When replacing two exterior doors, I met with Bill from Kelly Window & Door. He was professional…read moreand not pushy, and I thought I'd found a good company to work with, since they opened in 1994 and are locally owned. The premium doors are even made in an Amish area in Ohio.
Bill just handled the deposit process, and Wes came and remeasured before ordering the doors. My doors were ready about four weeks early, and Mark called to schedule. Unfortunately, the polished sales front fell apart the minute the installation crew arrived.
The installation crew arrived on time. Wes had already noted where they were to park, but they came to the front and insisted on seeing the doors before parking. I'm not sure why they needed to come inside without foot protection for an outside project. But that should have been my first warning of what to expect from this unprofessional crew.
Early into the job, I started to hear arguing and bickering. It intensified at one point, and I thought there was going to be a physical altercation. They were angry, as one installer yelled at the other using phrases like "you're real f**kin helpful". This was the quality of the crew I was sent. It leaves a lot to be desired. They worked independently, and Door A's frame was scuffed up and left structurally out of alignment. Door B was unfinished, with a 3/4-inch structural gap at the top header and no foam or perimeter caulk. The weatherstripping was cut short and left completely square-cut instead of mitered, leaving an open gap where daylight poured straight through. The crew left an interior light on, which hid the light leaks during the day. The site was not fully cleaned, and there was paint on my property and the neighbors'. Harrold even attempted to clean the paintbrushes at my outside faucet.
I contacted Mark, the operations manager, when I noticed the gap in the weatherstripping and sent photos so it could be fixed. I was told he'd send Harrold back around 3. So I waited all afternoon expecting him; he called me directly at 6pm and said he was going home first, and showed up at 6:20pm. Unprofessionally, he brought his wife along. With the poor job, I was surprised they sent the same installer back. Harrold's fix was botched: the weatherstripping wasn't symmetrical on both sides and still left a gap. The cut was supposed to be a mitered angle, as was Door A.
Mark was on site at some point and didn't notice the damage to Door A's frame, the misalignment, the gap, the weatherstripping, the lack of insulation or caulk, or the fact that the crew didn't clean up fully. So it is concerning that the work isn't being properly inspected and signed off on. It took me a few days to notice, but that wasn't my job to project manage a certified dealer's premium installation.
Kelly Window & Door promotes a "stress-free guarantee" that appears to be just words and marketing that they don't follow. They failed to deliver on the one-day install, dragging out the project despite the premium price. I expected a hassle-free experience and expected quality work from the installers.
I contacted the president of the company, thinking he'd want to know about the problems and get things corrected. He didn't know the correct spelling of his installer's name. He seems out of touch with the day-to-day operations of his own company. Instead of taking accountability, he chose to gaslight me, trying to reframe missing insulation, raw uncaulked air gaps, and a total lack of perimeter sealing as a "cost-saving aesthetic choice" because the rooms were labeled for storage, "uninhabitable areas". But they are air-conditioned, making these doors permanent boundaries of the building's thermal envelope under North Carolina energy codes.
The main office front desk staff took action on day two, moved my file to the warranty department, and they have been trying to help me resolve this. The warranty team, consisting of two technicians, both named Dillon, spent three full hours executing an extensive punch-list rebuild. They had to cut away the failing work; the structural error required heavy pounding to mechanically realign the interlocking jamb skins and apply spray foam on Door A to get it straight, and pack Door B's 3/4-inch structural gap with foam and caulk that door. The weatherstripping was mitered. The warranty repairs took almost as long as the botched install, which was four hours.
Kelly Window & Door charges a premium price, and I expected a smooth installation with quality and vetted workers. The company did not value my time and kept me waiting all afternoon for the tech who couldn't do the job right the first time, instead of sending someone skilled. The company may have addressed the issues with the techs, but I never got a resolution. Based on how this was handled, I wouldn't use Kelly Window & Door for another project, as this was not the stress-free experience they promised but a headache.
