Enviro-Tech Window Concepts

Very poorly. Showed over two hours late with no work order. Worked partial days or not at all, rarely showed at times stated. Poor communications with excuses for problems. Had to point out problems numerous times before they got it right. They ruined the canned lights by caulking around the outer edges and getting caulk all over ceiling. Lights had to replaced and painting done. Still not like it used to be. Clean up after themselves was poor, left cigarette butts on driveway, vehicles leaked oil on driveway. The owner was more concerned about getting paid and getting his rebate than the quality of work they did.

1. We signed the contract on Feb. 5, 2012. We paid the initial down payment of $4,100 (of the $8,200 total price). According to the contract work on the project was to begin in 30 days. 2. In early March the energy auditor appeared and did what seemed to us to be a thorough inspection and by March 15 we had his report which seemed to us to be a pretty good summary of our 1960's Wausau prefab house's deficiencies. We paid him $400. 3. We waited and eventually the insulation crew showed up and insulated the house. The insulation work was as far as we could tell done thoroughly (our house is now cozier). 4. We expected that installation of the windows would commence in short order. Days turned into weeks and no windows. 5. In early May a second energy auditor appeared and did a so-called post audit. When we noted that the windows had yet to be installed she said there was a deadline for the post audit and that the Focus on Energy program had been modified so that the homeowner would no longer get the $400 rebate, instead it would be given to the installing companies as a result of the State's changes to the program. 6. Also early in May, after we inquired about our windows, we were informed that Envirotech was having cash flow problems due to delays in receiving payments from the State. They said they needed $3000 (of the remaining $4,100 we owed) to pay for the windows. We sent the requested $3,000 thinking that the windows would be installed shortly. But no Envirotech crews showed up. We contacted the head of the insulation crew for info. on what was going on at Envirotech. We were shocked to find out that they were not paying their work crews with the result that many were seeking employment elsewhere. 7. Fearing that we would lose our $7,100 if Envirotech went bankrupt, we contacted the window supply company, paid another $3,000 for the windows to be delivered to our house. Envirotech sent a couple of installers and installation commenced. Envirotech pulled its crew before the installation was complete, but one installer (Randy Vike) said he would stick with us and finish the installation. He did. UPDATE: written on Feb. 6, 2013 After submitting my original review of Envirotech to Angie's List, I was contacted by Envirotech's head, Jason Radcliffe. We discussed my review. I informed him that a post test had been done, but that it had been done before the energy efficient windows had been installed. I believed that energy efficient windows were an important factor in determining the energy efficiency and integrity of our house and therefore I questioned the sufficiency of a post test that was performed before the windows were installed. Mr. Radcliffe said that the post test is meant to test the effectiveness of just the insulation work, not the windows. The post test indicated an improvement of 37% and I indicated in my original review that our house does feel cozier. After I provided Mr. Radcliffe information regarding the pre-test and post test, Mr. Radcliffe was instrumental in getting the Focus On Energy program to send $1,500 to reimburse us for the work we had done to make our house more energy efficient. This reimbursement helped us to recoup most of the money that we had spent above the agreed upon price for the insulation and windows. We now consider the matter closed. 8. While doing the final installation we found out that Envirotech had mis-measured one window (twice!) and we had to pay for another properly sized window! We also found that the picture window arrived in 3 sections (not the 4 we had asked for) and the single center section was fixed in place (not crank out) and the flanking side windows were crank out (not fixed as we had requested). But by then we were so disgusted that we had them installed to avoid further delays. 9. All in all I ended up paying over $2,000 more than I had agreed to (but about what I had estimated the job would cost before dealing with Envirotech). 10. In summary, we think that Envirotech's chief, Jason Radcliffe, possibly unknowingly, underbid the cost of our project and when it became apparent that he had done so, he avoided our inquiries, promised on several occasions to have installation crews at our house on certain dates and did not fulfill these commitments and did not contact us to explain why they had not come. I cannot recommend Envirotech or Mr. Radcliffe for any home improvement projects. 11. I do feel that the initial energy auditor, the insulation crew and Randy Vike did their jobs well. Randy Vike has his own startup home improvement company called Vike Exterior Concepts, 608-286-9134, 8208 N. County Road H, Edgerton, WI 53534 vikeexteriors@gmail.com He acted with integrity. .

Very hot weaher but workers still completed the work

Great salesman, a gift for instilling confidence, promised to fix deficiencies when we refused to sign completion papers, but after signing the papers, that is the last we heard from them, they would not return phone calls or emails (got one email saying we'll be there the next week for the promised fix, they did not show up).

The work was begun in mid-May, and as of this writing (September 14) has not yet been completed. I am waiting for the new energy-efficient windows to be installed, and for the new wooden molding to be put in around the walls and ceilings in the rooms that were drywalled. The owner, Jason Radcliffe, gave me a good price on the total package in exchange for paying for the work in advance (in late May at the time the windows were ordered), and I am hopeful the work will eventually be completed. There have been numerous delays, and during July Jason did not return my phone calls. I was quite worried that he had gone out of business, and that I had paid for windows that would never be installed. Then I myself was out of town during the first half of August. I am now back in touch with Jason, and he assures me that the work will be completed. He explained that he had been very busy with numerous contracts during the summer, and that he has had some staffing turn-overs and problems. My guess is that Jason often promises customers more than he can deliver, is somewhat inexperienced, and has had trouble organizing the work schedule. On the positive side, his workmen were conscientious and friendly, and he himself is always polite and friendly. My impression is that he wants to provide quality work, but is still struggling to run his business in an efficient and professional manner. I am still hopeful the work that I paid for will be completed, and I will update this report and increase my rating at that time.

The owner, Mr. Radcliffe, came to my home and did an energy inspection. He then, on the spot wrote up and printed a contract for the work that was to be performed. Mr. Radcliffe was adamant that he provides his customers with quotes, not estimates for projects. The contract agreed to was for attic insulation and wall insulation (dense packing) and replacing the front door of my home. I was told the job would take 3 to 5 days, it took over two months due to various circumstances, some unavoidable and some of which were due to poorly running a business. On days the work crew came, they routinely arrived 45-60 minutes later than scheduled. The scheduling itself typically occurred the evening before, even after specific requests to give a minimum of 24 hours notice to allow me to adjust my own schedule to accommodate the workers. Mr. Radcliffe and his crew leader (Rodger) clearly do not communicate well or frequently, as the work done by Rodger and his crew often differed significantly from what Mr. Radcliffe explained. The attic insulating went well. A noticeable difference in the comfort level of my home was immediate. However, when they began dense packing the first wall, it wrecked the wall, pushing out the interior of my wall to the point of having the insulation spilling into my living room. Mr. Radcliffe seemed surprised when I expected that the damaged wall be repaired, although he finally agreed to do so for no charge. Rodger then personally completed the dense packing in the other three walls with no problems. The installation of the new door also went very poorly. The door has dents, chips missing out of the edge where the brand new door knob and deadbolt are. Well, almost brand new, the workers did not use all of the parts from the new set (Atlas brand) and installed some plates from the old set (Kwikset brand), which were not even the same color (nickel and gold). Also, following a home inspection by Grading Spaces (Mark Furst) pictures and the written review state that there are significant gaps at the top and the bottom of the door. So they did not bother to adjust the door when installing. Mr. Radcliffe stated to me that Rodger noticed problems with the door when it was taken out of its packaging, but they went ahead and installed it anyway. In speaking with Menards (where I purchased the door) and several friends with carpentry backgrounds, I have come to the obvious conclusion that the door was poorly and improperly installed. Despite all this, Mr. Radcliffe maintains that the blame for the problem with the door belongs to the manufacturer and he refused to take responsibility. His reasoning for refusing to replace the door or refund me for the cost was partially due to his company having to pay for the cost of replacing my wall (which they were responsible for damaging). The icing on the cake is that the home inspector (Mr. Furst), in his post -work inspection, noted that my attic entry way was not insulated and that Envirotech should "definitely take care of that." Mr. Radcliffe stated that I would hear from Rodger by the end of the week to fix it. It was par for the course that I never heard from Rodger. Mr. Radcliffe talks a great game and is a great salesman. Unfortunately he does not seem to have the managerial skill, honesty or the integrity to provide a decent level of service. Given that Envirotech's prices are a bit higher than other companies that provide the same products and service, I expected a higher level of professionalism. I strongly caution anyone from working with Envirotech. Mr. Radcliffe also stated to me that his crew would "be very respectful of your home and property." I could provide a few more examples of the lack of professionalism and responsiveness. But the weather is nice today, so instead I think I will head outside to pick up the dozens of cigarette buts, nails and extra insulation that is laying in my yard. UPDATE to Envirotech response: The idea that I would OK the installation of a defective door is absurd. I also checked my phone records: Incoming calls answered = 19, Outgoing calls to envirotech = 17, Missed calls = 8. So the statement about me being unresponsive is also inaccurate. Even if the statements in the response are taken as true and accurate (which I can assure you they are not), it certainly provides a good example of why Mr. Radcliffe's professionalism was rated as an F.