After the initial survey I decided to use Keepout because I felt the surveyor was very professional and it seemed like a reputable company. However after I had the measurements taken the issues started.
I ordered 1UPVC bay window for the front of the house and two UPVC windows for the back of the house.
After the initial measurements were taken I was told that one of the rear windows that were designed for me by the surveyor wasn't actually technically possible. This would lead to issues further down the line. I personally found it hard to understand why an experienced surveyor would design a window that wasn't technically possible.
22nd of March
Fitting day arrived and after returning from work the fitters were still there and I found out the following:-
Downstairs bay window
* Huge gap outside all around the window. The fitters had not sealed any of the outside of the bay window. Water would easily be able to access the interior structure
* Hole in the frame by the sill outside again making the interior of the window completely open to the elements.
* The mechanism to the sash window was broken and no keys were provided which meant I was not able to open the window
* Crack in the trim on the inside which can easily be flexed to show the crack.
* Three significant dents or scratches
* Mastic has been added before the window was cleaned properly meaning some of the edging has black staining
* Trim around the window was not completed properly and there was an edge all around the window which was uneven and untidy.
Upstairs window 1.
* Window originally fitted upside down (see image, however they did pull the window out and then turn it the correct way up the same day)
* No ventilation in the window and there is no space for this to be retrofitted
* Scratched handle
* Several scratches all over the window frame
* The way the window had been designed meant that there was a child lock on the window. Because of the reassess it was not possible to access the child lock and therefore open the window 90 degrees which meant that it did not meet building regulations and was therefore not a viable upstairs window
23rd of March
* A fitter returned to put a temporary sealant around the way window to protect it from the bad weather.
* The site manager visited to confirm that all of the above issues were indeed correct and that a whole new window upstairs would need to be designed and built
24th of March
* New fitters visited the property, fitted the new window upstairs and cleaned up the scratches and re-sealed the front of the bay window
* They were unable to fix the mechanism inside the window and confirmed that this would have to be done at a later date.
26th of March
* They tried to push me into paying the reminder of the invoice, even though the windows were not complete. At one point confirming they would be taking legal action. They confirmed that they would send someone around on the 10th of April (2 weeks later) to fix the mechanism in the bay window .
1st of April
* I realised, almost two weeks after the initial fitting that they had failed to seal the outside of the 2nd window upstairs. The weather was extremely bad over this period and water was able to get into the cavity wall. Due to a holiday period for Keepout, no one was available for a full week until the 9th of April to even respond to my concerns. See image of unsealed window.
9th of April
* After returning from their holiday period they returned removed the window, seale it and re-fitted it roughly three weeks of not being watertight
10th of April
The manufacturer arrived.. He confirmed the following :-
* The bay window mechanism was broken as expected, however the window was also fixed into place and was not able to be opened even if the mechanism was fixed.
* It would be several more weeks until the mechanism could be fixed
Keepout denied there was an issue with the window being fixed in place.
15th of May
* Keepout and the manufacturer returned to fix the broken mechanism . It turned out that the window was fixed in place. The window had been glued using liquid plastic to the frame which meant it could not be opened.
* The fitters had to prize the window from the frame breaking the trim at the bottom of the window, however the window was finally able to be opened.
29th of May
* The fitters finally came to replace the trim and finish the windows.
Summary
* It took over 2 months for the windows to be fitted
* After the initial fitting I had to take 4 days off work to supervise the work being carried out because of the poor standard of work
* They repeatedly failed to notice significant issues with the design and fitting of the windows and it was my responsibility to inform them of the ongoing issues with the windows.
* They refused to provide a discount due to the poor service and standard of work read more