take about three days to get done. Instead, United Better Homes showed up with a whole crew of people, and did the whole installation in one day! 39 windows, plus the slider. They took away all the old, decrepit, falling apart junk, put everything in the right place, did a quality inspection, and cleaned up the whole work area. Had you not been around during the day, one would have wondered just how all the windows were new just eight hours earlier. And no question, you would have noticed the new windows. There was one tiny mistake. The outside handle on the slider was the wrong color. But, a call to Ethan, and he got the right part and had it installed a week or so later. No questions asked, just prompt customer service. The product: We wanted to wait a bit before posting a review. Replacement windows never seemed like they could possibly work. But after one New England winter, these windows are amazing. Incredibly easy to open and clean. Sealed against the house. They look great, and match the house perfectly. And best of all, they let in more light than the original windows ever did. And gone are the days of drafty rooms and the heat running all the time. The conclusion: Go with United Better Homes and the Marvin windows. They stand behind their product, they are incredibly responsive, and they just make the whole process easy. We really appreciated the no pressure sales and the expert craftsmanship. They are great windows, well installed, and supported by folks who really want these to be the last windows we’ll ever need.

This is not a firm I'd suggest for anyone to work with. In advance of signing the contract, I told them I wanted to meet the project manager who would be responsible for this work - they sent a project manager out for me to meet but when the work finally started , that project manager never showed up and, in fact, I never saw this person again. Bait & switch? The contract was signed in April 2013 indicating a start in 3-4 weeks but the work did not begin until the end of September. They repeatedly blamed Harvey distributor for the continued 3-4 months delays - they insist Harvey ordered wrong materials, Harvey ordered wrong part for the front door, and then Harvey ordered the wrong size door for the side door, etc.... When they finally showed up to do the work, there were issues on a daily basis. UBH subcontracted the work out to another firm and the workers that showed up barely spoke english. Most disgusting, over the first two weeks they used our back yard as a bathroom leaving dozens of piles of toilet paper and feces all over the yard - this was despite the availability of a bathroom just inside the back door. The quality of the work was problematic as well. Window trim was installed improperly requiring that I've got to have new custom sized screens built. Siding was cut crooked. There were issues with flashing being installed on top of decking instead of below which was since corrected but since the siding was already cut, there were 3" gaps they simple caulked to fill in. Fixture openings were sloppy. Security leads were not reinstalled. Entry points for utilities were cut improperly and several of the cables and lines were not resecured. Windows were damaged. Inside window trim was ruined. A transom window they installed was defective but they installed it anyway claiming it was Harvey distributor's fault. They threw away the house shutters claiming they were doing me a " favor" because the shutters needed to be washed. They broke a window pane with double paned glass and took it to get it fixed- they returned a window that had two pieces of glass with caulk in between to pass as double-paned glass instead of fixing it properly. There were so many issues, I can not even list them all here. UBH was confrontational each time an issue was brought to their attention - they would typically deny the issue was an issue and were dismissive until the evidence was clear. The people involved in this project demonstrated little concern for the quality of the project work; this was a group that seemed to simply want to do as little as possible to get the work done leaving us very concerned about the quality of work that is not visible. There were so many unfinished items and issues with the work that the final punch list had over 100+ items. One of the major issues was the workers spilled paint all across the back composite deck and across a newly installed composite front porch. The front porch paint they sanded off and damaged the surface. The back deck they have tried twice now to remove the paint without success. Additionally, they ripped apart boards instead of removing the screws. They are arguing that they can paint over the deck which is a composite material instead of replacing. Of course, that would mean we would have to repaint every two years and since the deck abuts the pool area, the paint would not hold up to the traffic or elements. Plus it does not fix the ripped boards. They have yet to agree to do the right thing and replace the deck top that was damaged. Since the work was finished in the mid-November timeframe, we have been continually trying to work with UBH to try to come to an agreement on over $12,000 of damages they were incurred during the contract work. In January we discussed the final estimates of the damaged items trying to get final agreement. In the midst of our continued discussions, they have sent me a threatening notice they are going to turn the outstanding balance out to a collection agency -despite the fact they have already agreed they are responsible for the damages. At this point, due to the potential impact of their threats to get a collection agent involved, my attorney has had to step in. Given that this UBH has now taken a course which requires legal involvement, I am providing this review as I hope others will learn from my terrible experience with this firm. I was hoping UBH would do the right thing but instead they are taking the low road and so I am posting this now to help others avoid this mistake. As this is an on-going issue - I will update this review should things improve but at this point, I have little confidence that will happen. I have kept pictures of everything that has occurred and suggest anyone doing renovation work be sure to take pictures every step of the way. I have had to use these pictures time and again with this difficult party and am very glad I have them to support the issues. At this point, I can summarize to say I've found UBH very difficult to deal with, unreliable, and unprofessional and left with more than $12k of damages they caused and are now threatening to harm me further with collection agency, I'll have legal fees on top of the already expensive damage. Think twice before considering this firm.

Top rate professionalism and responsiveness. Salesman was not pushy at all and seemed to really care about matching the right product to the project. We had 10 double hung windows, 4 basement sliders and one bow window replaced. Price point was decent on the work and products. They also replaced front and side door. The windows were done in less than half a day. The work crew was very professional, personable and courteous. They replaced the doors a week or two after the windows. We had a problem with the weatherstripping on one of the Harvey doors. Brian from UBH came out the same week I called and Brian came out and corrected the problem. They did not ask for the rest of the contract balance until the job was done. Would highly recommend this company for window and door replacement.

Called United Better Homes and a rep came to Boston within one week. 2 windows were installed within 4 weeks time!

The people at Untied Better Homes were professional and performed a quality job. They were not the cheapest quote but provided the best overall services. They also included some extra services including: 1. Insulating a previously installed replacement window. 2. Replacing the rotted wood under my front entry way Overall I was very please with their work and I would consider them for another project.

Everyone who we had contact with was very polite and professional. There were no problems in trying to contact anyone and calls were returned. They were on time and did a great job.

My initial review of this company was less than positive as the initial estimate meeting crossed with some personal problems of the sales rep and I did not have a contact number for anyone on the weekend. On the following Monday, I went to the office and spoke with the office manager and one of the owners and we discussed the issue. I was pleased with how they dealt with me and decided to give them another chance. They made an appointment with me and were very prompt, professional, and appreciated that I was giving them a chance to redeem their image in my eyes. From this point forward I was very satisfied with their service and communication. They worked well as a team and worked with me to transfer my alarm system contacts to the new windows. We have also received many comments from our neighbors that the new windows look great and we could not be happier. I am pleased I gave them a second chance and would definitely call them again when I need additional work done.

Very well, estimate was just a little higher than the one we went with.

They were on time fast and the work was done well.

Eddie and his team were great in all aspects. They were professional, efficient and amazingly careful of all my furniture. I think they left the apartment cleaner than it was when they got there! Didn't hurt that they were also several thousand dollars below my other estimate, but would highly recommend to anyone.

Bruce from United Better Homes came out to my house in Newport RI late April and gave me a quote of $26K for siding with Hardy board. At that time, he also offered me a $2K discount if I wrote a positive review on Angies list!!!! Given that the summer season was starting my neighbor asked if I could wait after Labor day to start the job. I contacted Keith and told him we would be proceeding but not until the Fall. End of August, Keith repeated called to initiate the project. I called Keith on Aug 23rd and told him we were good to go. That afternoon he sent another crew over to the house to take more accurate measurements and provided me a quote / for $26K (without the discount if I wrote a positive Angies list review). I didn't sign because of the increase in the amount and called Keith on Monday Aug. 26th. On Monday, Keith explained that he would have to have others from the company take a look at the property before he could give me an updated quote given the lead paint and nice house my neigbor had. (All of which I discussed with Bruce and Keith many times in the Spring since I had a previous contractor who did not perform the job per code.) After several calls into Keith, I finally received a final quote of $33K - $9K higher with all the additional expense being the proper requirements for working with Lead paint. Again can only assume you have to specifically ask to have the quote done in accordance with the local and state laws. So I wasted 5 months thinking United Better Homes was going to be my contractor. In addition, Keith was very unresponsive, which is rude. (He called me every day when things were going well.) It took 3 week after the visit on Aug 23rd to get the final quote. Keith stated he promised me a written quote via e-mail on Saturday Sept 7th. Saturday no e-mail, Sunday no e-mai, Monday no e-mail, Tuesday I finally called Keith - no call back, called again on Wednesday, no call back. Tried to escalate but was told to contact Bruce the sales rep - apparent bad move as Bruce is the one who provided the initial incorrect quote. Needless to say Bruce did not call me back. Finally on Thursday I called and was able to talk with Keith - that's when he said the price was $9K higher if they did it per code. He stated he didn't send me an e-mail on Saturday because his car broke down. Last I knew a broken down car doesn't prevent you from sending an e-amil or calling someone for 6 days. In the end, the site says they offer estimated within a day - beware they can also be off by 30% of higher. Much prefer to wait for a quote to get one that if correct, or at least in the ballpark! I am now on Angies list looking for another contractor.

Very Fast and Professional Installation. I would recommend them for any window installation. Wide selection of windows to choose from.

They pretty much did the job someone else failed to do. They did a good job.

Excellent sales person John and expert installers. Some scheduling/delivery problems which were worked out.

It could have not gone any better/smoother. The crew came in and installed 13 Double Hung Windows as well as 1 Bay Window, they were curtious, nice, and very professional. They came prepared and went right to work completeting one window after the other start to finish. They covered all the furniture, and any of my personal belongings neatly and cleaned up each room a window was installed in perfectly, as well as putting back the furniture in the exact way it was before. I will definitly use them in the future for some other projects I have to get done around the house and I highly recommend them to anyone.

I evaluated several vendors for this installation. It turns out that there are few manufacturers of "garden windows" yet the prices for delivery and installation vary widely. Vendors, including United Better Homes, did not recognize immediately that the product I requested was from the same manufacturer ? Alside/Ventana. Once United disclosed the manufacturer?s name, they acted promptly and professionally to match the garden window the manufacturer could provide to match the existing openings in my house. United visited to make final measurements, added features (insulated base, and extra interior shelf), price proposal and schedule. United answered some technical questions (size, weight and brace requirements) promptly satisfying my concerns. United provided references for similar products they installed and all who responded offered positive information about their services. Additionally, the RI state contractor registry information about United was complete and up-to-date. An installation date was established, however one window was damaged as delivered from the manufacturer. A repair scheme was proposed by the manufacturer, but rejected by United as it would have compromised the final installation. A new second window was ordered and received, however, the installation date had to be rescheduled. Installation took one day by a crew of three who were punctual and professional, including limiting dust / debris spread, broom clean and complete removal of old windows. There has not been any need for follow up, so I would consider, three months out, the job is complete.