Sea-Thru Windows Inc

My encounter with Sea-Thru Windows (Midlothian, VA) was by far the worst home improvement project I’ve ever experienced. Sea-Thru was to replace of 17 windows and 9 pairs of shutters, and the installation was to be completed within 16 weeks. The windows arrived 6 weeks later than promised, and the shutters didn’t arrive until 6 weeks after that. The window crew did a decent job, except for installing one broken window sash and a damaged screen. The shutter installation crew claimed they were having trouble with the shutter fasteners and left after only partially installing one half of one shutter pair. It was a full week before anyone returned, and when it became apparent that Sea-Thru hadn’t brought enough tools and materials to finish the job, I stopped the work until I could speak with Sea-Thru’s management. Long story short, I had to take Sea-Thru to court to get them to reimburse me for the botched shutter installation, and to compel them to finally replace the damaged window screen. As for the windows; their basic construction is satisfactory. However, some of the “assembly and finish” work is poor, as evidenced by careless splatters of silicone adhesive on the interior sides of the double-glazed glass (making it impossible for me to get to them); a sun-filter coating that appears to have been sloppily applied by hand with a rag and which eventually comes off with normal window cleaning (or a dog’s wet nose); and the missing parts that Sea-Thru had to provide after the initial window work was supposed to be finished. With the prolonged installation and the subsequent court proceedings, what was supposed to be a 16 week project turned into a 50 week nightmare.

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Work was scheduled for a Friday with two crews. One crew was to install the patio door with the other crew to install the windows. The workers arrived as scheduled. Several of the crew members expressed dissatisfaction with the agreement made to install the windows against the wall frame and felt the corner bead caused additional labor to complete the work. They proceeded to remove the old windows and cut back the aluminum siding. The siding fasteners were damaged in the process and they made no effort to fix the siding. With outside temperature at approximately 32 degrees, I added a few nails to the siding to keep the project moving forward. Eight of ten windows were installed. One of the windows was too large for the opening. The workers cut and removed part of the window frame to make it fit the opening. Windows were installed without moldings to prevent water intrusion to the frame. The installers need to correct this issue and complete the installation of the remaining windows. The installation of the patio door did not go as expected. The thickness of the door required the removal of the Sheetrock and corner bead. This was not planned and I was ask to do the work before they could install the door. After that, the installers proceeded with the door install with the intention to rest the frame on top of the carpet and carpet tack strip. I again had to step in and take the time to cut back the carpet and remove the tack strip. This company needs to do the job right. If the workers were not happy with the agreed project terms, they should have walked away before ripping out the old windows. Since my initial review, I have had multiple visits from workers to complete the installation. Repairs have been made from the time of the original install. Its taken a long time, too long. It's mid June and the project was started mid February.

I think the pricing was reasonable. They had two guys that came and they were great. They did all the work themselves. They had to replace windows that were hard to do because the house was built on the hill so inside it was okay but outside, they had to use tall extension ladders. They were neat and very nice. They cleaned up after themselves and did a great job. We did have a problem with one window and they sent someone else the same day and showed us how to handle it and was very nice about it. We were very pleased with the whole experience.

They came and gave us a quot. Once we decided to use them they measured the windows and we paid half of the cost and then when the windows were installed we paid the other half. They kept the appointments on time.